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California housing & tenant law

California housing & tenant laws, explained

Rent caps, evictions, deposits, repairs, who may enter and when, fair housing, and ADU rights in California come from a stack of overlapping state laws and local ordinances. These guides explain each one in plain English and link the statute text — then ask GoCodebook how they apply to a specific property.

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Rent caps & eviction

The statewide cap and just-cause rules, the laws that limit local rent control, and the one lawful exit from the rental business.

California Rent Control

How rent control works in California — statewide caps, local ordinances, and what's exempt.

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AB 1482 — Tenant Protection Act of 2019

Statewide rent caps and just-cause eviction protections for most California rentals.

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Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act

The state law that limits local rent control on newer units and vacant apartments.

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Ellis Act

The law letting landlords exit the rental business and withdraw units from the market.

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SB 567 — Homelessness Prevention Act

The 2024 amendments that tightened AB 1482's just-cause and rent-cap rules.

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Just Cause Eviction (Civil Code § 1946.2)

When a landlord must have a valid reason to end a tenancy in California.

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Statewide Rent Cap (Civil Code § 1947.12)

How much rent can legally increase each year under California's statewide cap.

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City ordinances on top of the state floor: Los Angeles, San Francisco — or compare rent control by city.

Deposits, repairs, entry & the lease

The Civil Code sections every California tenancy runs on — what a landlord may charge, must fix, may enter for, and may recover.

Security Deposits (Civil Code § 1950.5)

How much a landlord may collect, what it may be used for, and the deadline and itemization for returning it.

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Habitability & Repair-and-Deduct (§§ 1941–1942)

What makes a rental untenantable, the locks a landlord must provide, and when a tenant may repair and deduct.

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Retaliatory Eviction (Civil Code § 1942.5)

The protection against being evicted or penalized for complaining about conditions or exercising a tenant right.

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Landlord Entry & Notice (Civil Code § 1954)

When a landlord may enter a rental, the notice it takes, and the exceptions.

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Breaking a Lease — Damages (§§ 1951.2, 1951.4)

What a landlord may recover when a tenant leaves early, and the duty to mitigate that limits it.

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Tenant Harassment, Lockouts & Owner Disclosure

The conduct a landlord may never use to push a tenant out, and the owner information every tenant is owed.

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Fair housing & discrimination

FEHA and the Civil Rights Department's housing regulations — source of income, assistance animals, accommodations, criminal history.

California Fair Housing Law (FEHA & 2 CCR)

Who and what the Fair Employment and Housing Act reaches, and how intentional discrimination and discriminatory effect are proved.

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Source of Income Discrimination (Section 8)

Why a voucher is income, what a landlord may verify, and how income screens must treat the tenant's share of rent.

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Assistance Animals in Rental Housing

Service and support animals — what a housing provider may ask, may not charge, and when it may say no.

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Reasonable Accommodations & Modifications

The interactive process, the documentation a provider may request, the grounds for denial, and who pays for a physical change.

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Criminal History in Tenant Screening

What criminal history a housing provider may consider, the individualized assessment it owes, and what it may never use.

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Accessory dwelling units

The state ADU floor that limits what a city may require.

California ADU Laws

State ADU and JADU rules that override many local restrictions on accessory dwelling units.

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Read the statute text

The enacted renting, eviction and fair-housing sections behind these guides, verbatim in the Code Library — 105 sections.

See them by subject on the Renting & eviction shelf of the Code Library.

Landlord–tenant, rent & habitability

AB 1482 and the statewide rent cap, just cause, Costa-Hawkins and the Ellis Act, with the Civil Code sections on deposits, habitability, repair-and-deduct, entry, retaliation, lockouts and utility shutoffs, and the Health & Safety Code housing standards. Selected sections, not the whole Civil Code.

Eviction lawsuits (unlawful detainer)

Code of Civil Procedure §§ 1159–1179a — the notices that start an eviction, the summary court case, the judgment, and the relief a tenant may ask for.

Fair housing (FEHA & 2 CCR)

Government Code § 12955 and the Civil Rights Department's housing regulations — discrimination, source of income, reasonable accommodation, assistance animals, criminal history.

Other property law, by subject

Rules that are not about renting each have their own shelf in the Code Library.

Buying & selling

Real estate licensing & brokerage · Seller disclosure forms

Open the shelf →

Owning & HOAs

Common interest developments & HOAs (Davis-Stirling Act) · Property insurance (Insurance Code) · Trusts & estates (Probate Code)

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Foreclosure & auctions

Mortgages & foreclosure (Civil Code § 2924 series)

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Property taxes

Property tax rules & BOE guidance (18 CCR)

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How to read these against your city

Almost every wrong answer in California housing law comes from mixing up which layer is speaking. Four rules keep it straight.

State law sets the floor

Statewide protections apply everywhere. A city may add to them, but it can't take them away — a tenant in a city with no local ordinance is still covered by state law.

A cap on cities isn't a rule for you

Language like "a city shall not require more than X" limits what the city may demand. It doesn't mean X is required. Read it as a ceiling on local regulation, not the standard itself.

Local ordinances layer on top

Rent stabilization, just-cause rules and ADU standards often exist locally as well. Where both apply, the more protective provision usually governs — but the interaction is specific to the ordinance.

Exemptions decide most outcomes

Whether a statute reaches a given property usually turns on build date, ownership and unit count. Costa-Hawkins and AB 1482's exemptions do more work than the headline rules do.

Minimal illustration of a statute document with a § heading and one clause highlighted in near-black, connected by a line to a house — the clause that reaches the home
Usually one clause — an exemption, a date, a unit count — decides whether a statute reaches your property.

Where to start

The same statute reads differently depending on which side of it you're on.

Renting out a property

Start with the statewide rent cap and just-cause rules, then check whether your building is exempt and whether your city has its own stabilization ordinance.

Adding a unit or ADU

State ADU law limits what a city can require on size, setbacks, parking and review time. The local ordinance fills in the rest — and can't undercut the state floor.

Renting a home

Check whether your tenancy is covered by the statewide cap or a local ordinance, and what notice and cause your landlord needs before ending it.

Local rules live on each city page — state law here, the ordinance there.

Developing or repositioning a building?

These tenant-law pages cover the landlord–tenant layer. For the development side — density bonus math, streamlined approvals, demolition and replacement duties, impact fees, CEQA and affordable financing — the developer guides walk the underwriting angle, with every rule linked to the verbatim statute.

Common questions

Does the statewide rent cap apply to my building?

It depends on the building's age and ownership. California's statewide cap exempts newer construction on a rolling basis and certain single-family and owner-occupied situations, and units already under a stricter local rent-stabilization ordinance are governed by that ordinance instead. The exemption tests are where nearly every dispute lands, so check them against the specific property.

My city has rent control. Does state law still matter?

Yes. State law sets protections that apply regardless, constrains what local ordinances may cover, and governs anything the local ordinance is silent on. Local and state rules are read together — the local ordinance doesn't replace the state layer.

Can my city just say no to an ADU?

Not outright. State ADU law requires ministerial approval of qualifying units and caps what cities can impose on size, setbacks, parking and review timelines. Cities set local standards within those limits, so the practical answer is usually about which standards apply, not whether an ADU is allowed at all.

Where do I read the actual statute?

Each guide here links to the controlling code sections, and the Code Library holds the enacted text so you can read the operative language and its exemptions directly rather than relying on a summary.

These are general information, not legal advice — read the enacted text in the Code Library and confirm anything you rely on.