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Eviction and just cause in Berkeley

City rule: eviction reasons include unpaid rent, substantial lease violations, substantial damage and refusing lawful access, each after written notice.

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Key points

  • Eviction reasons: City rule: eviction reasons include unpaid rent, substantial lease violations, substantial damage and refusing lawful access, each after written notice.

Each rule below links to the section of the Berkeley Municipal Code it was read from, with the code text one click away (checked October 2026). General information, not legal advice.

What Berkeley's code says

Berkeley code What Berkeley's code adds
Allowed at-fault reasons
  • Not paying rent after at least 3 days' written notice, unless the rent was lawfully withheld.
    Applies: Not a reason when the rent demanded is less than 1 month of HUD fair market rent for a similar Oakland-Fremont area unit.
    § 13.76.130 · code text
    1. Non-payment of Rent. The tenant has failed to pay rent to which the landlord is legally entitled pursuant to the lease or rental agreement and under the provisions of state or local law, unless the tenant has withheld rent pursuant to applicable law;
  • A substantial violation of an important lease term that causes substantial actual harm.
    Applies: Only if the tenant kept violating after written notice, the lease terms are reasonable and legal, the damage was substantial, and behavior unreasonable.
    § 13.76.130 · code text
    In order to assert this ground for eviction, the landlord must demonstrate all of the following: that the tenant’s lease violation caused substantial actual damage to the landlord; and that the tenant’s behavior was unreasonable.
  • Substantial damage to the premises.
    Applies: Tenant willfully caused or allowed substantial damage beyond normal wear and tear, then refused after written notice to pay repairs and stop.
    § 13.76.130 · code text
    3. Substantial Damage to Premises. The tenant has willfully caused or allowed substantial damage to the premises beyond normal wear and tear and has refused, after written notice, to pay the reasonable costs of repairing such damage and cease damaging said premises.
  • Destroying the peace and quiet of other tenants.
    Applies: Tenant kept being so disorderly after written notice to stop that it destroyed others' peace, or is otherwise evictable under state eviction law.
    § 13.76.130 · code text
    4. Destruction of Peace. The tenant has continued, following written notice to cease, to be so disorderly as to destroy the peace and quiet of other tenants or occupants of the premises or the tenant is otherwise subject to eviction pursuant to subdivision 4 of Code of Civil Procedure Section 1161.
  • Refusing the landlord lawful access to the unit.
    Applies: Tenant refused access after written notice, where state or local law requires the access.
    § 13.76.130 · code text
    5. Refusal of Lawful Access to Unit. The tenant has, after written notice to cease, refused the landlord access to the unit as required by state or local law.
Allowed no-fault reasons
  • Substantial, necessary repairs that cannot be done while the tenant lives there; tenant gets first right to return.
    Applies: City permits, good-faith health-and-safety repairs required; not if 60 days or less and tenant agrees in writing within 30 days to leave temporarily.
    § 13.76.130 · code text
    The landlord, after having obtained all necessary permits from the City, seeks in good faith to undertake substantial repairs which are necessary to bring the property into compliance with applicable codes and laws affecting the health and safety of tenants of the building or where necessary under an outstanding notice of code violations affecting the health and safety of tenants of the building, and where such repairs cannot be completed while the tenant resides on the premises.

The California rule underneath

Where Berkeley's rule above does not cover a situation, state law still applies. For the statewide rule on its own, see Just-cause eviction in California.

CA state law The statewide rule underneath
Just cause required
After 12 months of lawful occupancy, the owner may terminate only for a just cause stated in the notice
Applies: Covered units only (§ 1946.2(e) exempts, among others, housing built in the last 15 years and single-family homes or condos not owned by a corporation or REIT when the tenant got the required notice). If new adult tenants joined before anyone reached 24 months, all tenants need 12 months or one needs 24.
Civ. Code § 1946.2(a)
Chance to cure first
For a curable lease violation, the owner must first serve a notice to cure before a 3-day notice to quit
Civ. Code § 1946.2(c)
Just cause — new construction exemption
Housing with a certificate of occupancy issued within the previous 15 years is exempt (rolling)
Applies: Mobilehomes excepted.
Civ. Code § 1946.2(e)(7)
Just cause law sunset
§ 1946.2 is repealed on January 1, 2030 unless extended
Civ. Code § 1946.2(n)

Who this affects

TenantsLandlordsProperty managers

Frequently asked questions

Does a landlord in Berkeley need a reason to evict?

City rule: eviction reasons include unpaid rent, substantial lease violations, substantial damage and refusing lawful access, each after written notice.

General information, not legal advice.

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Berkeley Municipal Code — full text