California Landlord-Tenant Law

Criminal Background Check

• HUD (Federal) laws do not classify criminal backgrounds as a protected class, but making a decision to rent based off a criminal background alone could lead to a discrimination charge as it impacts certain protected groups of people disproportionately.  However, if the criminal background check revealed a crime for the manufacture and distribution of drugs, homicide and/or stalking, denying the application is allowed.
• Landlords should have a consistent and equal policy or procedure in place to follow regarding criminal background checks so as not to discriminate against one class of people over another.
• HUD states that a landlord cannot ask about arrest records, only convictions, as innocent people are commonly arrested though the situation may not have resulted in a conviction.
• Some municipalities may have written their own laws expanding onto what you can and cannot ask regarding criminal backgrounds during the tenant screening process.

Tenant Screening Criteria

The State of California has no added laws or restrictions around the collection of criminal background checks. Adherence to general federal law is required. To avoid the perception of discrimination, make sure your screening criteria is stated and is consistent and equal for all groups of people.

Application Fee Laws 

• Currently, the maximum amount California landlords can charge for an application is $59.67 per applicant.
• California law states that an applicant can receive a refund in the amount of the screening fee if a landlord charged the fee but never pulled a credit report or performed a personal reference check.

California Lease Agreement Disclosures

Provisions that, if left out, invalidate the lease:

1. Meth Contamination Disclosure 
2. Flood Zone Disclosure
3. Bed Bugs Disclosure and information
4. Military Testing Site Disclosure
5. Notice of Change of Terms (Landlord-Tenant Act)
6. Notice of Lease Termination (Landlord-Tenant Act)
7. Notice of Exemption of Rent Limits (L-T Act)

Provisions that, if left out, allow your tenant to sue you:

1. Asbestos Disclosure
2. Rent Cap Disclosure
3. Mold Disclosure
4. Non-disclosure of Death Disclosure*

Build a California lease agreement with all of the required disclosures in less than 15 minutes.

*California landlords don’t have to disclose the manner of death, just any that occurred within the last three years.

California Lease Agreement Example

There are three sections to a residential lease agreement. The first section outlines the custom details of the contract, such as who’s involved and for what address. Here’s an example California lease agreement listing details found in Section 1:

Security Deposits

California landlords must return their tenants’ security deposit within 21 days of a tenant moving out. If landlords do not return the deposit before this time, then they must mail or hand-deliver a letter of explanation with:

• The itemized list of deductions
• The remaining deposit (if applicable)
• Receipts for itemized deductions over $125.00

Required Sex Offender Register Database Notification

Pursuant to Section 290.46 of the Penal Code, information about specified registered sex offenders is made available to the public via an Internet Web site maintained by the Department of Justice at www.meganslaw.ca.gov. Depending on an offender’s criminal history, this information will include either the address at which the offender resides or the community of residence and ZIP Code in which the offender resides. 

Utilities

Shared Utility Notification

Any utilities that are not separately metered must be disclosed to the tenant along with listing each shared utility, how the utilities are divided, and the payment arrangement.

Filing for Eviction in California

As of January 2020, California’s eviction laws have been updated, specifically that the reason for the eviction must be stated in the eviction notice, there must be preliminary warning for tenant’s to fix the problem, and for no-fault evictions, relocation assistance is one month’s rent.

Additionally, state laws on eviction cases were amended during the COVID-19 pandemic. The law provided protections for tenants who were given an eviction notice because they were unable to pay their rent or other charges due to COVID-19-related financial distress between March 1, 2020 through March 31, 2022.

The state offered a rental assistance program to pay landlords the rent due during that period on behalf of qualifying tenants.

As of July 1, 2022, landlords are no longer required to provide verifications regarding rental assistance in order for the court to issue a summons in an unlawful detainer case. However, verifications are still required to obtain a judgment or a default judgment. Learn more about current California eviction laws.