Property Management & Landlord-Tenant

A lease for more than one year generally must be in writing under the Statute of Frauds. Month-to-month tenancies can be created by agreement or holdover after a fixed-term lease expires.

The Statute of Frauds generally requires a lease for a term longer than one year to be in writing to be enforceable. Shorter residential arrangements may be oral, although written terms reduce disputes about rent, services, occupants, and notice. A periodic tenancy—such as month-to-month—continues by rental periods until lawfully terminated; a fixed-term lease ordinarily ends on its stated date, subject to renewal, holdover, and applicable tenant-protection laws.

A tenant who remains after a fixed term may become a periodic tenant if the landlord accepts rent or the parties otherwise establish that relationship. Do not infer that the original term silently renews for another full year. Read the lease's holdover clause and applicable law, then determine what notices and just-cause protections apply before treating the tenancy as terminated.

For most California residential tenancies, the security-deposit ceiling is one month's rent regardless of furnished status. A narrow statutory exception allows qualifying small landlords to collect up to two months' rent. After vacancy, the landlord generally must return the balance and provide an itemized accounting within 21 calendar days, with permitted deductions and required supporting documentation; current photo duties also apply.

Civil Code § 1950.5 generally limits residential security to one month's rent, in addition to first month's rent, whether the unit is furnished or unfurnished. A narrow exception applies to a qualifying natural-person owner or qualifying LLC with no more than two residential rental properties and no more than four dwelling units collectively; verify the statute's exact qualifications and military-service limitation before relying on the higher ceiling. A deposit is not an automatic fee and may be used only for statutory purposes, including unpaid rent and specified cleaning or damage beyond ordinary wear.

No later than 21 calendar days after the tenant vacates, the landlord generally must return the remaining deposit and provide an itemized statement explaining deductions. Invoices, receipts, labor details, and estimates are subject to statutory requirements and exceptions; for tenancies beginning on or after July 1, 2025, move-in photographs are required, and since April 1, 2025, move-out photographs generally must be taken before deductible repair or cleaning, with after-photos when the work is complete. The statute includes exceptions, including small repair/cleaning totals and tenant waiver provisions; preserve records rather than assume photos are optional.

Residential landlords must maintain the property in a habitable condition under the implied warranty of habitability. Tenants have remedies including repair-and-deduct and rent withholding in appropriate circumstances.

Residential landlords generally must provide and maintain premises that meet the implied warranty of habitability and applicable housing standards. Depending on the facts, relevant conditions may include working essential services, weatherproofing, sanitation, safe common areas, and functioning plumbing or heat. A tenant's request for repair should be documented and handled promptly; the landlord should not retaliate for a tenant's lawful complaint.

Repair-and-deduct and rent withholding are limited remedies, not automatic permission to stop paying rent. Their availability depends on the defect, notice, landlord opportunity to repair, amount, frequency, and other statutory or case-law limits. A tenant should document conditions and communications and obtain legal advice before using a remedy; a manager should address urgent hazards and comply with local building and health rules.

Civil Code § 1954 limits entry to specified purposes, such as emergency, necessary or agreed repairs, agreed services, showing the unit to specified prospective occupants or purchasers, abandonment, or court order. Twenty-four hours is generally presumed reasonable written notice for covered nonemergency entries, but the statute has purpose-specific exceptions and timing rules; it is not a blanket right of access.

A landlord may enter only for the purposes authorized by Civil Code § 1954. For many nonemergency entries, 24 hours' written notice is presumed reasonable; notice should state the date, approximate time, and purpose. The statute permits particular alternatives—for example, an oral agreement for agreed repairs or services within one week, and a specific oral-notice option for certain showings after the required written sale notice. Emergency entry, abandonment or surrender, and court order are separately addressed.

Even a properly noticed entry must be at reasonable times and for the stated purpose. Repeated or harassing access can violate the tenant's right to quiet enjoyment and other law. A prospective purchaser showing is not the same as an unrestricted inspection, and a landlord should not use entry to pressure a tenant. Keep a record of notices, responses, actual entry, and work performed.

Notice and legality are separate checks. Under Civil Code § 827, a rental-rate increase of 10 percent or less in the aggregate during the prior 12 months generally requires at least 30 days' notice; an increase above 10 percent generally requires at least 90 days. Civil Code § 1947.12 separately caps increases for covered units—generally the lesser of 5 percent plus cost-of-living change or 10 percent—and exemptions and stricter local limits may apply.

The 30/90-day rule concerns advance notice, not permission to raise rent by that amount. Section 827 measures the proposed increase together with other increases for the tenant during the preceding 12 months; over 10 percent triggers at least 90 days' notice, while 10 percent or less generally triggers at least 30 days. Service method and additional statutory timing rules matter, so check the operative text and lease.

For units covered by the Tenant Protection Act, § 1947.12 generally limits the gross rental increase to the lesser of 5 percent plus the applicable cost-of-living change or 10 percent over the relevant 12-month period. Statutory exclusions include specified newer housing, certain separately alienable single-family property when ownership and written-notice conditions are met, and qualifying owner-occupied duplexes; local rent-control rules may be more protective. Determine coverage first, calculate the cap separately, and then give the required notice.