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A California lease agreement is a written contract for renting residential property. Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 caps its security deposit at one month's rent, plus the first month's rent. This guide covers its contents, signing steps, deposit limits and notice periods.
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The sections below follow the lease in the order the parties use it: what goes into it, how to fill it out and sign it, the deposit and photo rules, entry and rent increase notices, and how the tenancy ends. Each rule names the section of the California Civil Code it comes from. Leases for other places are on the rental agreement forms page.
A California lease agreement sets out the parties, the property, the term and the rent, plus the deposit and the house rules both sides accept when they sign. Each item below is a clause or a blank on the form:
A residential lease for an apartment, a house or a condo uses the same core terms. The apartment version usually adds building rules, such as parking, shared laundry and quiet hours.
A California lease agreement follows the California Civil Code: Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 for deposits, Cal. Civ. Code § 1954 for entry, Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.1(b) and Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.1(c) for notice to end a tenancy, and Cal. Civ. Code § 827(b)(1) for rent increases. The table gathers the main rules in one place.
| Rule | What the code says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Security deposit cap | One month's rent, in addition to the first month's rent paid on or before initial occupancy | Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 |
| Small landlord deposit cap | Two months' rent, in addition to the first month's rent, only if the landlord meets both requirements the section sets | Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 |
| Nonrefundable deposit | A lease or rental agreement cannot call any security "nonrefundable" | Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 |
| Deposit return | Itemized statement and remaining deposit no later than 21 calendar days after the tenant vacates | Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 |
| Entry notice | 24 hours presumed reasonable, when the landlord gives reasonable written notice and enters during normal business hours; no notice to respond to an emergency | Cal. Civ. Code § 1954 |
| Owner's notice to end a periodic tenancy (such as month to month) | At least 60 days, if the tenant has resided in the dwelling one year or more | Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.1(b) |
| Owner's notice to end a periodic tenancy (such as month to month) | At least 30 days, if the tenant has resided in the dwelling less than one year | Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.1(c) |
| Rent increase, periodic lease | At least 30 days' notice for an increase of 10 percent or less of the rent charged at any time in the 12 months before it takes effect, alone or combined with other increases in those 12 months | Cal. Civ. Code 827(b)(2) |
| Rent increase, periodic lease | At least 90 days' notice for an increase greater than 10 percent on the same count | Cal. Civ. Code 827(b)(3)(A) |
The deposit clause of a California lease agreement may ask for up to one month's rent, in addition to any rent for the first month paid on or before initial occupancy, under Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5. The cap covers security "however denominated," whatever the lease calls each part (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5).
Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 allows a deposit of up to two months' rent, in addition to the first month's rent, only if the landlord meets both of the small landlord requirements the section lists.
Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 bars a lease or rental agreement from containing a provision that calls any security "nonrefundable." The deposit clause in the lease should instead say how the deposit comes back at move-out.
The deposit terms of a California lease agreement give the landlord 21 calendar days after the tenant vacates to send an itemized statement and return the rest of the deposit, under Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 (the deadline calculator counts the exact date). The statement shows the basis for, and the amount of, the security received and its disposition (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5).
Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5, a bad faith claim or retention of the deposit may subject the landlord to statutory damages of up to twice the amount of the security, in addition to actual damages.
Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5, the landlord can skip some of the documentation steps for the statement when the deductions for repairs and cleaning together do not exceed $125.
The deposit section of a California lease agreement now goes with photographs of the unit: Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 sets photo duties at move-out from April 1, 2025, and at move-in for tenancies that begin on or after July 1, 2025.
Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 gives the tenant an initial inspection on request, at a reasonable time but no earlier than two weeks before the termination or end of lease date. The landlord gives at least 48 hours' prior written notice of its date and time, if the two sides agree on a time, or if they cannot agree and the tenant still wants the inspection (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5).
The form is filled out from the parties to the signatures, one section at a time, with every blank completed or marked as not applying before anyone signs.
Example of a filled-in property and rent clause: "Premises: 1234 Sample Street, Unit 5, Sacramento, CA, with parking space 12. Rent: $2,000 per month, due on the 1st."
The lease is complete once the landlord and every adult tenant sign and date it, and each side holds a copy.
The entry clause of a California lease agreement follows Cal. Civ. Code § 1954, which presumes 24 hours to be reasonable notice, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, when the landlord gives reasonable written notice and enters during normal business hours. Cal. Civ. Code § 1954 requires no notice of entry to respond to an emergency.
A periodic lease lets the landlord raise the rent upon giving written notice to the tenant, under Cal. Civ. Code § 827(b)(1), when the lease runs from week to week, month to month or another period less than a month. The length of the notice depends on the size of the increase:
Both notice periods are subject to Section 1013 of the Code of Civil Procedure if the notice is served by mail (Cal. Civ. Code 827(b)(2); Cal. Civ. Code 827(b)(3)(A)).
A fixed-term California lease agreement runs to the end date it names, but the tenancy does not always end there: just cause rules and local rent ordinances can limit when an owner may end it. The owner's notice periods below apply to a periodic tenancy, such as month to month, and each depends on how long the tenant has resided in the dwelling:
The same periods, 60 days when the occupant has occupied the property one year or more and 30 days when less than one year, apply to an owner of commercial real property hired by a qualified commercial tenant (Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.1(b); Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.1(c)). Just cause rules and local rent ordinances can limit when an owner may end a tenancy at all, so check them before giving notice; this page does not cover them. Notices to a tenant who breaks the lease are on the California eviction notice page.
A room rental in California follows Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.5 when a single lodger hires a room on a periodic basis inside a dwelling the owner occupies. The text of Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.5 covers how that hiring ends.
A California lease agreement comes in several types, each matched to the property and the length of the stay:
A month-to-month lease renews each month until a party ends it by notice. Its rent increase notice follows Cal. Civ. Code 827(b)(2) and Cal. Civ. Code 827(b)(3)(A), and an owner's notice to end this periodic tenancy runs 60 days when the tenant has resided in the dwelling one year or more and 30 days when less than one year (Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.1(b); Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.1(c)).
Yes, but only if the landlord meets both of the small landlord requirements in Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5. The deposit can then reach two months' rent, in addition to the first month's rent paid on or before initial occupancy (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5).
A fixed-term lease runs to the end date it names, but the tenancy does not always end there: just cause rules and local rent ordinances can limit when an owner may end it. To end a periodic tenancy, such as month to month, an owner gives at least 60 days' notice when the tenant has resided in the dwelling one year or more (Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.1(b)). The notice is at least 30 days when the tenant has resided there less than one year (Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.1(c)).
A lease usually runs for a fixed term with an end date, while a rental agreement usually runs month to month. The deposit rules of Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 cover both, since the section speaks of any "lease or rental agreement."
A basic California rental agreement is a short lease form with the core terms only: the parties, the property, the term, the rent, the deposit and the signatures. A blank PDF version holds the same clauses with empty lines to fill in.
Yes: Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 caps security "however denominated," so a pet or cleaning deposit counts toward the same limit as the main deposit.
Only in part: the owner's notice periods of Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.1(b) and Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.1(c), 60 days when the occupant has occupied the property one year or more and 30 days when less than one year, also apply to commercial real property hired by a qualified commercial tenant. The rent increase notice of Cal. Civ. Code § 827(b)(1) likewise covers commercial real property hired by a qualified commercial tenant, only when the lease runs from week to week, month to month or another period less than a month.
Other Rental Lease Agreement Forms by State
General information, not legal or tax advice.
Unless noted otherwise, the sources below are from the California Civil Code, published by the California Legislative Information.
