California rental housing laws
What California has enacted on rental housing, what each law requires, and what the bills still moving would do. California is one of 42 states that enacted a rental housing law in the 2025 and 2026 sessions.
167 new California laws take effect in 2027, 6 on rental housing
- Bills in scope
- 44bills in scope
- Past committee
- 33past committee
- Most recent action
- 30 September 2026most recent action
Rental housing laws enacted in California
19 rental housing laws enacted in the California Legislature in the 2025 and 2026 sessions, newest first. Each links to the legislature's own page.
What it requires: Unless required by federal law, covered housing providers shall not establish or implement rules, policies, or procedures imposing term limits or work requirements as conditions of eligibility for covered housing or affecting rent subsidy amounts. Covered housing providers may offer voluntary employment or job training programs if participation does not impact eligibility or subsidy amounts.
What it requires: Owners of qualified low-income buildings must provide written notice within 30 days if a household's income exceeds 140 percent of area median income during income certification. Owners electing nonrenewal based on income thresholds must issue notice at least 90 days before lease expiration, citing this section and stating the good cause basis.
Eviction procedure
What it requires: A landlord who allows tenants to have pets must provide a written pet policy and disclose it with rental applications, on the property's internet website, in digital advertisements, and to residential rental search engines. The policy must include breed and weight restrictions, fees with specific dollar amounts, pet limits, vaccination requirements, liability insurance requirements, and other material rules. If a landlord charges an application fee but fails to disclose the pet policy before charging, and the applicant becomes ineligible or declines to proceed, the landlord must refund the application fee within five business days of written notice.
Habitability and repairs
- AB 1817Mobilehome parks: termination of tenancy: failure to comply with a rule or regulation.Takes effect 1 January 2027
What it requires: Mobilehome park management must serve homeowners with written notice of alleged rule or regulation violations in the manner prescribed by Code of Civil Procedure Section 1162. The notice must recite the language of each rule or regulation, specific facts about the alleged violation, and any action required to comply. Homeowners have seven days to adhere after notice.
Eviction procedure
What it requires: Each court must report to the Judicial Council every month the total number of unlawful detainer cases filed, cases subject to default or stipulated judgments, cases that went to trial, and cases dismissed before trial, aggregated by ZIP Code of the premises. The Judicial Council must format this information in an electronic spreadsheet every four months and publicly post it on its website.
Eviction procedure
What it requires: Short-term rental facilitators must report to Indian tribes upon request the physical address including nine-digit ZIP Code of each short-term rental during the reporting period in the form and manner prescribed by the tribe. Facilitators must include applicable license numbers and transient occupancy tax certifications in short-term rental listings.
Short-term rentals
- SB 346Local agencies: transient occupancy taxes: short-term rental facilitator.Enacted 13 October 2025
What it requires: A short-term rental facilitator must report to a local agency, upon request and in the form prescribed, the physical address including nine-digit ZIP Code of each short-term rental during the reporting period. A short-term rental facilitator must include in each short-term rental listing any applicable local license number and transient occupancy tax certification.
Short-term rentals
What it requires: For residential tenancies commenced, renewed, or continuing on a month-to-month or other periodic basis on or after January 1, 2026, landlords or their agents must allow tenants to opt out of paying for third-party internet service provider subscriptions offered in connection with the tenancy. Landlords or their agents must not retaliate against tenants for exercising this right.
Fees, screening and rent pricing
What it requires: Lodging operators must provide a written notice in at least 12-point type to guests they believe are disaster-displaced before check-in for stays exceeding 30 days, and must obtain guest confirmation of their disaster status. Lodging operators must provide 72 hours written notice before requiring such guests to vacate after 30 days, except when guests fail to pay charges, interfere with other guests' quiet enjoyment, damage property, or pose safety risks.
Eviction procedure, Short-term rentals
What it requires: County clerks must maintain a publicly available register of process servers beginning January 1, 2027. Process servers must attempt personal delivery on at least three occasions on three different days at three different times to show reasonable diligence. Process servers must provide photographs with GPS coordinates and detailed statements in proofs of service for personal, substituted, or posting service in unlawful detainer actions.
Habitability and repairs
What it requires: Management of floating home marinas in the County of Marin shall not increase gross rental rates for tenancies more than the percent change in the cost of living over any 12-month period, with a minimum increase of 3 percent and maximum of 7.5 percent. Management must provide notice of increases and demonstrate that utility and incidental fees reflect actual costs. Management shall not charge fees for marina rule enforcement.
Rent caps and stabilization, Habitability and repairs
What it requires: Landlords must remove disaster debris and mitigate hazards within a reasonable time following government cleaning protocols. Management must return advance rental payments within 21 days when mobilehome tenancies terminate due to disaster damage. Tenants and homeowners are discharged from rent obligations during mandatory evacuation periods. The Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation must coordinate with mortgage lenders to facilitate forbearance and loss mitigation programs following wildfire emergencies.
Rent caps and stabilization, Eviction procedure, Habitability and repairs
What it requires: A tenant of residential real property may assert Social Security hardship as an affirmative defense in an unlawful detainer proceeding based on nonpayment of rent by providing evidence that Social Security benefits were terminated, delayed, or reduced due to no fault of the tenant and prevented rent payment. Within 14 days of benefits restoration, the tenant must pay all past due rent or enter a mutually agreed payment plan with the owner.
Eviction procedure
What it requires: Landlords must return security deposits within 21 calendar days after tenant vacation by personal delivery or check, or if they received security or rental payments electronically, by electronic transfer to a designated bank account unless parties agree otherwise in writing. Landlords must provide itemized statements of deductions and notify tenants of their right to electronic return.
Security deposits
What it requires: Landlords must provide stoves and refrigerators maintained in good working order for leases entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2026, except for specified dwelling unit types. Landlords must repair or replace recalled stoves or refrigerators within 30 days of receiving notice. Tenants and landlords may mutually agree for tenants to provide their own refrigerators under specified conditions.
Habitability and repairs
What it requires: The Judicial Council must create by January 1, 2027 a single mandatory summons form for unlawful detainer actions to remove tenants from residential properties that includes required information in English, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Korean. The Judicial Council must publish this form on its internet website.
Eviction procedure
What it requires: Owners of self-service storage facilities must disclose in rental agreements initially entered into on or after January 1, 2026 the initial length and renewal term, whether the occupant received a promotional or discounted rental fee and its duration, whether the rental fee is subject to change and the maximum fee for the first 12 months, termination steps, and owner contact information. These disclosures must appear on the first page in larger type with contrasting formatting.
What it requires: Owners of residential real property must not terminate a tenancy without just cause after 12 months of continuous lawful occupation. Owners must state just cause in written notice and provide relocation assistance or rent waiver equal to one month's rent for no-fault terminations. Owners of assisted housing developments must provide notice to tenants and qualified entities before expiration of rental restrictions or subsidy contracts.
Rent caps and stabilization, Eviction procedure
What it requires: Local agencies must ministerially approve accessory dwelling unit applications meeting specified standards without imposing fees in deed restrictions. Mortgage servicers must record certifications under penalty of perjury regarding unlawful practices before conducting nonjudicial foreclosure. Common interest development boards must limit monetary penalties to the lesser of adopted schedules or $100 per violation and provide cure opportunities before discipline meetings.
Rental housing in California, by topic
Eviction procedure
16 bills, 8 enacted. Enacted in 28 states.
Rent caps and stabilization
8 bills, 3 enacted. Enacted in 11 states.
Habitability and repairs
7 bills, 5 enacted. Enacted in 17 states.
Short-term rentals
6 bills, 3 enacted. Enacted in 7 states.
Fees, screening and rent pricing
6 bills, 1 enacted. Enacted in 15 states.
Security deposits
3 bills, 1 enacted. Enacted in 12 states.
Rental housing bills in California
The bills not yet law, furthest along first, with what each would do.
19Enacted
1Cleared both chambers
13Past committee
11Introduced or inactive
44 bills in scope
Cleared both chambers
1
What it would do: Expands price gouging prohibitions during emergencies to include displaced persons, adds civil penalties up to $2,500 per violation, requires housing listing platforms to remove price-gouging listings, and allows Governor-authorized extensions to be terminated by concurrent legislative resolution.
Past committee
13
What it would do: Modifies rent control exemptions for mobilehome spaces to apply when not used as permanent housing rather than when not the principal residence, requires management to notify homeowners before rent changes with a 90-day response period, and creates a rebuttable presumption favoring homeowner statements disputing non-permanent housing claims.
What it would do: Requires sellers and landlords of residential properties in two specified census tracts to disclose active, idle, orphaned, or abandoned wells within 300 feet and associated hazards. Requires multifamily dwelling owners in those tracts to maintain operational methane gas monitoring and alarm systems where wells exist or methane levels are elevated.
What it would do: Prohibits landlords from evicting federal employees or contractors for nonpayment of rent during government shutdowns and 30 days after, requires courts to stay pending evictions, prohibits late fees, and requires deferred rent be paid within 30 days of receiving retroactive backpay.
What it would do: Requires the California Coastal Commission to approve coastal development permits or local coastal program amendments from local governments restricting or prohibiting non-owner-occupied short-term rentals if the local agency finds it necessary to address significant local housing needs and the commission determines the permit strikes a reasonable balance between housing needs and public access to the coast.
What it would do: Prohibits landlords from charging tenants additional rent exceeding 1% of monthly rent for common household pets and limits pet-related security deposits to 15% of one month's rent, effective for rental agreements entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2027.
What it would do: Establishes an optional procedure for landlords to dispose of personal property abandoned in common areas during a tenancy by requiring written notice to the tenant and requiring landlords to prohibit storage charges if the tenant reclaims property within 15 days of receipt or 18 days after mailing.
What it would do: Requires landlords to provide a safe nonmechanical cooling method maintaining dwelling units at maximum 82 degrees Fahrenheit, effective for leases entered into on or after January 1, 2028, and permits tenants to install portable cooling devices at their own cost with five days' notice.
What it would do: Requires the Office of Emergency Services and Office of Tourism to establish public registration systems allowing registered eligible residential dwellings to operate as short-term rentals during declared emergencies or specified special events, and prohibits local governments from banning such rentals during these periods.
What it would do: Requires landlords to accept portable screening reports (consumer reports dated within 45 days, costing no more than $45) from prospective tenants and prohibits charging application fees if accepted. Requires landlords to provide written disclosure of all application requirements before accepting materials, with violations constituting unfair competition subject to civil liability and Attorney General enforcement.
What it would do: Extends price gouging restrictions from 30 to 60 days for most goods and services, adds commercial real property and housing without lease term limits to covered items, increases penalties for non-natural persons to $25,000, and applies rental price caps to commercial tenants.
What it would do: Requires landlords to make best efforts to provide reasonable accommodations to tenants who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or certain crimes, and respond within 5 calendar days. Prohibits retaliation and provides civil liability for violations.
What it would do: Prohibits selling, licensing, or providing rental pricing algorithms to multiple persons for setting rental terms, and prohibits using such algorithms that process nonpublic competitor data across multiple landlords in the same or related market. Authorizes civil actions by the Attorney General, city attorney, county counsel, or harmed persons for damages and penalties up to $1,000 per violation.
What it would do: Prohibits landlords from charging certain fees including late fees exceeding 2% of monthly rent, pet fees, and parking fees; limits total fees to 5% of monthly rent. Restricts accessory dwelling unit covenants from including fees. Extends housing development streamlining provisions indefinitely. Increases renter tax credits for 2026-2030.
Introduced or inactive
11
What it would do: Expands mobilehome park rent caps to apply statewide rather than only to parks spanning multiple cities, caps rent at January 5, 2026 levels for other parks starting January 1, 2027, and extends the repeal date from January 1, 2030 to January 1, 2036.
What it would do: Until January 1, 2030, prohibits landlords from evicting tenants whose income is impacted by immigration enforcement activities for 90 days after the hardship ends, requires courts to stay eviction proceedings if tenants provide detention-related hardship declarations, and prohibits charging late fees or selling such rental debt.
What it would do: Reduces maximum annual rent increases from 5% plus cost-of-living to 2% plus cost-of-living (capped at 5%), removes exemptions for separately alienable residential properties while preserving mobilehome exemptions, extends these provisions indefinitely by removing the January 1, 2030 repeal date, and authorizes county counsel to enforce nuisance abatement for motion pictures.
What it would do: Allows landlords to request inspections verifying habitability compliance before renting units and establishes a presumption of compliance for an unspecified period if no violations are found. Provides landlords an unspecified cure period for dilapidations tenants report during that period without violating habitability requirements.
What it would do: Requires landlords to limit tenant fees to rent, security deposits, government rent stabilization fees, and late fees for new tenancies starting January 1, 2026, and restricts fees for existing tenancies. Mandates advertising include all required fees and optional housing services with associated costs starting April 1, 2026.
What it would do: Expands rent cap protections in mobilehome parks to apply statewide rather than only to parks governed by two or more incorporated cities. The cap limits annual rent increases to the lower of 5% or 3% plus the percentage change in the cost of living.
What it would do: Amends Civil Code Section 798.56 to expand grounds for terminating mobilehome park tenancies to include conduct constituting substantial annoyance to park staff, park employees, or individuals contracted to provide services for the park, in addition to other homeowners and residents.
What it would do: Requires landlords to pay a tenant's calculated share of the security deposit when that tenant terminates tenancy because another tenant committed domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or related crimes, with remaining tenants jointly and severally liable for their share within 14 days.
What it would do: Requires courts to report monthly to the Judicial Council data on unlawful detainer cases aggregated by ZIP Code, including filings, counsel representation, judgments, and trial information for cases filed after January 1, 2026. Requires the Judicial Council to post this data publicly every four months and report it annually to the Legislature.
What it would do: Excludes housing built to replace a previous housing unit substantially damaged or destroyed by a disaster from the 15-year certificate of occupancy exemption, making such replacement housing subject to just cause eviction requirements under the Tenant Protection Act of 2019.
What it would do: Extends the notice period for rent default from 3 days to 14 days, excluding weekends and judicial holidays, before a landlord may file an unlawful detainer action. Makes conforming changes to related provisions.
Bill titles link to the California Legislature's own page.
What counts as rental housing legislation
In scope: Rent caps and stabilization; eviction procedure; fees, screening and rent pricing; security deposits; habitability and repairs; and short-term rentals.
Questions
Does California have a rental housing law?
Yes. California enacted 19 rental housing laws in the 2025 and 2026 sessions, among them AB 2128, AB 2689 and SB 1296. Each is listed on this page with what it requires.
When do California's rental housing laws take effect?
AB 2128 on 1 January 2027, AB 2689 on 1 January 2027, SB 1296 on 1 January 2027, AB 1817 on 1 January 2027 and SB 1160 on 1 January 2027. The others have no single date in their text.
Which rental housing bills are moving in California?
14 bills not yet law have passed a committee or a chamber, the furthest along SB 36 (vetoed), AB 768 (passed chamber) and AB 1725 (passed committee).
What does California legislate on most in rental housing?
Eviction procedure (16 bills), Rent caps and stabilization (8 bills) and Habitability and repairs (7 bills).
Are these summaries reviewed by a lawyer?
No. Which bills count as Rental housing bills, and the line on what each law requires or each bill would do, are drafted by software from the bill's own text and not reviewed by an attorney. Every bill links to the legislature's own record: read the text before relying on it. The list covers bills from the 2025 and 2026 sessions.
Other practice areas in California
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- Alcohol in California31
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- Data center and energy in California16
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- Employment in California196
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- Insurance in California146
- Intellectual Property in California10
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- All jurisdictions
Rental housing legislation in other jurisdictions
51 more currently hold bills in this tracker
- New Jersey209
- New York197
- Connecticut99
- Massachusetts86
- Virginia72
- Texas64
- Arizona59
- Maryland59
- Montana59
- Rhode Island54
- Illinois52
- Hawaii39
- Michigan38
- Florida36
- Oregon32
- Pennsylvania31
- Congress30
- Georgia28
- Kentucky28
- Indiana27
- Washington26
- Wisconsin26
- Maine25
- Missouri25
- Iowa24
- Minnesota22
- Vermont22
- Colorado21
- South Carolina19
- Kansas17
- Nebraska17
- New Hampshire17
- Oklahoma16
- Delaware15
- New Mexico15
- Tennessee15
- North Carolina14
- West Virginia14
- Nevada12
- Utah12
- Ohio11
- Idaho10
- Mississippi10
- District of Columbia9
- Louisiana9
- North Dakota8
- Arkansas5
- Alaska3
- South Dakota3
- Puerto Rico2
- Wyoming1
Know when California's rental housing law changes
An alert when a bill moves, and one report a month on what changed in every state and Congress.