California Tenant Rights & Lease Help | Coming Soon
California enacted landmark statewide tenant protections in 2019 with AB 1482, capping rent increases and requiring just cause for most evictions. LeasePlain's AI lease analysis for California is in development — here's a guide to current California tenant rights.
California Tenancy Law Overview
California's tenancy law landscape is a patchwork of state law and local ordinances. The state's baseline is set by the Civil Code, the Code of Civil Procedure (for evictions), and the landmark Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482). On top of state law, many California cities have enacted their own stronger protections — particularly rent stabilization and just-cause eviction rules.
AB 1482 does not apply to all rentals. Key exemptions include: single-family homes and condos (unless owned by a corporation or REIT), buildings constructed within the last 15 years (on a rolling basis), and owner-occupied duplexes. If your unit is exempt from AB 1482, you may still be covered by a local ordinance.
Key California Tenant Protections
- AB 1482 (Tenant Protection Act of 2019) caps annual rent increases at 5% plus local CPI, with a maximum of 10%, for most covered tenancies.
- AB 1482 also requires "just cause" for evictions of tenants who have lived in a unit for 12 months or more.
- Security deposits in California are capped at one month's rent for unfurnished units and two months' rent for furnished units (as of legislation effective April 2024).
- Landlords must return security deposits within 21 days of tenancy end with an itemized statement.
- The Anti-Price Gouging Law (Penal Code § 396) prohibits rent increases above 10% in declared state of emergency areas.
- Local rent control ordinances (e.g., Los Angeles RSO, San Francisco Rent Ordinance) may provide additional protections beyond AB 1482.
- Landlords must maintain rental units in habitable condition — tenants have the right to "repair and deduct" for serious habitability issues.
AB 1482: Just Cause Eviction
Under AB 1482, California landlords cannot evict tenants who have lived in a covered unit for 12 months or longer without "just cause." Just cause includes both "at-fault" reasons (non-payment of rent, criminal activity, lease violations) and "no-fault" reasons (owner move-in, substantial remodel, withdrawal of unit from rental market). For no-fault evictions, the landlord must pay the tenant one month's rent as relocation assistance. These protections represent a major departure from California's historically landlord-friendly eviction framework.
California Cities
More California cities coming soon — San Francisco, San Diego, Oakland, and others.