How to become a landlord in California

Prepare the property, screening process, lease notices and condition record before move-in. Review both state requirements and the rules for the property’s city, including coverage or exemptions that depend on the particular home. Use the detailed guide topics for the legal conditions behind each step (Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2(f)).

• Compare similar homes by location, size, condition and included services. Budget for taxes, insurance, utilities you pay, repairs, turnover and vacancy, with a reserve for unexpected work. Check local rental registration, inspection and safety requirements. Review applicable rent-cap and just-cause coverage before projecting future rent increases or making plans to end a tenancy (Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12(a)).See Rent caps and local rules on the California page
• Prepare consistent lawful screening criteria, the permitted application-fee process and required report or decision notices. Review the income-source and criminal-record protections before ordering reports or evaluating results. Keep the criteria, fee receipts, report information, communications and notice delivery records together with appropriate access limits (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.6(a), (b)).See Application screening fees on the California page
• Confirm the parties, home, dates, rent, utilities, payment methods, deposits and notice contacts in the lease. Review the applicable rent-cap/just-cause, bed bug, database, flood and other disclosures described in this guide. Check deposit limits and exceptions separately; the presence of furniture is not the test for the qualifying small-landlord exception. Keep signed copies and delivery records (Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2(f); Cal. Civ. Code § 2079.10a(a); Cal. Civ. Code § 1954.603; Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(b), (c)).See Required disclosures on the California page
• Finish repairs and safety checks, and arrange reliable repair contacts. Make the required move-in photographs for covered new tenancies and keep a dated condition record. Explain rent payments, repair reporting and urgent contacts to the resident. Organize the ledger, receipts, notices, communications and repair history, and calendar lease events and deadlines (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(g); Cal. Civ. Code § 1941.1(a)).See Move-in condition and photographs on the California page

Besides the flood and owner identity disclosures, California requires several notices in or before the lease, depending on the property. The main statewide ones are the rent cap and just cause notice for covered housing, the registered sex offender database notice and the bed bug notice (Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2(f); Cal. Civ. Code § 2079.10a(a); Cal. Civ. Code § 1954.603).

• For a tenancy covered by the statewide just cause and rent cap rules that began or renewed on or after July 1, 2020, give the statutory notice, in at least 12-point type, in the lease, as an addendum or as a notice signed by the tenant (Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2(f)(1), (f)(3)).
• Every lease of a single-family home, and of a property with more than four units, entered into on or after July 1, 1999 must carry the notice about the registered sex offender database, in at least 8-point type (Cal. Civ. Code § 2079.10a(a)(3)).
• Before creating a new tenancy, give the prospective tenant the written bed bug notice, in at least 10-point type. You may not show or rent a vacant unit you know has a current bed bug infestation (Cal. Civ. Code § 1954.603; Cal. Civ. Code § 1954.602(a)).
• If you apply for a permit to demolish the unit, tell a prospective tenant in writing before signing a lease or taking any application fee or other money, and tell current tenants before you apply; the notice must give the earliest approximate demolition date and the approximate date the tenancy will end (Cal. Civ. Code § 1940.6(a), (b)).
• If you know of a former federal or state military ordnance location in the neighborhood, tell a prospective tenant in writing before the lease is signed (Cal. Civ. Code § 1940.7(b)).
• If you have a contract for periodic pest control service, give each new tenant a copy of the pest control company's notice (Cal. Civ. Code § 1940.8).
• If you know that a tenant's gas or electric meter also serves areas outside the unit, disclose that before the tenancy begins, or when you discover it, and make one of the arrangements for paying for that service that the section requires (Cal. Civ. Code § 1940.9(a)).
• If a lease of more than one month is negotiated mainly in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese or Korean, give a translation of the whole lease in that language before it is signed (Cal. Civ. Code § 1632(b)(3)).
• From January 1, 2027, a rental listing or ad that uses a digitally altered image must say so next to the image and include, or link to, the unaltered image (Cal. Civ. Code § 1940.11 (Stats. 2026, ch. 572, AB 2025)).
• A landlord must offer each tenant the option of having positive rent payments reported to a consumer reporting agency, at lease signing for leases from April 1, 2025 and at least once a year, for a fee of no more than actual cost or $10 a month; a building of 15 or fewer units is exempt unless its owner is a REIT, corporation or LLC with a corporate member that owns more than one rental building (Cal. Civ. Code § 1954.07(a), (b), (g), (j)).

The lease must give the name, telephone number and usual street address for service of each person authorized to manage the property and of an owner or the owner's agent for service and notices, plus the name, phone and address of the person to whom rent is paid and the forms of payment (Cal. Civ. Code § 1962(a)(1) to (a)(3)).

• If rent may be paid in person, list the usual days and hours. You may instead give a bank account within five miles or the details for electronic funds transfer (Cal. Civ. Code § 1962(a)(2)).
• Give the tenant a copy of the lease within 15 days after the tenant signs it, and once a year on request (Cal. Civ. Code § 1962(a)(4)).

Every residential lease entered into on or after July 1, 2018 must disclose, in at least 8-point type, that the property is in a special flood hazard area or an area of potential flooding if you know it; that the tenant can look up hazards with the state Office of Emergency Services MyHazards tool, with its web address; that your insurance does not cover the tenant's belongings, so renter's and flood insurance are recommended; and that you need not give more flood information (Cal. Gov. Code § 8589.45(a)).

• You have actual knowledge if a public agency told you in writing, your lender requires flood insurance, or you carry flood insurance (Cal. Gov. Code § 8589.45(a)(1)).

Every dwelling unit must have approved smoke alarms installed. The owner of a rented apartment building or a rented single-family home is responsible for testing and maintaining them and must make sure they work when a new tenancy begins (Cal. Health & Safety Code § 13113.7(a), (d)(2)).

• The tenant must tell the owner or manager about an inoperable smoke alarm; the owner must fix reported problems and is not in violation for a problem it was not told about (Cal. Health & Safety Code § 13113.7(d)(2)(B)).
• To install, test or repair alarms you may enter with reasonable written notice during normal business hours; 24 hours is presumed reasonable (Cal. Health & Safety Code § 13113.7(d)(2)(A)).
• A unit with a fossil fuel burning heater or appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage must also have an approved carbon monoxide device, which the landlord must maintain, have working when the tenant takes possession, and repair once told of a problem (Cal. Health & Safety Code § 17926(a); Cal. Health & Safety Code § 17926.1(a), (c)).

You must install and maintain an operable dead bolt lock on each main swinging entry door, operable security or locking devices on windows designed to be opened, and code-compliant locks on exterior doors to common areas in multifamily buildings (Cal. Civ. Code § 1941.3(a)).

• The tenant must tell you about an inoperable lock; you are liable only if you do not fix it within a reasonable time after notice (Cal. Civ. Code § 1941.3(b)).
• On a protected tenant's written request with the required documentation, change the locks at your own expense within 24 hours and give the tenant a key (Cal. Civ. Code § 1941.5(b)).

You may not demand or receive security, however it is labeled, of more than one month's rent, in addition to any rent for the first month paid on or before move-in. Security means any payment, fee, deposit or charge imposed at the start of the tenancy to cover the cost of processing a new tenant or as an advance payment of rent, used for any purpose, so a pet deposit or a move-in fee counts toward the limit; an application screening fee does not (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(b), (c)).

• A landlord who is a natural person, or a limited liability company whose members are all natural persons, and who owns no more than two residential rental properties with no more than four dwelling units offered for rent in total, may take up to two months' rent. A settlor or beneficiary of a family trust counts as a natural person (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(c)(5)(A), (C)).
• The two-month limit never applies to a prospective tenant who is a service member, and you may not refuse to rent to a service member because of that (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(c)(5)(B)).
• If you charge a service member more than your standard or advertised security because of credit history, credit score, housing history or a similar factor, give a written statement of the higher amount and the reason on or before the date the lease is signed, put the return date in the lease, and return the extra after no more than six months of residency if the tenant is not behind on rent (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(c)(4)).
• An advance payment of at least six months' rent on a lease of six months or longer is outside the limit (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(c)(2)).
• The lease may not call any security nonrefundable (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(n)).
• The limit does not apply to security collected or demanded before July 1, 2024 (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(c)(6)).

State landlord and tenant law does not require a landlord to pay interest on a security deposit or to keep it in a separate account. The security is held for the tenant, and the tenant's claim to it comes before the claim of any of your creditors (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(d)).

• When your interest in the property ends, for example on a sale, you must within a reasonable time either transfer the security to your successor and notify the tenant, or return it to the tenant after deducting lawful claims (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(i)).
• Check city rules separately. For San Francisco, Administrative Code49.2 requires simple interest on deposits held at least one year, with an exception where rent is government-assisted or subsidized. It provides annual payment or rent credit and qualifying move-out prorated interest within two weeks; authorized withholding and fee-recovery provisions have their own limits. Use the applicable Rent Board rate for the due date or move-out date. This city example does not establish a statewide rate or another city's requirements (San Francisco Administrative Code § 49.2).

For a tenancy that begins on or after July 1, 2025, you must photograph the unit immediately before, or at the start of, the tenancy. You must also photograph it within a reasonable time after it is returned to you, before any repair or cleaning you will deduct for, and again after that work is done (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(g)).

• Within a reasonable time after either side gives notice to end the tenancy, or before the lease ends, tell the tenant in writing that the tenant may request an initial inspection and be present for it. If asked, inspect no earlier than two weeks before the tenancy ends, with at least 48 hours' written notice unless you both sign a waiver, so the tenant can fix problems and avoid deductions (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(f)(1)).
• The initial-inspection duties do not apply to terminations under CCP1161(2), (3) or (4). For a requested inspection, follow the scheduling, written notice and any signed waiver rules. Provide or leave the proposed repair/cleaning itemization with the required statutory text, and allow the resident to remedy identified issues before termination. Later damage and conditions hidden by possessions have separate treatment; the preliminary list is not permission for unsupported final charges (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(f)(1)-(7)).

An application screening fee may not exceed your actual out-of-pocket cost of gathering information about the applicant, including a screening or credit report and the reasonable value of your time, and never more than $30 per applicant, a figure you may adjust each year by the Consumer Price Index from January 1, 1998 (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.6(a), (b)).

• You may not charge a screening fee when you know or should know that no unit is available now or within a reasonable time (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.6(c)(1)).
• You may charge the fee only if, when you collect it, you offer one of two processes: consider completed applications in the order received under written screening criteria given with the application, approve the first qualified applicant and charge only applicants actually considered; or refund the whole fee to every applicant not selected within 7 days of choosing a tenant or 30 days after the application, whichever is first (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.6(c)(2)).
• Give the applicant a receipt that itemizes your out-of-pocket costs and time (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.6(d)).
• If you do not check references or obtain a credit report, return any part of the fee not used for those purposes (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.6(e)).
• If the applicant paid a screening fee, give the applicant a copy of their consumer credit report by personal delivery, mail or email within seven days after you receive it (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.6(f)).
• From April 1, 2027, you must have a written pet policy, even one that bans pets, link it on your website and in digital ads, give a copy with every rental application, and, on written request, refund the application fee within seven business days if failing to disclose it before charging the fee left the applicant ineligible or led them to withdraw (Cal. Civ. Code § 1942.7.5 (Stats. 2026, ch. 1025, SB 1296)).
• You may choose whether to accept reusable tenant screening reports. For an accepted qualifying report, charge neither an access fee nor an application screening fee. The statute specifies a report prepared within the prior 30 days at the applicant's request and expense, available to you at no cost, with the required identity, contact, employment, address, lawful eviction-history and currency information. Acceptance does not determine approval or remove other screening protections; a more protective local policy can apply (Cal. Civ. Code section 1950.1).
• The CCPA can cover a qualifying for-profit business that collects personal information, determines its processing purposes and operates in California, subject to revenue or personal-data volume and sale/sharing thresholds. CPPA's coverage FAQ also describes related entities and separate service-provider duties. Review the applicable business and information exemptions before deciding which privacy duties apply (California Privacy Protection Agency, coverage FAQs4 and16).
• If the CCPA covers the business and information, provide the required notice at or before collection: categories collected, purposes, sale or sharing, and the retention period or criteria, including the required sensitive-information disclosures. Keep collection, use, retention and sharing proportionate to the disclosed purposes, and retain information only as reasonably necessary for them. The section also requires appropriate reasonable security (Cal. Civ. Code section 1798.100(a), (c), (e)).
• For covered information, privacy rights can include knowing, correcting or deleting information, opting out of sale/sharing, limiting sensitive-information use and equal treatment for exercising rights. The CPPA explains verification requirements and exceptions, including legal obligations and legal claims. Evaluate the applicable request and exception rather than promising automatic deletion of every application or report (California Privacy Protection Agency, rights and exceptions FAQs7 and10).