Owner Section

Landlord Laws for 2025

Landlord-Tenant: Expands the law re the landlord’s duty to change the locks upon request of a victim of abuse.

Under existing law when a tenant is a victim of abuse, the landlord must change
the locks upon written request within 24 hours after receiving appropriate
documentation. If the person alleged to have committed the abuse is a tenant in
the same dwelling unit, then a court order excluding that person from the
dwelling would be necessary. If not, then various types of supporting
documentation would be acceptable.
This new law clarifies that the landlord is responsible for the cost of changing the
locks; extends the lock change protection to immediate family or household
members of a tenant; expands the acceptable supporting documentation of
abuse or violence triggering the lock change protection; and prohibits a landlord
from taking adverse action against a prospective tenant because of their use of
the lock change protection.

Senate Bill 1051

Adds to the existing duty of the landlord to change locks upon request
as follows:

01

Landlord to bear costs

Clarifies that a landlord is responsible for paying the cost of changing the locks which must be done within 24 hours of receiving appropriate documentation. If the landlord does not change the locks within 24 hours, the tenant may do so without the landlord’s permission, regardless of any lease term to the contrary, and the landlord is to reimburse the tenant for that cost within 21 days.

02

Immediate family or other household members are protected: Expands

Expands the category of eligible tenants to include an immediate family or household member of a tenant so that an immediate family or household member of a tenant, who is the victim of abuse or violence, is entitled to the lock-change protections.

03

Expands range of documentation that qualifies

Expands the acceptable supporting documentation substantiating the lock-change request to include documentation from a qualified third party acting in their professional capacity. A form template is written into the law that may be used for this purpose. Additionally, acceptable supporting documentation substantiating the lock- change request includes any other form of documentation that reasonably verifies that the abuse or violence occurred, including, but not limited to, a signed statement from the eligible tenant.

04

Tenant Screening

Prohibits a landlord or a landlord’s agent, when screening a prospective tenant, from taking an adverse action (such as denying the rental application) based on the following: a) An allegation that the prospective tenant breached a lease stemming from an act of abuse or violence against the tenant. b) The prospective tenant having previously requested to have their locks changed because of abuse or violence. c) The prospective tenant having been a victim of abuse or violence. d) The prospective tenant, or a guest of the prospective tenant, having previously summoned law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance, as, or on behalf of a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency. Penalties: If a landlord or their agent makes a prohibited adverse action when screening a prospective tenant, they are liable for actual damages, statutory damages between $100 and $5,000, and any other remedy provided by law.

*Senate Bill 1051 is codified as Civil Code§§1941.6 and 1946.9. Effective January 1, 2025.

Landlord/Tenant: Security deposit; Move-in and move-out photos

Requires residential landlords to take move-in, move-out and post-repair and cleaning photos demonstrating deductions.

Deductions for cleaning and damages must be “reasonably necessary” to return property back to its initial condition. Professional carpet cleaning, and the cost of materials and charges for work performed for repairs is specifically cited as subject to this rule.

Move-in, Move-out and post-repair and cleaning photos required:

  • Beginning April 1, 2025, the landlord is required to take photographs of the unit within a reasonable time after the possession of the unit is returned to the landlord, but prior to any repairs or cleaning for which the landlord will make a deduction from or claim against the security deposit pursuant to this section and
  • The landlord is also required to take photographs of the unit within a reasonable time after such repairs or cleanings are completed.
  • For tenancies that begin on or after July 1, 2025, the landlord is required to take photographs of the unit immediately before, or at the inception of, the tenancy.

In returning the itemized statement of deductions, if a deduction is made for repairs or cleaning, the landlord shall:

  • Provide the photographs including the move-in, move-out and post repair and cleaning photos,
  • Along with a written explanation of the cost of the allowable repairs or cleanings.
  • The landlord may provide such photographs to the tenant by mail, email, computer flash drive, or by providing a link where the tenant may view the photographs online.
  • The landlord shall not be entitled to claim any amount of the security if the landlord, in bad faith, fails to comply with these requirements.

Permissible charges for repairs and carpet cleaning if “reasonably necessary”:
The landlord may not claim deductions from the security for damage or defective conditions that preexisted the tenancy or for ordinary wear and tear.

  • Claims for materials or supplies and for work performed by a contractor, the landlord, or the landlord’s employee shall be limited to a reasonable amount necessary to restore the premises back to the condition it was in at the inception of the tenancy, exclusive of ordinary wear and tear. 
  • The landlord shall not require a tenant to pay for or assert a claim against the tenant or the security for, professional carpet cleaning or other professional cleaning services, unless reasonably necessary to return the premises to the condition it was in at the inception of tenancy, exclusive of ordinary wear and tear.

Comment: The security deposit law already included the prohibition against making deductions from the security deposit unless “reasonably necessary” for the purposes specified in the law. These provisions reiterate the “reasonably necessary” prohibition but are now more specific in regard to charges for materials and work and claims for
professional carpet cleaning or other professional cleaning services.

Assembly Bill 2801 is codified as Civil Code§1950.5. Effective January 1, 2025.