Being a Landlord in California: Key Things You Need to Know

Renting out a property is a popular way of making money, but not everyone who does this take the time to find out about all of the key areas they need to understand. 

You Need a Written Rental Agreement

First things first. It’s important to investigate the landlord tenant laws of California. One of the first points that stands out is the need for a written rental agreement. This is only a legal requirement in those cases where the property is going to be rented out for a year or more, or if there’s at least a year between the signing of the agreement and the end of the rental period.

Details to be listed on this agreement include the property information, the amount of the rent to be paid, and the responsibilities of the landlord as well as those of the tenant. The law titled AB 1482 then says that you need to give at least 60 days notice at the end of the rental period if it’s not being renewed and also states the restrictions on how much you can increase the rent by.

You Can Ask for a Security Deposit

A security deposit is the landlord’s peace of mind that they’re covered if anything goes wrong. It gives you a guarantee that the tenant is serious about their responsibilities and won’t leave you in the lurch or leave you out of pocket by damaging items and then disappearing.

The amount that you can request in a security deposit is controlled by law. This means that if the property isn’t furnished then the most you can ask for is two months’ worth of rent. If it’s furnished, this increases to three months. When they leave the property, you have 21 days to return the deposit to the tenant unless they’ve not paid their full rent, have left the place needing to be cleaned up, have caused damages, or have taken items away with them.

The Question of Evicting a Tenant

While no landlord wants to be in the position of having to evict a tenant, it’s crucial that you carry out everything in the right way so that you protect yourself in case the relationship goes wrong. The Tenant Protection Act of 2019 is the most recent law that defines how this works, as it tells us several situations in which you can evict a tenant from your property.

Perhaps the most important point is that the tenant can be evicted if they fail to comply with the terms of the agreement, which is why getting this document right is such an important step. You need to give a three-day notice before evicting them, and this is also the case when they haven’t paid the rent on time. If they sublease the property, refuse you entry, or carry out criminal activity there then you can also evict them. The final valid reason for eviction is when they refuse a new contract on the same terms as the old one so now you can prepare a notice with help of Eviction Notice Template Wyoming

There’s a lot to think about when you decide to become a landlord in California, and by covering these points you’ll be on the way to doing this successfully.