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State law changes and cases: new photo rules for security deposits, expanded lock-change protections and credit-reporting option for tenants
Summary
City staff updated the Rental Housing Committee on new California laws and recent case law on Jan. 23, highlighting photo requirements for security-deposit deductions, a tenant option for positive rent-payment reporting, expanded lock-change protections for abuse survivors, and other changes affecting landlord-tenant practice.
City staff briefed Mountain View's Rental Housing Committee on Jan. 23 about several 2024 state laws and recent court opinions that affect landlord-tenant rights and procedures.
Major state changes covered by staff include: - Security deposit photos (AB 2801): landlords must take and provide photos after a tenant vacates and after any repairs/cleaning and, for tenancies commencing July 1, 2025 or later, take move-in photos documenting unit condition. The law also narrows allowable deductions to restore the unit to its original condition and limits charging for professional cleaning or upgrades that exceed the unit's original condition. The photo requirements take effect April 1, 2025 for post-vacate documentation and July 1, 2025 for move-in documentation. - Positive rental payment reporting (AB 2747): most landlords must offer tenants the option to have timely rent payments reported to nationwide consumer reporting agencies; a landlord may charge up to $10 per month or the actual cost of reporting, and tenants can request reporting be stopped (with a six-month wait to restart). Small landlords (buildings of 15 or fewer units with certain ownership structures) and assisted-housing providers are exempt. - Screening and fee limits (AB 2493, SB 611): new limits on screening fees and a prohibition on charging tenants for serving statutory notices; landlords must either consider completed applications in order or return screening fees under prescribed timelines. - Lock-change protections for survivors (SB 1051): expands the class of eligible tenants able to request lock changes and permits tenants to change locks and seek reimbursement if the landlord fails to act; documentation options were broadened beyond police reports to include third-party professionals. - Balcony inspections (AB 2579): extends local code-enforcement deadlines for initial balcony/deck inspections to Jan. 1, 2026 and requires six-year reinspection cycles for multifamily buildings.
Staff also summarized several court decisions. In San Francisco Apartment Association v. City and County of San Francisco the court held a city may require landlords to provide a written 'notice to cure' for at-fault just causes but may not lengthen the state-prescribed notice periods for terminating tenancies; in City of Alameda v. Sheehan the court held a notice to pay rent or quit may name a corporate rent payee; and in Campbell v. FPI Management the court found tenants in HOME-funded units had standing under unfair-practices claims to challenge shortened termination notices while Section 8 tenants did not have the same regulatory basis.
Committee members asked staff to track the effective dates and to incorporate these changes into the division's educational materials, workshops and the division's FAQs. Staff committed to updating workshops and tenant/landlord handouts to reflect the new security-deposit photo rules, the credit-reporting offer, and the expanded lock-change protections.
