Existing law regulates the hiring of real property and imposes various requirements on landlords relating to the application for, and leasing of, residential rental property. Existing law places limitations on the amount of rent and security that a landlord can charge a tenant, as specified.
This bill would enact the Fair Rental Act of 2025. The bill would prohibit a landlord or their agent from charging certain fees, including, any fee that is not specified in the rental agreement, a processing fee, including a convenience fee or a check cashing fee, for the payment of rent or any other fees or deposits, or a fee for a tenant to own a household pet. The bill would also prohibit a landlord or their agent from charging a late fee for the late payment of rent that is more than 2% of the monthly rental rate, and would prohibit the late fee from being charged unless the rent is overdue by 7 days or more. Under the bill, if a landlord or their agent charges and collects a fee from a tenant that is not authorized by law, the landlord or their agent would be liable to the tenant in a civil action for the cost of the fee, plus 5% interest compounded daily from the date the fee was collected
Existing law requires the owner of qualifying residential property, as defined, that provides parking with the qualifying residential property to unbundle parking from the price of rent, as specified. Existing law defines "unbundled parking" as the practice of selling or leasing parking spaces separate from the lease of the residential use.
This bill would repeal those provisions, and instead, would prohibit a landlord or its agent from charging a fee for a parking space.
Existing law authorizes a landlord or their agent to charge an applicant who requests to rent a residential housing unit an application screening fee to cover the costs of obtaining information about the applicant. Existing law prohibits the amount of the application screening free from being greater that the actual out-of-pocket costs of gathering information concerning the applicant, including, but not limited to, the cost of using a tenant screening service or a consumer credit reporting service, and the reasonable value of time spent by the landlord or their agent in obtaining information on the applicant, as provided.
This bill, instead, would authorize the application screening fee to cover the costs of the screening, and would prohibit the amount of the application screening fee from being greater that the actual out-of-pocket costs of conducting the screening, including, but not limited to, the cost of using a tenant screening service or a consumer credit reporting service, as provided. The bill would thereby eliminate the authority of the landlord or their agent to charge, as part of the application screening fee, the reasonable value of time spent by the landlord or their agent in obtaining information on the applicant.

Statutes affected:
SB 381: 1947.1 CIV, 1950.6 CIV
02/14/25 - Introduced: 1947.1 CIV, 1950.6 CIV