Your rights as a Redlands renter

Rent increases: the AB 1482 cap

California's Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482, 2019) caps annual rent increases for most rentals at 5% plus the local consumer price index, up to a hard maximum of 10% in any 12-month period. Increases can't be stacked to exceed the cap, and the limit applies to the lowest rent charged in the prior 12 months.

Important exemptions. The cap does not apply to:

• Housing built within the last 15 years (a rolling window)
• Single-family homes and condos not owned by a corporation, REIT, or corporate-member LLC — but only if the landlord gave you written notice that the exemption applies
• Duplexes where the owner lives in one unit
• Deed-restricted affordable housing

Much of Redlands' rental stock — especially older homes and small duplexes in South Redlands — is individually owned, so check your lease for the exemption notice before assuming you're covered. If your landlord never gave the notice and your unit isn't otherwise exempt, the cap may apply.

Security deposits: one month is the norm

Under AB 12 (effective July 2024), California caps residential security deposits at one month's rent, furnished or not. A narrow exception lets very small landlords — individuals who own no more than two properties totaling four or fewer units — charge up to two months.

On move-out, the landlord has 21 days to return your deposit with an itemized statement of any deductions. Deductions are allowed for unpaid rent, cleaning beyond normal wear, and damage beyond ordinary wear and tear — not for repainting aged walls or replacing worn carpet on a schedule. Take dated photos at move-in and move-out; they settle most disputes before they start.

Eviction protections: just cause

After you've lived in a covered unit for 12 months (or 24 months in some roommate situations), AB 1482 requires "just cause" to terminate your tenancy. At-fault causes include nonpayment, lease violations, and nuisance. No-fault causes — owner move-in, removing the unit from the market, substantial remodel — generally require the landlord to pay relocation assistance equal to one month's rent.

Notice periods still matter: 3-day notices for nonpayment or lease violations, 30 days to end a tenancy under one year, and 60 days after a year — though just-cause rules limit when those notices can be used at all.

Habitability: what your landlord must maintain

California Civil Code §1941.1 implies a warranty of habitability in every lease. Your rental must have, at minimum:

• Working plumbing, hot water, heating, and electrical systems
• A weatherproof roof, walls, windows, and doors
• Functioning smoke detectors (and carbon monoxide detectors where required)
• Deadbolt locks on main entry doors and working window locks
• Freedom from vermin, dangerous mold, and unsafe conditions

If something essential fails, notify your landlord in writing and keep a copy. For serious unrepaired problems, tenants may have remedies like repair-and-deduct (limited to one month's rent, usable at most twice in 12 months) or rent withholding — but these have strict requirements and real risks, so get advice from the resources below before using them.

Application and screening rules

• Screening fee cap: Landlords may only charge their actual out-of-pocket screening cost, capped by statute and adjusted annually (in the mid-$60s as of recent years). They must give you an itemized receipt and refund any unused portion.
• Reusable screening reports: If you provide a recent reusable tenant screening report, landlords can't charge you a screening fee — though they aren't required to accept the report itself.
• Fair housing: Federal and California law prohibit discrimination based on race, religion, sex, disability, familial status, source of income (including Section 8 vouchers), and other protected classes. Source-of-income protection is the one renters most often need to cite.

Other rights worth knowing

• Retaliation is illegal. A landlord can't raise rent, cut services, or threaten eviction because you exercised a legal right — like requesting repairs or reporting code violations — within 180 days.
• Entry notice. Landlords generally need to give 24 hours' written notice to enter for repairs, inspections, or showings, except in emergencies or when you've agreed otherwise.
• Grace periods and late fees: There's no state-mandated grace period, but late fees must be a reasonable estimate of actual cost — punitive fees are unenforceable.
• Locks and privacy: You can't be locked out, have utilities shut off, or have belongings seized to force you out — those are illegal "self-help" evictions, and they carry penalties for the landlord.

Where to get real help

• Inland Fair Housing and Mediation Board (IFHMB) — serves San Bernardino County with landlord-tenant mediation and fair-housing assistance.
• Legal Aid Society of San Bernardino — free legal services for qualifying tenants, including eviction defense.
• California Courts Self-Help Center (selfhelp.courts.ca.gov) — official guides to eviction, security deposits, and small claims.
• California Department of Real Estate — publishes the state's "California Tenants" guide covering these rules in detail.
• City of Redlands Code Enforcement — for uninhabitable conditions and building code complaints.

Last updated September 2026.