Civil Code section 1946.2 limits termination of a covered residential tenancy to enumerated at-fault or no-fault causes; SB 567 tightened owner-move-in and substantial-remodel rules and added enforcement remedies from 1 April 2024.
The just-cause duty begins only after every tenant has occupied lawfully for 12 months, or one tenant for 24 months when additional adults joined earlier. Coverage is not decided by dwelling count alone. Owner-occupied duplexes are exempt while the owner remains in one unit; qualifying separately alienable single-family homes and condominiums require non-corporate ownership and the statutory lease notice; housing with a certificate of occupancy in the previous 15 years is exempt.
The protection starts after 12 months of continuous lawful occupancy; when additional adult tenants joined before that point, it starts after all tenants reach 12 months or one reaches 24 months. Buying through a corporation, REIT, or an LLC with a corporate member defeats the separately alienable-home exemption. A missing exemption notice can also leave an otherwise qualifying home covered. SB 567 requires a genuine owner move-in and confines substantial-remodel termination to work that cannot safely be done with the tenant in place and requires the statutory process.
Exemptions
- Housing issued a certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years.
- An owner-occupied duplex is exempt when the owner occupied one unit as their principal residence at the tenancy's start and remains there.
- A separately alienable single-family home or condominium is exempt only when the owner is not a REIT, corporation, or LLC with a corporate member and the tenant received the statutory exemption notice.
- Unit counts
- 1+ units
- Owner-occupied exemption
- Yes
In effect since 2020-01-01.