What a Landlord Cannot Do in California
The main limits California law puts on landlords — lockouts and utility shutoffs, entering without notice, retaliation, deposits, fees and discrimination — each with the statute or official source.
In short: a California landlord cannot evict without a court order, cannot punish a tenant for asserting legal rights where state law protects them, and must follow the state's rules on entry, deposits and fees shown below.
| Lockouts & utility shutoffs | Prohibited when done to force the tenant out: willfully cutting utilities (water, heat, light, electricity, gas, telephone, elevator, refrigeration), changing locks, removing doors or windows, or removing the tenant's belongings. The tenant may recover actual damages plus up to $100 per day of violation, with a minimum of $250 per cause of action, and reasonable attorney's fees. Only the sheriff may remove a tenant, after a court judgment and writ. Source: Cal. Civ. Code § 789.3 |
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| Landlord entry notice | Reasonable written notice, presumed to be 24 hours, or 6 days if mailed. The notice states the date, approximate time, and purpose. Entry must be during normal business hours, and only for emergencies, repairs or services, showing the unit, inspections, court orders, or after abandonment. No notice is needed in an emergency, when the tenant is present and consents, or after abandonment. Oral notice of 24 hours is allowed for showing to buyers if the tenant was told in writing within the last 120 days that the property is for sale. A significant, intentional § 1954 violation meant to make the tenant leave can bring a civil penalty of up to $2,000 per violation (§ 1940.2). Source: Cal. Civ. Code § 1954 |
| Landlord retaliation | A landlord may not evict, raise rent, or reduce services within 180 days after the tenant, in good faith, gives a repair notice under § 1942, reports a suspected bed bug infestation, complains about habitability, complains to a housing agency, or takes part in a related inspection, lawsuit, or arbitration. This applies only if the tenant is not behind on rent, and a tenant may invoke it once per 12 months. Retaliation for organizing or joining a tenants' association, or for exercising other legal rights, is also unlawful. Threatening to report a tenant to immigration authorities counts as retaliation. Remedies include actual damages plus punitive damages of $100 to $2,000 per retaliatory act for fraud, oppression, or malice (§ 1942.5(h)). Source: Cal. Civ. Code § 1942.5 |
| Security deposit limit | One month's rent, in addition to the first month's rent. Small-landlord exception: up to two months' rent if the landlord is a natural person (or an LLC whose members are all natural persons) who owns no more than two residential rental properties with no more than four units in total. The exception does not apply if the prospective tenant is a service member. AB 12 (2023) cap applies to security collected on or after July 1, 2024 (§ 1950.5(c)(6)). Advance payment of 6+ months' rent is allowed on leases of 6 months or longer. Since April 1, 2025, a landlord who charges a service member a higher deposit must explain why in writing and return the extra after 6 months if rent is current. 'Nonrefundable' deposits are prohibited (§ 1950.5(n)). |
| Penalty for withholding | Bad-faith retention can bring statutory damages of up to twice the amount of the deposit, plus actual damages. A landlord who in bad faith fails to comply with the itemization and documentation rules may claim no part of the deposit. The landlord bears the burden of proving the deductions were reasonable. Deposit suits may be filed in small claims court (§ 1950.5(o)). |
| Late fees | No statutory dollar cap or grace period. Late fees in residential leases are treated as liquidated damages, which are void unless it would be impracticable or extremely difficult to fix the landlord's actual damages and the amount is a reasonable estimate of them. Local ordinances may set additional limits. Source: Cal. Civ. Code § 1671(c)(2), (d) |
| Rent control / increase limits | Statewide cap (AB 1482, Tenant Protection Act): within any 12 months, rent may rise by no more than 5% plus the local CPI change, or 10%, whichever is lower, in no more than two increments. Exemptions include housing with a certificate of occupancy issued within the past 15 years, deed-restricted affordable housing, dorms, and qualifying single-family homes and condos not owned by a REIT, corporation, or corporate-member LLC, if the required exemption notice was given. Local rent control is allowed, within the limits of the Costa-Hawkins Act (Civ. Code § 1954.50 et seq.). § 1947.12 was re-enacted by SB 567 (Stats. 2023, ch. 290), operative April 1, 2024, and is repealed January 1, 2030. The initial rent for a new tenancy is not capped (§ 1947.12(b)). Source: Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 |
| Statewide ban on refusing Section 8 / source of income | Yes. Statewide, owners may not discriminate in housing because of source of income, or advertise a preference based on it. Source of income means lawful, verifiable income paid to the tenant or a representative, or paid to the landlord for the tenant. It includes federal, state, and local public assistance and housing subsidies, including Section 8 vouchers. HUD-VASH vouchers are expressly included. When there is a government rent subsidy, the owner may not apply income standards to the full rent rather than the tenant's share. Since January 1, 2024 (SB 267), the owner also may not use credit history without offering the applicant the option to show ability to pay the tenant's share with alternative evidence (such as benefit records, pay records, or bank statements), and must reasonably consider that evidence. Current § 12927(i) text (last amended by Stats. 2019, ch. 601, SB 222) verified. Exemptions under FEHA (for example, certain owner-occupied single-roomer situations) were not re-verified. Text verified via the Legislative Counsel pubinfo database. |
| Cameras & privacy | No landlord-specific camera statute. It is a crime to view or record, by camera, phone or other device, the interior of a bedroom, bathroom or other area where the occupant has a reasonable expectation of privacy with intent to invade privacy. Recording a confidential conversation requires the consent of all parties. A landlord may enter only for listed reasons and, except in emergencies, generally with 24 hours' written notice. Because California requires all-party consent to record confidential conversations, cameras that capture audio raise added legal risk. Re-verified 2026-10-27. |
| Other rental fees | Any fee charged at the start of a tenancy to cover the cost of processing a new tenant counts as 'security'. It therefore falls under the deposit cap and refund rules, and no part of it may be labeled nonrefundable. Application screening fees are regulated separately. A landlord must accept at least one form of rent payment that is neither cash nor electronic funds transfer, and may not charge a fee for paying rent or deposit by check. Since January 1, 2025 (SB 611), a landlord may not charge a fee for serving, posting, or delivering a termination notice. If a tenant opts into positive rent reporting to credit bureaus, the landlord may charge no more than the lesser of its actual cost or $10 per month, and nothing if it has no cost. Positive rent reporting offer: Civ. Code § 1954.07 (AB 2747, Stats. 2024, ch. 279). Local ordinances may add limits. Text verified via the Legislative Counsel pubinfo database. |
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General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.