2026 New Rental Housing Laws

New Laws Going into Effect January 1, 2026:

● AB 246 (Bryan) - the Social Security Tenant Protection Act of 2025. The Act authorizes a tenant
of residential real property to assert Social Security hardship as an affirmative defense in an
unlawful detainer proceeding based on the nonpayment of rent.

● AB 414 (Pellerin) - Security Deposits - Amendments were agreed upon, to allow for mutual
written agreements for alternative methods of refunding security deposits, clarify that the
itemized statement can be provided by email or first-class mail upon mutual agreement, and
account for managing security deposit returns when multiple adult tenants reside in a unit.

● AB 628 (McKinnor) - Habitability: Stoves and Refrigerators. This bill makes a dwelling that
substantially lacks a stove or refrigerator that are maintained in good working order and capable
of safely generating heat for cooking or safely storing food untenantable.

● AB 747 (Kalra) - Service of Process Accountability, Reform and Equity (SPARE) Act. The bill
establishes rigid requirements for service of process—including three separate personal service
attempts at different times and days, mandatory attempts at residential addresses even when
such information may not be available, and GPS-stamped photographic evidence for every
attempted or affected service.

● AB 863 (Kalra) - Residential Rental Properties: Language Requirements - Instead of requiring a
landlord to provide the tenant with a notice in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or
Korean, as well as in English. Amendments were taken to instead have the Judicial Council create
a summons containing the languages and make it available on their website.

● AB 1414 (Ransom), allowing for an opt-out of landlord-tenant internet service, is pending at the
Governor’s desk, with both the National Apartment Association and the California Rental Housing
Association opposed.

● SB 262 (Wahab) - Prohousing Local Policies - This bill adds additional local policies related to
housing stability, and homelessness as pro-housing policies that the Department of Housing and
Community Development (HCD) can consider in developing a pro-housing designation. We were
able to have rent stabilization ordinance, funding for legal services for eviction defense and
eviction prevention, as well as tenant protections amended out of the bill.