California Lease Agreements — What Every Lease Must Contain

Step 1 — The core contract terms

Every lease, written or oral, has to identify the parties, the property, the rent, and the term. Civil Code §1962 also requires the lease to disclose the landlord's name and address, the address where rent may be paid, and the form of payment accepted. If those aren't in the lease, the tenant has a defense in any later rent dispute.

1. Parties. Full legal names of every adult tenant and the legal owner or property manager.
2. Property. Full street address plus unit number.
3. Rent. Amount, due date, payment address, accepted forms of payment (§1947.3 prohibits cash-only).
4. Term. Fixed-term end date or month-to-month start date.
5. Security deposit. Amount, subject to AB 12's one-month cap (two months under the small-landlord exception).
6. Late fee. Specific amount, drafted to survive §1671(b) liquidated-damages analysis. See the late fees page for clause language.
7. Utilities. Who pays each utility. For shared meters, §1940.9 requires the lease to disclose the allocation method.

Step 2 — The mandatory disclosures

California law requires several disclosures to be physically in the lease (or attached) at signing. Missing one rarely voids the lease automatically, but each one carries a specific consequence.

• Megan's Law notice — Civil Code §2079.10a. Exact statutory language is required. Paraphrase doesn't qualify.
• Lead-based paint disclosure — federal, for any property built before 1978. EPA pamphlet plus signed disclosure form. Federal civil penalties under the Toxic Substances Control Act / HUD rules for noncompliance — the per-violation ceiling resets annually for inflation, so check the current figure on the EPA's enforcement page.
• Bedbug disclosure — Civil Code §1954.603. Written information on identification, inspection procedures, and tenant reporting obligations. Required before lease execution.
• Flood zone disclosure — Gov. Code §8589.45, effective July 1, 2024. Required if the property is in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area. Must disclose the zone, whether federal flood insurance is required, and whether the landlord carries it.
• Smoking policy — Civil Code §1947.5. The lease must state whether smoking is prohibited and, if so, where.
• Mold disclosure — H&S §26147. Required when the landlord knows or reasonably suspects mold exceeding permissible exposure limits.
• Pest control disclosure — H&S §26140. Required if pest control services were performed at the property within the prior 12 months.
• Ordnance location — Civil Code §1940.7. Required if the property is within one mile of a known former military ordnance location.
• Methamphetamine contamination — H&S §25400.28. Required if the unit is on the contaminated-property registry and not yet certified remediated. Renting an uncertified contaminated unit is a misdemeanor.

Step 3 — The AB 1482 exemption notice (if you're claiming the exemption)

For single-family homes and condos owned by a natural person (not a corporation, LLC, or REIT), AB 1482's rent cap and just-cause rules do not apply — but only if the Civil Code §1946.2(e) exemption notice is in the lease and re-served with every rent increase. The statutory language is specific. Paraphrasing or summarizing loses the exemption.

Owners often add the §1946.2(e) language but forget to re-serve it with rent increases. Re-serving is mandatory. Build it into your annual rent-increase notice template.

Step 4 — Clauses to avoid

Several common lease clauses are either void on their face or invite litigation:

• Waivers of habitability. Civil Code §1942.1 makes the implied warranty non-waivable. A clause attempting to waive it is void and signals bad-faith drafting.
• One-sided attorney's fees. Civil Code §1717 makes attorney-fee clauses reciprocal regardless of the lease wording. A clause saying "tenant pays landlord's fees" gets read as bilateral.
• Cash-only rent. §1947.3 prohibits requiring rent in cash except in narrow post-NSF circumstances.
• Penalty late fees. Anything that reads as a penalty (rather than a reasonable estimate of damages) is void under §1671(b). See the late fees page.
• Pet bans applied to service animals or ESAs. Service animals and ESAs are accommodation animals, not pets, under FEHA and the FHA. The lease should make this distinction explicit.
• Inspection-at-will language. A clause permitting landlord entry without notice is void; §1954 controls.
• Tenant indemnification for landlord negligence. Generally unenforceable in residential leases.

Step 5 — AB 1482-covered units: the just-cause language

If the unit is covered by AB 1482 (most multifamily 15+ years old, plus single-family rentals without the §1946.2(e) exemption notice), the lease should reference the just-cause requirements that apply after 12 months of tenancy. SB 567 (effective April 2024) put penalty teeth on the no-fault grounds — actual damages or $10,000 per tenant, whichever is greater, for noncompliance with the OMI and substantial-remodel rules. See the SB 567 page and the eviction rules page.

Step 6 — Optional but recommended clauses

• Renters insurance requirement. Permitted in California; specify minimum liability coverage and proof-of-policy timing.
• Move-in / move-out inspection. Reference the §1950.5(f) pre-move-out inspection right.
• Notice of address change. Both landlord and tenant agree to notify within a stated number of days.
• Smoke and CO detector responsibility. Landlord installs, tenant replaces batteries during tenancy.
• Joint and several liability for multi-tenant leases.
• Subletting policy. See the subletting page.

Common questions