Rent regulation & tenants
No-fault eviction
Termination of a tenancy for reasons not attributable to the tenant — owner move-in, Ellis withdrawal, substantial remodel — always owing relocation assistance.
Definition
A no-fault eviction terminates a tenancy for the owner's reasons rather than anything the tenant did. Under Civil Code § 1946.2 the no-fault causes are owner or qualifying family move-in, withdrawal of the property from the rental market (the Ellis Act path), compliance with a government or court order, and substantial remodel or demolition.
Every no-fault termination owes relocation assistance — one month's rent statewide, paid within 15 days of the notice or credited as a final-month waiver — and local ordinances layer stricter versions on top: fewer permitted causes, protected-tenant carve-outs, and relocation schedules far above the state floor.
Why it matters in an underwrite
No-fault causes are the levers a repositioning or redevelopment must pull, and each carries a price and a proof burden: owner move-in has SB 567's 90-day/12-month occupancy test, substantial remodel needs permits and 30-plus days of genuine untenantability, and Ellis takes the whole building out of the rental business with a multi-year re-rental tail. Local relocation on these paths can run to five figures per unit — budget by jurisdiction, not by the state's one-month floor.
Sources & related guides
See also
See the term in the law itself
Read the controlling text in the Code Library, or ask the AI how it applies to your project.
Last reviewed 2026-07-29. General information, not legal advice.