If you rent or lease out a home in California, the rules changed in a big way between 2024 and 2026. The new California rental laws cover how much a landlord can charge as a security deposit, how rent increases are capped, what a landlord has to prove before ending a tenancy for a no-fault reason, how move-out damage is documented, and even whether a refrigerator must come with the unit. Some of these took effect in 2024, several more phased in during 2025, and one more arrives on January 1, 2026.
The Statewide Rent Cap Is Still in Force
The Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482) remains the backbone of California rent regulation. For covered rentals, a landlord cannot raise rent more than 5% plus the local change in the cost of living, or 10% total, whichever is lower, in any 12-month period.1California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1947.12 The baseline for the increase is the lowest rent charged during the prior 12 months, so a landlord who briefly discounted the rent cannot use the higher pre-discount figure as the starting point. The law runs through January 1, 2030.
Not every unit falls under the cap. Housing built in the last 15 years is exempt, single-family homes not owned by a corporation or REIT are exempt if the landlord has given the required notice, and units already under a stricter local rent control ordinance follow that local rule instead.
Notice rules apply to any covered increase. Rent hikes of 10% or less need 30 days’ written notice; anything above 10% needs 90 days. Mailed notices add five days.
Security Deposits Are Capped at One Month’s Rent
Since July 1, 2024, AB 12 has limited security deposits to one month’s rent for almost every residential rental in California, furnished or unfurnished.2California Legislative Information. AB-12 Tenancy: Security Deposits Before this change, the ceiling was two months for unfurnished units and three months for furnished ones. The one-month cap covers every upfront charge, including pet deposits and cleaning fees.3California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1950.5
Small landlords get a narrow break. If the owner is a natural person, or an LLC made up entirely of natural persons, and owns no more than two rental properties with four or fewer total units, they may charge up to two months’ rent. That exception does not apply when the prospective tenant is a service member.
Landlords Must Photograph the Unit Before and After Tenancy
AB 2801 changes how deposit deductions are documented. Starting April 1, 2025, landlords must photograph a rental unit after the tenant moves out but before any repairs or cleaning, and again once that work is finished.4California Legislative Information. AB-2801 Tenancy: Security Deposits For any tenancy that begins on or after July 1, 2025, the landlord must also photograph the unit immediately before or at the start of the lease. When deductions are taken, those photos have to be sent along with the itemized statement.
What a landlord can actually deduct got narrower too. Charges for materials, supplies, or contractor labor are limited to the reasonable cost of restoring the unit to its move-in condition, minus ordinary wear and tear. Professional carpet or other cleaning cannot be charged unless it is genuinely necessary to bring the unit back to its original state. A landlord who keeps a deposit in bad faith can be liable for up to twice the deposit amount on top of the tenant’s actual losses.
The 21-Day Deposit Return Rule Still Applies
California landlords have 21 calendar days after a tenant vacates to return the deposit or send an itemized statement with any deductions.3California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1950.5 If deductions exceed $125, receipts or invoices must be included. When the landlord or an employee did the work, the statement has to describe what was done, the time it took, and the hourly rate. If repairs genuinely cannot finish in 21 days, the landlord may send a good-faith estimate and then follow up with actual receipts within 14 days of completing the work.
No-Fault Evictions Face Tighter Proof Requirements
SB 567, in effect since April 1, 2024, tightened the rules for ending a tenancy under the Tenant Protection Act when the tenant has done nothing wrong.5California Legislative Information. SB-567 Termination of Tenancy: No-Fault Just Causes Two situations changed the most: owner move-ins and substantial remodels.
Owner Move-In
When the landlord ends a tenancy so an owner or qualifying family member can move in, that person has to actually take up residence within 90 days and stay for at least 12 consecutive months as their primary home.6California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1946.2 The termination notice must name the incoming occupant and describe the relationship, and the tenant can ask for proof. If the move-in never happens or ends early, the landlord must offer the unit back to the displaced tenant at the same rent and terms and reimburse reasonable moving costs beyond any relocation payment already made.
Substantial Remodel
A remodel that displaces a tenant now has to be genuinely substantial: replacement or major modification of structural, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical systems requiring a government permit, or hazardous material abatement. Cosmetic work like painting does not count, and a tenant cannot be pushed out on days when they could safely remain. The written notice must describe the planned work, its expected duration, and include copies of the required permits. If the work does not begin or finish, the tenant must be offered the unit back at the prior rent and terms.
Relocation Assistance
Every no-fault termination under the Tenant Protection Act requires the landlord either to pay the tenant one month’s rent in relocation assistance or to waive the final month’s rent. A direct payment has to reach the tenant within 15 calendar days of the notice.
Voucher Holders Get a Break on Credit Screening
SB 267, in effect since January 1, 2024, changed how landlords may screen applicants who receive a government rent subsidy, such as a Section 8 voucher. Before using credit history in the decision, the landlord has to offer the applicant the chance to provide alternative evidence of their ability to pay their share of the rent, like government benefit records, pay stubs, or bank statements.7California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12955 If the applicant supplies that documentation, the landlord must give them a reasonable amount of time and then actually consider it in place of the credit report. Employment verification, landlord references, and identity checks are still allowed.
Landlords Must Offer Rent Payment Credit Reporting
AB 2747 gives tenants a new way to build credit. Since April 1, 2025, landlords have had to offer tenants the option of having on-time rent payments reported to a consumer reporting agency.8California Legislative Information. AB-2747 Tenancy: Rental Payment Reporting For leases existing before January 1, 2025, the offer had to be made by April 1, 2025. For new leases signed on or after that date, the offer has to be included at signing and repeated at least once a year.
The tenant chooses whether to opt in. If they do, the landlord can charge up to $10 per month or the actual cost of the service, whichever is less; if there is no cost, there is no fee. Missing the reporting fee is never grounds for eviction, and unpaid reporting fees cannot be deducted from the security deposit.
Rent Control Follows Tenants Who Move for Accessibility
AB 1620, in effect since January 1, 2024, closes a gap in the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act. Local jurisdictions may now require landlords of rent-controlled buildings with at least five units to let a tenant with a permanent mobility-related disability move to a comparable or smaller available unit on an accessible floor while keeping their existing lease, rent, and terms.9California Legislative Information. AB-1620 Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act: Permanent Disabilities Without this rule, moving within the same building could have been treated as a new tenancy and reset the rent to market rate.
A Refrigerator Becomes Mandatory in 2026
Starting January 1, 2026, AB 628 makes a working refrigerator part of the habitability standard for every residential rental in California.10Office of Governor. New in 2026: California Laws Taking Effect in the New Year A landlord who does not provide one, or does not replace a broken one, violates the warranty of habitability. Tenants can use the standard habitability remedies, including written repair requests and, in serious cases, the repair-and-deduct option.
Federal Lead Paint Disclosure Still Applies
One rule worth flagging is not new and not California-specific, but it stays on the compliance checklist. For any rental unit built before 1978, federal law requires the landlord to give prospective tenants the EPA pamphlet “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home,” disclose any known lead-based paint or lead hazards on the property, and share any prior inspection reports.11US EPA. Real Estate Disclosures About Potential Lead Hazards The lease has to include a lead warning statement, and signed disclosures must be kept for at least three years. Units built after 1977, short-term rentals of 100 days or less, and senior housing where no child under six is expected to live are exempt.