If you rent a home or apartment in California, state law gives you some of the strongest protections in the country. California tenant rights cover how much your landlord can charge for a deposit, how much your rent can go up each year, when you can be evicted, the condition your unit has to be kept in, and how much notice a landlord needs before walking through your door. Here is what applies in 2026.
Security Deposit Limits and Refunds
For any tenancy that began on or after July 1, 2024, your landlord cannot collect a security deposit worth more than one month’s rent, whether the unit is furnished or not.1California Legislative Information. California Code Civil 1950.5 – Security for Rental Agreement If you signed your lease before that date, the older limits stay in place for that tenancy: two months’ rent for unfurnished units and three months’ for furnished.
After you move out, the landlord has 21 calendar days to either send back the full deposit or give you an itemized statement showing what was deducted, why, and any balance owed.2California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1950.5 – Security for Rental Agreement Deductions are limited to three things: unpaid rent, cleaning needed to return the unit to its move-in condition, and repairs for damage beyond normal wear and tear. A scuffed floor from years of foot traffic is wear and tear. A hole punched through a wall is not.
If a landlord keeps your deposit in bad faith, you can sue for up to twice the deposit amount on top of your actual damages.2California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1950.5 – Security for Rental Agreement Courts take the itemization requirement seriously, so landlords who skip the written statement or blow the 21-day deadline tend to lose ground in small claims court.
Annual Rent Increase Caps
The Tenant Protection Act of 2019, better known as AB 1482, caps annual rent increases for covered units at 5% plus the local Consumer Price Index change, or 10%, whichever is lower.3California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1947.12 The cap is measured against the lowest rent charged in the prior 12 months, so a landlord cannot briefly cut rent to reset the baseline.
Some rentals fall outside the cap:
- Housing that got its certificate of occupancy within the last 15 years, on a rolling basis.
- Single-family homes and condos owned by an individual (not a corporation, REIT, or LLC with a corporate member), where the landlord has given the tenant a specific written notice of exemption.
- Duplexes where the owner lives in one unit as a primary residence, if neither unit is an accessory dwelling unit.
- Deed-restricted affordable housing and college dormitories.
The written notice requirement catches many individual landlords off guard. If you rent a qualifying single-family home but your landlord never gave you the exemption notice in writing, the state cap still applies to your tenancy.3California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1947.12
AB 1482 is a floor, not a ceiling. Cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland run their own rent stabilization ordinances that are often stricter, and where the local rule is more protective, it applies instead.4California Legislative Information. Assembly Bill 1482 – Tenant Protection Act of 2019 Check your city before assuming the state figure is the answer.
When a Landlord Can Evict You
Once you have continuously occupied a unit for 12 months, your landlord cannot terminate your tenancy without stating a legally recognized reason in the written termination notice.5California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1946.2 Recognized reasons split into two groups.
At-fault reasons focus on the tenant’s conduct: failing to pay rent, violating a material lease term after written notice to fix it, creating a nuisance, committing criminal activity on the property, unauthorized subletting, refusing lawful landlord entry, or refusing to sign a lease renewal on substantially similar terms after a written lease expires.
No-fault reasons focus on the landlord’s plans: the owner or a close family member intends to move in for at least 12 months, the owner is pulling the unit off the rental market, a government order requires the tenant to vacate, or the owner plans a substantial remodel that requires the tenant to leave.
Every no-fault eviction triggers a relocation obligation. The landlord must either pay you one month’s rent or waive your final month’s rent in writing.5California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1946.2 A direct payment has to arrive within 15 calendar days of the termination notice. Skipping this step doesn’t just create a debt; it can invalidate the eviction.
Eviction Notice Deadlines
Before a landlord can file an eviction lawsuit, you must first receive a written notice with a deadline:
- A 3-day notice to pay or quit, if you owe back rent.
- A 30-day notice to quit, for month-to-month tenancies under one year (where just cause does not apply).
- A 60-day notice to quit, once you have rented the unit for a year or more.
A notice that fails to state just cause when it should, gives the wrong number of days, or misstates the amount owed may be defective. If you receive one, read it carefully against these requirements before doing anything else. Procedural mistakes are where many evictions fall apart.
Repairs and Habitability
Every residential lease in California carries an implied warranty of habitability that cannot be waived by anything the lease says. Your landlord has to keep the unit safe and fit to live in, which under the statute includes weatherproofing of the roof, walls, and windows; working plumbing, gas, and heating; hot and cold running water; functional electrical systems and lighting; adequate sanitation and trash service; and secure locks on exterior doors and windows.6California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1941.1 – Untenantable Dwelling
When your landlord ignores a needed repair, the most-used remedy is repair-and-deduct. After giving the landlord notice and waiting a reasonable time (30 days is presumed reasonable), you can hire someone to fix the problem and subtract the cost from your next rent payment.7California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1942 – Tenant Remedies for Untenantable Dwelling Two limits apply: the repair cannot cost more than one month’s rent, and you can only use this remedy twice in any 12-month period.
For severe and persistent problems, tenants can also withhold rent or move out entirely and stop paying. Both carry real risk. If a court later decides the conditions weren’t bad enough to justify what you did, you can end up owing the rent anyway. Keep a paper trail of written complaints and the landlord’s responses (or silence) before you go that route.
Landlord Entry and Privacy
Your landlord cannot walk in whenever they feel like it. California law requires at least 24 hours of written notice before entering, during normal business hours, and the notice has to state the date, approximate time, and reason.8California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 1954 – Entry of Dwelling Unit Acceptable reasons include repairs, showings to prospective tenants or buyers, and agreed-upon inspections.
The exceptions are narrow: a genuine emergency, entry you consent to at the time, or a unit you have abandoned. A landlord who repeatedly enters without proper notice is violating your rights, and the pattern becomes evidence if a dispute ends up in court.
Protection From Retaliation
If you complain to your landlord about habitability, report a bed bug problem, file a complaint with a government agency, or use the repair-and-deduct remedy, your landlord cannot raise your rent, cut services, or try to evict you for 180 days.9California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1942.5 The clock runs from your most recent protected action.
The law also treats threats to report you or people connected to you to immigration authorities as prohibited retaliation, regardless of anyone’s actual immigration status. Tenants who organize with other renters or join tenant advocacy groups are also protected, though in that scenario you have to prove the landlord’s actions were retaliatory.
Discrimination and Source of Income
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act bars housing discrimination on a longer list of grounds than federal law. Protected characteristics include race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, veteran or military status, and genetic information.10California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12955 – Housing Discrimination
Source-of-income protection is one of the most practically important pieces. Your landlord cannot refuse to rent to you because your income comes from a housing assistance voucher, public benefits, or another lawful source. The statute specifically names Section 8 and HUD-VASH vouchers for veterans.10California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12955 – Housing Discrimination A landlord can still ask about the amount and source of your income to confirm you can afford the rent, but cannot reject you because the money comes from government assistance.
The rules apply at every stage: advertising, screening, lease terms, services during the tenancy, and termination. Even a mistaken perception counts. If a landlord refuses to rent to you because they wrongly assume you have a disability, that is still a violation.
To file a complaint, contact the California Civil Rights Department. You generally have one year from the last discriminatory act.11California Civil Rights Department. Complaint Process The department investigates and can pursue monetary damages and orders requiring the housing provider to change practices.
Assistance Animals
Even if the lease has a no-pets policy, your landlord must allow an assistance animal as a reasonable accommodation for a disability. Under the federal Fair Housing Act, an assistance animal is any animal that works, assists, or provides emotional support that alleviates a symptom of a disability, which covers both trained service dogs and emotional support animals.12U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Assistance Animals
The landlord cannot charge a pet deposit or pet fee for an assistance animal. You have to make a request, and if the disability or need for the animal is not obvious, you may need to provide reliable supporting documentation. A landlord can deny the request only in narrow situations: the specific animal poses a direct threat to health or safety, would cause significant property damage that no other accommodation can address, or granting it would fundamentally alter the housing provider’s operations.12U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Assistance Animals California’s FEHA can be broader than the federal baseline, so a flat refusal to engage with the request risks both a federal and a state complaint.
Move-In Disclosures You Should Receive
California landlords must hand over several written disclosures before or at the start of the tenancy. For any property built before 1978, federal law requires disclosure of known lead-based paint hazards, a lead safety pamphlet, and a 10-day window for the tenant to arrange a lead inspection before the lease becomes binding.13US Environmental Protection Agency. Real Estate Disclosures about Potential Lead Hazards
State law adds a written notice about bed bugs covering identification, why prompt reporting matters, and how to notify the landlord.14California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1954.603 – Bed Bug Notification You should also receive a Megan’s Law notice, and, if gas or electric service is shared between units, a written explanation of how those costs are split. If any of these are missing, that itself can become relevant in a later dispute.