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California Department of Real Estate
Landlords' and Tenants' Rights Guide
Title Page
Introduction
New California Laws for 2025
How to Use this Guide
Table of Contents
Glossary
Who is a Landlord and Who is a Tenant?
General Information about Landlords and Tenants
Special Situations
> Hotels and motels
> Residential hotels
> Single lodger in a private residence
> Transitional housing
> Mobilehome parks and recreational vehicle parks
Looking for a Rental Unit
Looking for a rental unit
> Inspecting before you rent
The Rental Application
> Criminal History
> Prepaid Rental Listing Services
> Other Rental Application Considerations
Credit Checks
Application Screening Fee
Holding Deposit
Unlawful Discrimination
> What is unlawful discrimination?
> Limited exceptions for single rooms and roommates
> Resolving housing discrimination problems
Before You Agree to Rent
Rental Agreements and Leases
General information
> Oral and Written Agreements
> Fixed Term and Periodic Tenancies
Shared Utility Meters
Translation of Proposed Rental Agreement
When You have Decided to Rent
What the Rental Agreement Should Include
> Key terms
> Alterations to Accommodate a Tenant with a Disability
> Tenant's basic legal rights
> The duty of good faith and fair dealing
Landlord's Disclosures
> Lead-based paint
> Periodic pest control treatments
> Bed Bugs
> Asbestos
> Carcinogenic material
> Methamphetamine contamination
> Demolition permit
> Military base or explosives
> Death in the rental unit
> Condominium conversion project
> Flood Hazard
> Megan's Law
Basic Rules Governing Security Deposits
The Inventory Checklist
Renter's Insurance
Limits to Rent Increases and Local Rent Stabilization Programs
Living in the Rental Unit
Paying the Rent
> When is rent due?
> Check, money order, electronic funds transfer, or cash?
> Obtaining receipts for rent payments
> Late fees and dishonored check fees
> Partial rent payments
Security Deposit Increases
Rent Increases
> How much can rent be raised?
> How often can rent be raised?
> Rent increase; notice and effective date
> Example of a rent increase
When Can the Landlord Enter the Rental Unit?
Subleases and Assignments
> Subleases
> Assignments
> Short Term Rentals
Dealing with Problems
Repairs and Habitability
> Landlord's responsibility for repairs
> Tenant's responsibility for repairs
> Conditions that make a rental unit legally uninhabitable
> Limitations on landlord's duty to keep the rental unit habitable
> Responsibility for other kinds of repairs
> Tenant's agreement to make repairs
Having Repairs Made
> The "repair and deduct" remedy
> The "abandonment" remedy
> The "rent withholding" remedy
> Giving the landlord notice
> Tenant information
> Lawsuit for damages as a remedy
> Resolving complaints out of court
> Landlord's Sale of the Rental Unit
> When property is sold in foreclosure
Condominium Conversions
Demolition of Dwelling
Influencing the Tenant to Move
Moving Out
Giving and Receiving Proper Notice
> Tenant's notice to end a periodic tenancy
> Special rights of tenants who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder/dependent adult abuse.
> Landlord's notice to end a periodic tenancy
TENANT PROTECTION ACT of 2019
Advance Payment of Last Month's Rent
Refund of Security Deposits
Common problems and how to avoid them
> Initial Inspection Before Tenant Moves Out
> Landlord's notice
> Scheduling the inspection
> Itemized statement
> Final inspection
> Example
> Suggested Approaches to Security Deposit Deductions
> Refund of security deposits after sale of building
> Legal actions for obtaining refund of security deposits
Tenant's Death
Moving out at the end of a rental agreement
The Inventory Checklist
Terminations and Evictions
When can a Landlord Terminate a Tenancy?
> Written Notices of Termination
> 30-day, 60-day, or 90-day notice
> How to respond to a 30-day, 60-day or 90-day notice
> Three-day notice
> How to respond to a three-day Notice
How to count the three-dayS
Proper Service of Termination Notices
The Eviction Process (Unlawful Detainer Lawsuit)
> Eviction Moratorium Alert
> Overview of the eviction process
> How to respond to an unlawful detainer lawsuit
> Eviction of "unnamed occupants"
> Before the court hearing
> Discovery in Unlawful Detainer Cases
> After the court's decision
> Writ of possession
> Stay of Execution
> Setting aside or vacating a default judgment or trial judgment
> A word about bankruptcy
> Retaliatory discrimination
Resolving Problems
Talk With Your Landlord
Getting Help From a Third Party
Arbitration and Mediation
Glossar
y
Appendix 1 - Occupants Not Named in Eviction Lawsuit
Appendix 1 Introduction
> Occupants Not Named in Eviction Lawsuit
> Occupants Not Named in Writ of Possession
Appendix 2 - List of Cities with Rent Control Ordinances
Appendix 3 - Tenant Information and Assistance Resources
Appendix 4 - Other Resources
Appendix 4 - Other Tenant Resources
Publications on Landlord/Tenant Law
Books
Department of Consumer Affairs - Other Resources
Appendix 5 - Legally Required Text of Notices
Appendix 4 - Other Tenant Resources
Publications on Landlord/Tenant Law
Books
Department of Consumer Affairs - Other Resources
Inventory Checklists
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