2026 California Rental Property Laws: Summary and Your Action Plan

By Brian Bean | December 21, 2025

Final piece of our 6-Part Series “2026 Laws Every Inland Empire Investor Must Know”

Four Laws That Change How You Operate in 2026

By BRIAN BEAN
Rental Home Advocate | Property Manager | Real Estate Broker

Every year, California passes new laws affecting rental properties, but this year, there’s a lot more to deal with. The past month or so, we’ve detailed several new laws that were recently enacted or kick in Jan. 1, 2026. Today, we’re giving a quick summary of those that will have the most impact in 2026.

Here are some of the new California laws aimed at rental properties:

AB 628: Stoves and Refrigerators Now Required

Starting Jan. 1, most rental properties must include a stove and refrigerator in good working order.

This new law:

  • Applies to new leases; or renewals, extensions, or modifications of existing leases, beginning in 2026.
  • Renters can opt to provide their own refrigerator as long as it’s in writing.
  • They can also change their mind later and give the landlord 30 days’ notice to provide a refrigerator.
  • A property owner must check for appliance recalls and either replace or repair recalled units within 30 days.

If you an occupied rental unit, survey the appliances and collect model and serial numbers, document it in your files, and then check for recalls on the refrigerator and stove units that you own.

If you have a vacant unit for lease, might as well get any missing appliances now. Holiday sales are still pretty good.

AB 2622: Handyman Work Limit Increase

California recently doubled the maximum amount that you are allowed to pay an unlicensed handyman, to $1,000 from the previous $500 cap.

What this means:

  • The $1,000 cap is for an entire job, not piecemeal for each task of a project – don’t try to game the system.
  • Higher limit adds legal flexibility for repairs such as painting, patching drywall, replacing faucets, and other minor repairs.
  • For jobs greater than $1,000 or that require building permits, you still need a licensed contractor.
  • Whoever does the work, make sure they have insurance, even though this law doesn’t require it.

This law is already in force.

AB 246: The Social Security Eviction Shield

After the recent federal government shutdowns threatened to interrupt Social Security benefits, California lawmakers put in place protections for renters who depend on Social Security, effectively suspending evictions for nonpayment of rent.

According to the law, A renter being evicted for nonpayment of rent must prove three things:

  • Their Social Security benefits were terminated, delayed, or reduced.
  • Any interruption was due to no fault of the renter.
  • The hardship prevented them from paying rent.

If the renter proves all three of those points …

  • A court can delay the eviction proceedings up to 6 months, or until the renter finally receives their benefits.
  • The renter still owes all the back rent and must bring it current within 14 days of resumption of their benefits.

This law took effect in October and runs through January 2029.

SB 610: Natural Disaster Cleanup Duties

Enacted in October following the horrific L.A. wildfires, this new law requires property owners to remediate uninhabitable conditions after a declared disaster or emergency. For example, cleaning up toxic burned materials and ash after a wildfire that destroyed homes.

This new law requires that…

  • Property owners must promptly address disaster-related habitability issues
  • Renters can’t be evicted for issues caused by the disaster.
  • Rent is not required if the property is uninhabitable or during mandatory evacuation orders.
  • And failure to remediate exposes the owner to liability and penalties.

If you haven’t already, review and update your insurance coverage to ensure you’re protected. Also, put together an emergency response plan and share it with family, your renters, AND your insurance agent.

Your Action Plan

So California has several impactful laws this year. But there are many others, some based on location – Los Angeles especially.

Check in with your legal advisers for guidance on your situation. We are not attorneys; our intent is just to get you to call the right people and ask the right questions.

Because that’s what Smart Investors do. They prepare for the inevitable problems that come with providing housing.

And here are some preparations you can make today:

  1. Review when leases are up for renewal. Will you need appliances? Put aside funds now so you’ll be ready. And update your rental agreements to provide the refrigerator opt-out addendum, where necessary.
  2. Verify your handyman and contractor insurance. Are they covered? Do your have current certificates of insurance in your files?
  3. Review your reserve accounts. Do you have 6 months of your property’s expenses sitting in a separate account for emergencies – like, say, if the federal government shutdown that was put on hold until Feb. 1 resumes and stops your renters’ social security checks? This is your emergency fund and it will help you sleep better knowing you can weather a storm.
  4. Create an emergency response plan. Who do you call when disaster strikes? Do you have cell numbers for your insurance agent, your contractor or handyman, the renters and their emergency contacts, in case of a natural disaster?
  5. Document everything. Communication, repairs, expenses, appliance serial numbers, and compliance efforts should all be stored digitally in your google, apple, or amazon cloud account. Do annual video walk throughs of your property inside and out so that you have a current record of the condition and amenities of the home in case of a disaster.

These are easy steps to protect yourself, your property, and your renters. But they are also easy not to do because they don’t seem urgent. It’s always better to be working on easy things than to wait for them to become urgent things.

Smart investors do the easy, little things to prepare for the big, urgent problems. Because when you provide housing for people, problems are unavoidable – how well you prepared will determine how big and urgent those problems get.

Have questions about the new laws affecting rental property owners in Riverside, Moreno Valley, Corona, and the Inland Empire of Southern California? Call us today at 951-314-5402 or shoot us an email at brian@dreambigpm.com.

Watch the Complete Series

This wrap-up is the final video in our 6-part series on 2026 California landlord laws. If you missed any of the detailed breakdowns, here’s the complete series:

Part 1: AB 628 Part 1 – What the Appliance Law Requires

Part 2: AB 628 Part 2 – Month-to-Month Update & Black Friday Strategy

Part 3: AB 2622 – The $1,000 Handyman Rule

Part 4: AB 246 – Social Security Eviction Defense

Part 5: SB 610 – Disaster Remediation Duties

Part 6: Complete 2026 Wrap-Up (this piece)

All videos are available on our YouTube channel with detailed explanations of each law.

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Full Transcript

Transcript of the video above — Brian Bean, Broker/Owner and Rental Home Advocate, Dream Big Property Management. CA DRE #01346382. Lightly edited for readability.

Every year, California passes new laws affecting rental properties, but this year there are a lot more to deal with. Today, we’re giving a quick summary of those that will have the most impact in 2026.

Hi, I’m Brian Bean with Dream Big Property Management here in Riverside, California. This is the final piece in our six-part series on new laws every Inland Empire property investor must know. In the past few weeks, we’ve broken down some significant changes affecting California rental properties. Today, we’re doing a quick wrap-up to summarize the biggest changes.

So, in no particular order, here are some of the new California laws aimed at rental properties.

First up, AB 628: stoves and refrigerators are now required. Starting January 1st, most rental properties must include a stove and refrigerator in good working order. This new law applies to new leases, or renewals, extensions, or modifications of existing leases beginning in 2026. Tenants can opt to provide their own refrigerator as long as it’s in writing, but they can also change their mind later and give you, the landlord, 30 days’ notice to provide one. The owner must check for appliance recalls and either replace or repair recalled units within 30 days.

So here’s what you should do today. If you have an occupied rental unit, survey the appliances and collect model and serial numbers, document them in your files, and then check for recalls on the refrigerator and stove units that you own. If you have a vacant unit for lease, you might as well get any missing appliances now while the holiday sales are still in force.

Next, AB 2622: handyman work limit increases. California recently doubled the amount that you are allowed to pay an unlicensed handyman, to $1,000 from the previous $500 cap. This $1,000 cap is for an entire job, not piecemeal for each task of a project — so don’t try to game that system. The higher limit adds legal flexibility for repairs such as painting, patching drywall, replacing faucets, minor repairs. But for jobs $1,000 or more, or that require building permits, you still need a licensed contractor. Whoever does the work, make sure they have insurance, even though the law doesn’t require it.

Taking effect in October, AB 246: the Social Security eviction shield. After the recent federal government shutdowns threatened to interrupt Social Security benefits, California lawmakers put in place protections for renters who depend upon Social Security, effectively suspending evictions for non-payment of rent.

According to the law, a renter being evicted must prove three things. One, their Social Security benefits were terminated, delayed, or reduced. Two, the interruption was due to no fault of the renter. And three, the hardship prevented them from paying the rent. If the renter proves all three of these points, the court can effectively delay the eviction proceedings up to six months, or until the renter finally receives their benefits. The renter still owes all the back rent, and they must bring it current within 14 days of resumption of their benefits. This law stays in effect through January 2029.

Next, SB 610: natural disaster cleanup duties. Enacted in October following the horrific LA wildfires, this new law requires property owners to remediate uninhabitable conditions after a declared disaster — for example, cleaning up toxic burned materials and ash after a wildfire that destroyed homes.

This new law requires that property owners promptly address disaster-related habitability issues. Renters can’t be evicted for issues caused by the disaster. Rent is not required if the property is uninhabitable, or during mandatory evacuation orders. And failure to remediate exposes the owner to liability and penalties. If you haven’t already, review and update your insurance coverage to ensure you’re protected. Also, put together an emergency response plan and share it with your family, your renters, and your insurance agent.

So these are some of the most impactful laws recently enacted for California, but this is just a few of those. There are many others, and some are based on location — Los Angeles especially. Check with your legal advisers for guidance on your situation. We are not attorneys. My intent is just to get you to call the right people and ask the right questions, because that’s what smart investors do. They prepare for the inevitable problems that come with providing housing.

Here are some preparations that you can make today to do that.

One, review when your leases are up for renewal. Will you need appliances? Put aside some funds now so you’ll be ready. And update your rental agreements to provide the refrigerator opt-out addendum where necessary.

Two, verify your handyman and contractor insurance. Are they covered? And do you have current certificates of insurance in your files?

Three, review your reserve accounts. Do you have six months of your property’s expenses sitting in a separate bank account for emergencies? Like, say that the federal government shutdown that was put on hold until February 1st resumes and stops your renters’ Social Security checks. This is your emergency fund. It will help you sleep better knowing you can weather a storm.

Four, create an emergency response plan. Who do you call when a disaster strikes? Do you have cell numbers for your insurance agent, your contractor, your handyman, the renters, and their emergency contacts in case of a natural disaster?

Five, document everything. Communication, repairs, expenses, appliances — all should be stored digitally in your Google, Apple, or Amazon cloud account. And do annual video walkthroughs of your property, inside and out, to make sure that you have a current record of the condition and amenities of the home in case of a disaster.

These are easy steps to protect yourself, your property, and your renters. But they are also easy not to do, because they don’t seem urgent. It’s always better to be working on easy things than urgent things. Smart investors do the easy little things to prepare for the big urgent problems. Because when you provide housing for people, problems are unavoidable. How well you prepared will determine how big and how urgent those problems get.

If you have questions about the new laws for California landlords, you can call me directly at 951-314-5402. I’m happy to share.

We’ll include links in the show notes for more detailed videos on each of these new laws. You can also find valuable information on our website, dreambigpm.com. And if you found this series useful, please do us a favor: like and subscribe, so that we can help others just like you. Don’t be accidental about your future. Be intentional to your success.

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