No. 1 · Tuesday, December 15, 2026 · California · 9 minutes | Six California laws start on Jan 1, and two of them are one eviction rule and its later fix. The one that reaches the most owners of a unit or two is about the pictures in the ad: an edited or AI-made listing photo needs a label on or next to it, plus a way to see the original. | 17 days to Jan 1: 6 California laws. Apr 1: one more. |
| California · AB 2025 Edited and AI-made photos in rental adsStarts Jan 1, 2027 What changed A rental ad with a digitally altered image must carry “a disclosure that the image has been altered”, on or next to it, plus the original or a link, a URL or a QR code to a public page showing it (Civ. Code 1940.11(b)). Altered means AI-generated, or edited to add, remove or change something. Who it reaches A person who puts the image in the ad; no unit count, owner type or lease length is named. Outside it: “only lighting, sharpening, white balance, color correction, angle, straightening, cropping, exposure, or other common photo editing adjustments” ((a)(2)(B)). The trigger The ad goes up with the image in it, from Jan 1. The price tag None of its own. For a licensed agent or broker, a violation counts against the license (Bus. & Prof. Code 10185: a willful one is a misdemeanor, fine up to $10,000). Starts Jan 1, 2027signed Sep 27, 2026, no date clause (Cal. Const. art. IV, sec. 8(c)(1)). Before it starts Dec 31: find every listing photo that was staged, edited or generated, and note where a label and a link to the original would sit. The signed text AB 2025 (Stats. 2026, ch. 572), new Civ. Code 1940.11; chaptered text (the signed bill, numbered in the 2026 statutes), read Nov 3, 2026. No code page yet. AB 2025 is a bill number, not a year: signed in 2026, it starts in 2027. |  | California · SB 1365 The emergency rent cap reaches leases of any lengthStarts Jan 1, 2027 What changed Penal Code 396 bars a rent increase of “more than 10 percent” for 30 days after an emergency is declared, plus extensions. Its definition of housing stopped at leases of a year or less; from Jan 1 it is “any rental housing, including, but not limited to, a space rented in a mobilehome park or campground” (396(j)(10)). The exceptions (a tenant-agreed increase, repair costs) become defenses the owner proves (396(e)(2)). Who it reaches Any person, business or other entity; no unit count. Outside it: housing under no declared emergency, and increases proved under a defense; lawful evictions stay lawful (396(m)). Two autumn proclamations switched the cap off by name (El Niño, Sep 21; Dove Fire, Oct 15). The trigger An emergency declared by the President, the Governor or a local body, then a rent advertised, offered or charged more than 10% above the old one inside the 30 days (396(e)(1)). The price tag A misdemeanor: up to a year in county jail, a fine of up to $10,000, or both (396(h)); also a civil penalty of up to $2,500 per violation as unfair competition (396(i); Bus. & Prof. Code 17206(a)). Starts Jan 1, 2027signed Sep 30, 2026, no date clause (art. IV, sec. 8(c)(1)). Before it starts Dec 31: count the leases longer than a year, and read the current proclamation for any county with one in it. The signed text | | California · AB 747, amended by AB 2042 How an eviction is servedStarts Jan 1, 2027 What changed, for the owner who files The complaint that opens an unlawful detainer (the eviction case) must state how the termination notice was served and “the date, time, and location of effected service of the termination notice” (Code Civ. Proc. 1166(a)(5)). Personal delivery of the summons must be tried “on at least three occasions on three different days at three different times” before substituted service or posting (415.20(b)(2), 415.45(d)(1)).
The proof of service carries a photo of each attempt and delivery, stamped automatically with date, time and GPS; at a home, one shows the door (417.10(a), as amended by AB 2042). That photo rule covers personal, substituted and posted service in any civil case, not only evictions. Who it reaches Every plaintiff in an unlawful detainer, and anyone serving a summons those ways; no unit-count exemption. Outside it: an owner who files nothing. The trigger A complaint filed on or after Jan 1, 2027; for the default rules, service attempted or completed from that day (473.2(f)). The price tag No fine. A tenant not served under the chapter may move to set aside a default; once they offer evidence the service was unlawful, the owner must prove by a preponderance that it was lawful (473.2), and a judgment void for bad service can be attacked at any time (473(e)). Starts Jan 1, 2027by AB 747’s own operative clauses; AB 2042 (signed Sep 20, 2026, no date clause) lands there under art. IV, sec. 8(c)(1). Before it starts Before any January filing: check the dates on the court’s UD-100 and POS-010 forms; when we looked they read Jul 1, 2026 and Jan 1, 2007, the 2027 revisions unconfirmed. The signed text | | - AB 2128 (Stats. 2026, ch. 922), new Health & Saf. Code 34336: an owner in a covered program such as Section 8 may not make term limits or work requirements a condition of eligibility unless federal law requires them. Owners outside those programs are outside it. No penalty named.
- AB 2563 (Stats. 2026, ch. 952): fair housing law’s definition of sex now points to the list in new Gov. Code 27(b)(3). The bill says it “is declarative of existing law”. No new penalty.
SB 1296 (Stats. 2026, ch. 1025), new Civ. Code 1942.7.5, operative Apr 1, 2027 by its subdivision (m): a written pet policy or addendum, linked from the property’s ads where the platform allows and handed over with every application; a total ban counts, and so does having no rules. The price tag is a refund of the application fee within seven business days of a written request. Full Card in March. Signed laws found as of Nov 3, 2026 We checked all 1,040 laws California enacted in 2026, section by section, against the landlord sections we track, plus earlier laws that switch on Jan 1, 2027. Not checked: regulations, court rules and forms, local ordinances. Missed one? Write to hello@landlorddispatch.com. | | 8.1% to 8.8% The AB 1482 cap for an increase taking effect Aug 1, 2026 to Jul 31, 2027: Los Angeles and Orange 8.7%; Riverside and San Bernardino 8.1%; San Diego 8.2%; Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo 8.8%; all other counties 8.6% (the Attorney General’s table, marked informational only). The condition: over 12 months, no more than “5 percent plus the percentage change in the cost of living, or 10 percent, whichever is lower” (Civ. Code 1947.12(a)); a new tenancy starts at any rent (b). Outside the cap, among others: a single-family home or condo whose owner is not a REIT, a corporation or an LLC with a corporate member, once the tenant has the statute’s written notice (d)(5). The notice begins “This property is not subject to the rent limits imposed by Section 1947.12 of the Civil Code”, and for a tenancy begun or renewed on or after Jul 1, 2020 it goes in the rental agreement. The Cap Lookup on the site shows the statute’s sentence and who is exempt before it shows a number: cap lookup. AG table; Civ. Code 1947.12. The AG’s chart twice cites “Civil Code section 1974.12”. The cap is 1947.12. | 21 days, then up to twice the depositCiv. Code 1950.5 gives a landlord “no later than 21 calendar days after the tenant has vacated the premises” to send an itemized statement and return the rest (h)(1). Bad faith forfeits the whole claim (h)(7) and risks “statutory damages of up to twice the amount of the security, in addition to actual damages” (m). Since 2025 the statute also wants photos, at move-in from Jul 1 and at move-out from Apr 1 (g). The court story, in roles. Two owners leased their Los Angeles house at $9,750 a month with a $19,500 deposit; the tenant left in November 2022, before the photo rules. One owner texted that he had found damage, then twice that he was waiting for estimates, and sent no statement and no refund; a March 2023 email listed ten items, nothing attached. The jury found bad faith; the judge set the penalty at twice the deposit, $39,000. Judgment: $61,801.67, the $39,000 plus $22,801.67 (the deposit with interest), fees and costs to follow. The appeal court affirmed, and the published part puts it in one sentence: “At the conclusion of the tenancy, [the owners] neither returned [the tenant’s] security deposit, nor provided him an accounting of how they had used the funds.” Citation: Aviles v. Shenon (Cal. Ct. App., 2d Dist., Div. 1, Nos. B342634 and B344966, filed Nov 2, 2026), partly published; the deposit facts sit in the unpublished part, the published part being a ruling on a lease clause about court costs. Opinion PDF; Civ. Code 1950.5. The same rule in the other seven states, shortest clock first New York: 14 days, itemized, or the landlord forfeits any right to keep any of it. Willful violation: punitive damages up to twice the deposit. N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(e), (g). Florida: 15 days to return it; 30 for a certified-mail or agreed e-mail claim notice. No notice, no claim on it. Loser pays fees. Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3). Illinois, any building size: itemized list with receipts in 30 days, or all of it back in 45. Refusal or bad faith costs twice the deposit, plus fees. 765 ILCS 710/1(a), (c). Texas: 30 days after surrender and a written forwarding address. Late is presumed bad faith: $100, three times the amount wrongfully withheld, and attorney’s fees. Tex. Prop. Code §§ 92.103, 92.107, 92.109. Washington: 30 days, documented statement, or the full deposit is owed and defenses barred. Intentional refusal: up to twice the deposit. Loser pays fees. RCW 59.18.280. Oregon: 31 days, written accounting and refund. Money withheld with no accounting, or in bad faith, costs twice the amount. Winner may get fees. ORS 90.300(12), (13), (16); 90.255. Virginia: 45 days, itemized; 15 more for the itemization if damage tops the deposit and needs a contractor, with notice. Willful failure means the deposit back, plus actual damages and attorney fees. Va. Code § 55.1-1226 A, E. | The 1099 line is $600 $2,000For payments made after Dec 31, 2025, a 1099-MISC (rents) or 1099-NEC (services) is due for anyone paid “$2,000 or more in any calendar year”, not $600 (26 USC 6041(a), 6041A(a)(2); Pub. L. 119-21, sec. 70433), when the payment is in the course of a trade or business; whether a rental is one is not a question this letter answers. For 2026 payments: Mon, Feb 1, 2027 for the 1099-NEC and all recipient copies; the 1099-MISC to the IRS by Mar 1 on paper, Mar 31 electronically. 26 USC 6041; IRS instructions, Dec 2026. | To change nothing, AB 2563 edits 29 California codes, the Fish and Game Code among them. Know a landlord with a California rental? This is the one to send. Next dispatch: Tuesday, December 29. |  |
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