Tenant Rights

Habitability

At AJG Law Group, PC, we help tenants enforce California’s habitability laws when landlords allow unsafe or uninhabitable conditions to persist after receiving written notice. Habitability violations range from mold and pest infestations to sewage failures, missing heat, and violations of AB 628’s new appliance requirements. All of these conditions are legally actionable when a landlord fails to remediate them after notice.

California’s Warranty of Habitability

Civil Code §1941.1

California Civil Code §1941.1 requires every residential rental unit to meet minimum habitability standards for the duration of the tenancy. These are not aspirational — they are legally enforceable conditions that landlords are required to maintain. A landlord who receives written notice of a habitability violation and fails to act within a reasonable time has violated California law, regardless of intent.

Conditions required under §1941.1 include effective waterproofing and weather protection, plumbing in good working order, adequate sewage disposal, heat capable of maintaining 70°F in all habitable rooms, hot and cold running water, freedom from vermin and rodent infestations, sufficient garbage receptacles, and floors, stairways, and railings maintained in good repair.

Common Habitability Violations

Mold

Mold that poses a health risk is a habitability violation under Civil Code §1941.1. Once a landlord has written notice of mold in a rental unit and fails to remediate the underlying moisture source — not just the surface growth — they are in ongoing violation. Cases involving children, elderly residents, or immunocompromised individuals with documented respiratory illness caused by mold exposure produce significant damages, including punitive damages where the landlord had repeated notice and failed to act.

Pest Infestations

Bed bug, cockroach, and rodent infestations that a landlord has notice of and fails to treat adequately are habitability violations. In multi-unit buildings, treating one unit while ignoring adjacent units is not adequate remediation. Each recurrence of an infestation after written notice is additional evidence of the landlord’s failure. Multi-tenant habitability cases may support coordinated claims across the building.

No Heat or Hot Water

Heat and hot water are explicit statutory requirements under Civil Code §1941.1. A landlord who receives written notice that heating or hot water has failed and does not restore service within a short window — courts have interpreted “reasonable time” as days, not weeks, for essential services — is in violation. Tenants may also exercise the repair-and-deduct remedy under Civil Code §1942: arrange the repair and deduct the cost from rent, up to one month’s rent, twice per year.

Sewage and Plumbing Failures

Sewage backups, drain failures, and plumbing problems that a landlord has notice of and fails to permanently remediate — as opposed to repeatedly patching — are habitability violations. Sewage cases are legally significant because the harm is immediate, the documentation is easy to create, and California juries respond strongly to the combination of documented physical harm and landlord indifference.

AB 628 — Stove and Refrigerator Requirements (Effective January 1, 2026)

What AB 628 Requires

Assembly Bill 628 amended Civil Code §1941.1 effective January 1, 2026 to require landlords to provide and maintain working stoves and refrigerators in all covered residential rental units. The requirement applies to new, renewed, or amended leases on or after January 1, 2026, and to month-to-month tenancies where the landlord changed any lease terms after that date.

The Stove vs. Refrigerator Distinction

Stoves are a non-waivable requirement — the landlord must always provide and maintain a working stove regardless of any lease clause. Refrigerators are required unless the tenant and landlord agree in writing at the time of lease signing that the tenant will provide their own. The landlord cannot require this as a condition of renting.

Ongoing Maintenance Obligation

AB 628 does not impose a one-time installation requirement. If a stove or refrigerator breaks during the tenancy, the landlord must repair or replace it. If either appliance is subject to a manufacturer or government recall, the landlord must repair or replace it within 30 days of receiving notice of the recall.

Retaliatory Eviction — Civil Code §1942.5

A landlord who takes adverse action against a tenant within 180 days of the tenant exercising habitability rights is legally presumed to be retaliating. The 180-day presumption shifts the burden to the landlord to prove a legitimate non-retaliatory reason. Each retaliatory act carries statutory penalties of up to $2,000, plus actual damages and attorney fees paid by the landlord. See our Retaliatory Eviction section for complete detail.

What You Can Recover

California habitability law provides the following remedies depending on the nature of the violation:

• Actual damages — medical expenses, damaged property, relocation costs, and other out-of-pocket losses caused by the habitability failure
• Rent reduction — for the period during which the unit did not meet minimum habitability standards, tenants should not have been paying full rent
• Emotional distress damages — the psychological impact of living in an uninhabitable unit, particularly where children or vulnerable household members are affected
• Repair and deduct — tenants may repair serious habitability conditions themselves and deduct the cost from rent (up to one month’s rent, twice per year) when the landlord fails to act after notice
• Punitive damages — available when the landlord had documented notice and acted with deliberate indifference or malice
• Attorney fees — recoverable under certain habitability statutes when the tenant prevails

If your landlord has failed to address a habitability violation after receiving written notice, or has failed to provide appliances required under AB 628, contact AJG Law Group, PC for a free case evaluation.