Your rights as a tenant in Berkeley

Berkeley rules

• For a unit under rent control, the Rent Board sets a yearly increase: 1.0 percent for 2026.

  Source: Berkeley Rent Board, 2026 adjustment, for the period ending December 31, 2026

• A landlord pays interest on the security deposit. The Rent Board publishes the rate and offers a calculator.

  Source: Berkeley deposit interest

• A tenancy can only be ended for one of the good causes the ordinance lists.

  Source: Berkeley Municipal Code 13.76.130

Your security deposit

• For a deposit taken on or after July 1, 2024, a landlord can ask for no more than one month of rent, furnished or not. A landlord who is a person, or an LLC of persons, with no more than two rental properties and four units in all can ask for up to two months, except from a service member.

  Source: Civil Code 1950.5

• After you move out, the landlord has 21 days to return the deposit, or what is left of it with an itemized statement of the deductions.

  Source: Civil Code 1950.5

• When the deductions for repairs and cleaning come to more than 125 dollars, the statement must come with copies of the receipts or invoices.

  Source: Civil Code 1950.5

• A landlord cannot deduct for ordinary wear and tear.

  Source: Civil Code 1950.5

• You can ask for an inspection before you move out, no earlier than two weeks before you leave, so you can fix what the landlord lists. The landlord gives at least 48 hours of written notice.

  Source: Civil Code 1950.5

• The landlord must photograph the unit when you hand it back, before and after any repair or cleaning you are charged for (since April 1, 2025), and at the start of a tenancy that began on or after July 1, 2025.

  Source: Civil Code 1950.5

• A landlord who keeps a deposit in bad faith can be ordered to pay up to twice the deposit, on top of actual damages.

  Source: Civil Code 1950.5

• Small claims court hears claims of up to 12,500 dollars by a person. The court's self help guide explains how to file.

  Source: California Courts, small claims

Rent increases

• Under the Tenant Protection Act, most rents cannot rise by more than 5 percent plus the change in the cost of living, and never by more than 10 percent, over any 12 months. The rule is in force until January 1, 2030.

  Source: Civil Code 1947.12

• Exempt from that cap: housing with a certificate of occupancy issued within the last 15 years; a house or a condo not owned by a corporation or a REIT, when the lease said so in the words the law sets; a duplex where the owner has lived in the other unit since your tenancy began; and housing under a local rent control that is stricter.

  Source: Civil Code 1947.12

• For a month to month tenancy, the landlord gives written notice at least 30 days before an increase of 10 percent or less over 12 months, and at least 90 days before a larger one.

  Source: Civil Code 827

Ending a tenancy

• Once you have lived in the place lawfully for 12 months, most landlords can only end the tenancy for a reason the law lists (24 months in some cases when an adult tenant joined the lease). Many cities go further.

  Source: Civil Code 1946.2

• When the reason is not your fault, such as the owner moving in or a substantial remodel, the landlord pays relocation help equal to one month of rent, or waives the rent for the last month.

  Source: Civil Code 1946.2

• An owner who ends a tenancy to move in must do so within 90 days and live there for at least 12 months, or offer the unit back to you at the same rent. A substantial remodel needs a permit and work that requires you to leave for at least 30 days; painting and minor repairs do not qualify.

  Source: Civil Code 1946.2

• To end a month to month tenancy, a landlord gives 60 days of written notice if you have lived there a year or more, and 30 days if less. Your own notice is at least as long as the rent period, which is 30 days for a monthly rent.

  Source: Civil Code 1946.1

Repairs and the condition of the home

• A rental must be fit to live in: roof and outside walls that keep water out, hot and cold running water, heating, safe electrical wiring, clean premises, garbage containers, and floors, stairs and railings in good repair.

  Source: Civil Code 1941.1

• For a lease signed, renewed or extended on or after January 1, 2026, the list also covers a stove and a refrigerator in working order, with the exceptions the law sets out.

  Source: Civil Code 1941.1

• If the landlord does not make a repair within a reasonable time after you ask (30 days is presumed reasonable), the law lets you have it done and deduct the cost from the rent, when it costs no more than one month of rent, no more than twice in 12 months. Conditions apply: read the text or ask one of the organizations below first.

  Source: Civil Code 1942

When the landlord can come in

• A landlord gives reasonable written notice before coming in, presumed to be 24 hours, and comes in during normal business hours, except in an emergency or with your consent.

  Source: Civil Code 1954

Retaliation

• A landlord cannot raise the rent, reduce services or evict you because you asked for a repair or complained to a public agency. When the landlord acts within 180 days of the request or the complaint, the law presumes retaliation, provided your rent is paid.

  Source: Civil Code 1942.5

Questions about your situation?

Read the text behind each rule through its link, or ask one of these organizations. Most give free counseling. We are not affiliated with any of them and we share nothing with them.