California Residential Lease Agreement

What a California lease must include

Standard lease elements

• Parties and the California rental-property address.
• Lease term — fixed end date or a month-to-month tenancy.
• Monthly rent amount, due date, and accepted payment methods.
• Security deposit amount and handling.
• Utilities — which the landlord covers and which the tenant pays.
• Occupancy rules, pets (and service/assistance animals), smoking, and entry procedures.
• Default, cure periods, and termination language permitted under state law.
• Signatures of all parties.

California-required disclosures

• Bed-bug disclosure — general bed-bug information delivered to every tenant before signing, plus individual notice of any known infestation. (Cal. Civ. Code § 1954.603)
• Megan's Law notice — statutorily prescribed language informing the tenant of the public sex-offender registry. (Cal. Civ. Code § 2079.10a)
• Smoking-policy disclosure — specifying whether smoking is prohibited in the unit, in common areas, or permitted in designated areas. (Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.5)
• Mold disclosure — written notice of any known mold conditions at or above actionable levels. (Cal. Health & Safety Code §§ 26147–26148)
• Flood-hazard disclosure — notice if the dwelling sits within a Special Flood Hazard Area or an Area of Potential Flooding. (Cal. Gov. Code § 8589.45)
• AB 1482 rent-cap status — either the rent-cap and just-cause notice, or a statement that the property qualifies for exemption. (Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1947.12, 1946.2)
• Federal lead-paint disclosure and EPA pamphlet for any unit built before 1978. (42 U.S.C. § 4852d; 24 C.F.R. Part 35)

California-specific workflow

• Security deposit capped at one month of rent for most landlords; small landlords (an individual owning no more than two residential properties with a total of four units) may collect up to two months.
• Security deposit must be returned within 21 calendar days of move-out, with an itemized statement of any lawful deductions.
• The tenant has a statutory right to request a pre-move-out inspection — the landlord gives a list of repairable items the tenant can fix before the final walkthrough.
• AB 1482 limits rent increases to the lower of 10% or CPI + 5% annually, and to no more than two increases in any 12-month period, for non-exempt properties.
• Just-cause termination applies after 12 months of tenancy — landlord must state an at-fault or no-fault ground to end the tenancy on a non-exempt property.
• Entry for repairs or inspection requires at least 24 hours of advance written notice (presumed reasonable).
• Month-to-month termination notice: 30 days if the tenancy has run less than 12 months, 60 days for longer tenancies.

California Attorney General — Landlord / Tenant Issues

How a California lease is structured

1. The document opens with the parties, the California rental-property address, and the tenancy start date.
2. The term section flags the tenancy as fixed-term with an end date or as month-to-month, and layers in the AB 1482 rent-cap and just-cause status.
3. The rent section sets the monthly amount, due date, accepted payment methods, and any AB 1482 rent-cap notice clause for non-exempt properties.
4. The security-deposit section captures the amount (within the one- or two-month cap), the 21-day return timeline, and the pre-move-out inspection right.
5. Required statutory disclosures (bed bugs, Megan's Law, smoking, mold, flood, lead paint) attach as distinct clauses.
6. Entry, utility, occupancy, pet, and smoking rules follow in the use-of-premises block.
7. Just-cause termination language attaches automatically once the tenancy reaches 12 months on a non-exempt property.
8. Signature blocks close the document with a line for each party and an acknowledgment of the received disclosures.

BuildMyLease assembles all of this for you in a guided interview.

Free California lease template vs BuildMyLease

Free California lease templates are common, but the state's disclosure count is high enough that most free templates miss at least one. Here's the honest comparison.

Who this is for

This is for

• California landlords managing 1–4 private-market units (single-family, condo, small multifamily).
• Owners who want the AB 1482 + just-cause branching handled by the wizard instead of researching each rule.
• Landlords issuing a new fixed-term lease OR a month-to-month with correct 30/60-day termination language.

This isn't for

• Properties in rent-controlled cities (LA, SF, Oakland, Berkeley, San Jose, Santa Monica, …) where local ordinances impose stricter rent + termination rules — review with counsel or a local apartment association.
• Subsidized housing (Section 8, public housing) — program-specific addenda required.
• Commercial, mobile-home, or hotel/motel tenancies.
• Ongoing unlawful-detainer or eviction proceedings — those need court forms, not a lease.
• Single-room-occupancy (SRO) and weekly-boarding situations with specialized statutory overlays.