California Landlord-Tenant Laws

Verified July 7, 2026

Check your municipality. California does not preempt local rent regulation — city or county ordinances may impose rent caps, notice rules, and fee limits that are stricter than the state-level rules on this page and are not covered here. Verify your municipality's ordinances before relying on any figure below.

What the state record says

Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482, Civ. Code § 1947.12): annual increases on covered units capped at the lesser of 5% + regional CPI or 10%, measured against the lowest rent in the prior 12 months, max two increases per 12 months, in effect through 2030. Exempt: housing with certificate of occupancy within 15 years (rolling), most single-family homes/condos not owned by corporations or REITs (exemption requires statutory written disclosure to the tenant), owner-occupied duplexes. Stricter local rent-control ordinances control where they exist.

California Security deposits

California caps security deposits at one month's rent for leases signed on or after July 1, 2024, whether the unit is furnished or not — with a narrow small-landlord exception allowing two months.

Full rules, fact table & statute citations →

California Rent increase notice

California requires 30 days' written notice for a rent increase of 10% or less over any 12-month window, and 90 days' notice for anything larger — plus five extra days when the notice is mailed.

Full rules, fact table & statute citations →

California Late fees

California has no statutory dollar cap or mandatory grace period for residential late fees, but that does not make them a free-for-all: a late fee must be in the lease and is enforceable only as 'liquidated damages' — a genuine pre-estimate of what the late payment actually costs the landlord.

Full rules, fact table & statute citations →

California Entry notice

California landlords must give reasonable written notice before entering an occupied unit — 24 hours is presumed reasonable — stating the date, approximate time, and purpose, and entry must happen during normal business hours unless the tenant agrees otherwise.

Full rules, fact table & statute citations →

How this record was verified: Web verification against leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (Civ. Code 1950.5, 827; AB 12 bill text) with corroborating county/city government sources (SF.gov, LA County DCBA, San Mateo County) for AB 1482 and Civ. Code 1954 operation.