A written residential lease in California draws its required contents from the Civil Code and a set of disclosure statutes spread across several codes. This article is part of California landlord-tenant law, and it covers the terms a lease must contain, the disclosures a landlord attaches before signing, the notice language required for rent increases and terminations, and the limits on what a lease can enforce.
The terms every California lease contains
A lease starts with the basics: the legal names of the landlord and tenant, the address of the unit, the rent and when it is due, and the length of the tenancy. A fixed-term lease states a start and end date. A periodic tenancy renews each rental period, usually monthly, until one side ends it with proper notice.
California adds one identification requirement that most tenants never think about. Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1962, the lease must give the name, street address, and telephone number of the person authorized to manage the property, and of an owner or agent who can accept legal notices and service of process. When a landlord leaves this out, the person who collects the rent becomes the agent for service by default, which is rarely what the landlord intended.
Disclosures a landlord must give before signing
Several statutes require a landlord to hand over specific information before the tenant signs. Most of these are attachments to the lease rather than clauses buried inside it.
- Lead-based paint. For housing built before 1978, federal law requires the landlord to provide the EPA lead-hazard pamphlet, disclose any known lead-based paint, and attach a lead warning statement to the lease. The EPA’s real estate disclosure rules set out the exact wording and records the landlord keeps.
- Sex offender database. Every California lease must include the Megan’s Law notice worded in
Cal. Civ. Code § 2079.10a. The notice explains how a tenant can search the state registry; the landlord is not required to research or report anything about specific offenders. - Deaths on the property.
Cal. Civ. Code § 1710.2frees a landlord from liability for not disclosing a death that occurred on the property more than three years before the tenant’s offer. A death inside that three-year window, and any death a tenant directly asks about, generally has to be disclosed. - Bed bugs. Since 2018,
Cal. Civ. Code § 1954.603has required landlords to give prospective tenants a written notice about bed bugs, including how to report a suspected infestation. - Flood risk. Under
Cal. Gov. Code § 8589.45, a landlord with actual knowledge that the unit sits in a special flood hazard area or an area of potential flooding must disclose that in the lease.
Rent-cap and just-cause notice language
Leases for units covered by the statewide Tenant Protection Act carry two pieces of required notice language. Both come from 2019 legislation and reach most rental housing more than 15 years old.
The rent cap comes from Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12, which limits an annual rent increase on a covered unit to 5 percent plus the regional change in the Consumer Price Index, and never more than 10 percent in any 12-month period. A covered lease has to state that the tenancy is subject to this cap. The mechanics of counting an increase against the ceiling are covered in how much a landlord can raise rent in California.
The just-cause rule comes from Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2, which requires a landlord to have just cause to end a tenancy once the tenant has continuously occupied the unit for 12 months. The statute also requires the lease, or a renewal entered after July 1, 2020, to include a notice describing that protection.
Security deposit limits and terms
Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 governs deposits. As of July 1, 2024, a landlord may collect no more than one month’s rent as a security deposit, whether the unit is furnished or unfurnished. A landlord who is a natural person and owns no more than two residential properties with no more than four total units may collect up to two months’ rent.
The statute also controls the back end of the tenancy. After a tenant moves out, the landlord has 21 days to return the deposit or send an itemized statement of any deductions. The full return timeline and the rules on allowable deductions are set out in California security deposit law.
Leases negotiated in another language
Cal. Civ. Code § 1632 requires a landlord who negotiates a lease primarily in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or Korean to give the tenant a written translation of the lease in that language before the tenant signs. The English document still governs the agreement, but the tenant is entitled to read the terms in the language the deal was negotiated in.
Terms a California lease cannot enforce
A lease can contain almost any term the parties agree to, but California voids the ones that strip away protected rights. Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1953, a lease provision that waives a tenant’s right to habitable housing, to the statutory deposit procedures, or to statutory notice and legal process is void as against public policy, even when the tenant signed it.
That is why a clause purporting to waive the 21-day deposit rule or the right to repairs carries no weight. The same principle shapes how a fixed-term lease ends early, including the landlord’s duty to try to re-rent the unit, which is covered in breaking a lease in California.
Frequently asked questions
Does a California lease have to be in writing?
A lease for a term longer than one year must be in writing to be enforceable under the statute of frauds. Month-to-month and shorter tenancies can be oral, but an oral agreement makes the required disclosures and notice language hard to document, so most landlords use a written form regardless of the term.
What happens if a landlord leaves out a required disclosure?
The consequence depends on the disclosure. Missing federal lead-paint disclosure can expose a landlord to civil penalties and damages. A missing Megan’s Law or bed bug notice does not automatically void the lease, but it can support a tenant’s position in a later dispute. Deposit, rent-cap, and just-cause protections apply by statute whether or not the lease repeats them.
Can a lease charge an extra security deposit for tenants with pets?
No separate pet deposit is allowed above the statutory cap. Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5, the one-month limit, or two months for a qualifying small landlord, covers the total security including any amount labeled a pet deposit. A landlord can charge additional monthly pet rent, which is not a deposit.
Is a month-to-month agreement covered by the same requirements?
Yes. The disclosure statutes, the deposit cap, and the Tenant Protection Act apply to periodic tenancies as well as fixed-term leases. The main difference is how the tenancy ends: a month-to-month tenancy can be changed or terminated with statutory notice, subject to the just-cause limits in Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 once the tenant has occupied the unit for 12 months.
Who must be named as the property’s contact in the lease?
Cal. Civ. Code § 1962 requires the lease to name the person authorized to manage the property and an owner or agent who can accept legal notices and service of process, with a street address and telephone number. When the landlord does not provide this, the person who collects the rent becomes the agent for service by default.