If you own residential rental property in California, the pet addendum attached to your lease becomes a regulated document next year. Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 1296 on September 30, 2026, and from April 1, 2027 every residential landlord must keep a written pet policy and hand it to applicants with the rental application. Borna Houman Law advises landlords and property owners from our office at 2530 Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica.
A California pet addendum can set rules and assign damage to the tenant, but it cannot push total security above the statutory cap (one month’s rent for most owners) or add a pet fee, pet rent, or extra deposit for an assistance animal. From April 1, 2027, Civil Code section 1942.7.5 requires landlords to give applicants a written pet policy.
What does SB 1296 require California landlords to do by April 1, 2027?
Every landlord or agent must have a pet policy or pet addendum in writing and must give a written copy with any rental application form. The requirement sits in new Civil Code section 1942.7.5, added by Senate Bill 1296 (Statutes of 2026, chapter 1025), and the section becomes operative on April 1, 2027.
For landlords and property owners only. If you are updating your lease package for 2027 or dealing with an animal you never approved, we will review the addendum and the notice before you serve anything. Call (888) 42-BORNA to schedule a confidential consultation.
The statute defines a pet policy as any rules and conditions, including any prohibition, for maintaining pets. A building that bans pets still needs a written policy saying so, and a building with no pet rules must state that there are none. The policy must give a clear, plain-language description of the rights, responsibilities, and requirements for tenant pet owners.
| What section 1942.7.5 requires | Where it applies | Subdivision |
|---|---|---|
| A written pet policy or pet addendum | Every residential rental, including no-pet buildings | (b) |
| A hyperlink or other electronic access to the policy | The property’s website, digital ads the landlord fully controls, and third-party listings or rental search engines that support a link | (b)(1) |
| A written copy of the policy | With every rental application form, sent electronically if the application is electronic | (b)(2) |
| A space for the applicant to acknowledge receipt | On the rental application | (g) |
| Refund of the application fee within seven business days of a written request | When the fee was charged before disclosure and the applicant is ineligible or withdraws because of the policy | (h) |
| Amendments to an established policy | The statute refers to amendment for prospective tenants | (e) |
Providing the material terms of the policy is substantial compliance, and a nonmaterial error or omission that is corrected upon notice is not a violation. Section 1942.7.5 does not require any owner to allow pets, build a website, or advertise online. The chaptered text states one remedy, the application fee refund, and creates no separate civil penalty.
How much can a landlord charge for a pet in California?
A landlord can collect a pet deposit only if total security stays within the statutory cap, and can charge monthly pet rent if the lease says so. Under Civil Code section 1950.5, any payment, fee, deposit, or charge taken as security counts toward a single cap, however it is labeled.
The cap has been one month’s rent since July 1, 2024. A small landlord may hold up to two months’ rent if the owner is a natural person, or an LLC whose members are all natural persons, and owns no more than two residential rental properties totaling no more than four units. That exception does not apply when the tenant is a service member, and security collected before July 1, 2024 is not subject to the new cap.
No California residential lease may characterize any security as nonrefundable. A “nonrefundable pet fee” is a refundable deposit with an unlawful label, and it still counts toward the cap. Our guide to security deposit returns in California covers the move-out rules.
| Charge | Ordinary pet | Assistance animal (service or support) |
|---|---|---|
| Pet deposit | Allowed only inside the total deposit cap | Not allowed |
| Nonrefundable pet fee | Not allowed | Not allowed |
| Monthly pet rent | Allowed if written into the lease | Not allowed |
| Breed, size, or weight limit | Allowed | Not allowed |
| Charge for actual damage | Allowed | Allowed, excluding ordinary wear and tear |
Take a one-bedroom in a 12-unit building renting for $3,200 a month, where the owner already holds a $3,200 deposit. The tenant asks to bring in a dog. The owner cannot collect a $500 pet deposit, because total security would reach $3,700 against a $3,200 cap. The owner can approve the dog on a signed addendum with pet rent of $75 a month and can still deduct actual pet damage from the $3,200 at move-out.
State law does not prohibit pet rent for ordinary pets. Civil Code section 1947.12 caps increases in the gross rental rate at 5 percent plus the change in the cost of living, or 10 percent, whichever is lower, and it does not define rent or say whether a new pet charge counts. In a unit covered by that cap or by a local rent ordinance, the cautious course is to count new pet rent toward the allowable increase.
Can a landlord charge pet rent or a deposit for an emotional support animal?
No. California’s fair housing regulations bar any pet fee, additional rent, additional security deposit, or liability insurance requirement for an assistance animal, and that category covers both trained service animals and emotional support animals. The rule is in title 2, section 12185(d)(2) of the California Code of Regulations, and the Civil Rights Department explains it in its emotional support animal guidance for housing providers.
An assistance animal is not a pet under those regulations, so the fee and breed terms of a pet addendum do not reach it. The tenant remains responsible for damage the animal causes beyond ordinary wear and tear, and the owner can deduct that damage from the regular security deposit. The owner can also set reasonable conditions on control, waste, and nuisance, provided they are no stricter than the rules for other animals.
For service dogs, Civil Code section 54.2 separately bars any extra charge or security deposit while keeping the tenant liable for damage.
Use two documents: a pet addendum for pets, and a separate assistance animal acknowledgment that carries the conduct rules and none of the charges. In our experience representing landlords, fair housing complaints most often start with a pet deposit charged on an animal the tenant had already documented.
Can a landlord verify an ESA letter or deny an assistance animal?
Yes for a support animal, within limits. When the disability or the need for a support animal is not apparent, a landlord may ask for reliable documentation that the person has a disability and that the animal is needed because of it, but may not ask for a diagnosis or medical records. For a trained service animal, the regulations permit two questions and no documentation.
Under section 12185(c)(2) of the regulations, a certification from an online service that does not include an individualized assessment from a medical professional is presumptively not reliable, although the landlord must let the tenant supply better information before denying the request. Vests and identification cards alone are not documentation.
Health and Safety Code section 122318 requires a practitioner who documents an emotional support dog to hold a valid, active license stated in the letter, to have had a client-provider relationship for at least 30 days (with an exception for verified homeless individuals), and to complete a clinical evaluation. Licensing boards enforce that statute against practitioners. It did not change what a landlord may request, and a letter cannot be rejected solely because it falls short of section 122318.
An owner may deny an assistance animal on an individualized assessment, based on objective evidence, that the specific animal poses a direct threat or would cause substantial physical damage that other accommodations cannot reduce. A request may also be denied where it would impose an undue financial and administrative burden or fundamentally alter the housing. A breed’s reputation is not objective evidence about a particular animal.
Federal guidance has narrowed and California’s has not. HUD withdrew its 2020 assistance animal notice effective September 17, 2025, and on May 22, 2026 issued enforcement guidance limited to individually trained animals. The California Civil Rights Department responded in Legal Alert 2026-01 on July 20, 2026 that state duties toward emotional support animals remain in full effect.
What can a landlord do about an unauthorized pet?
Serve a written notice to cure, and escalate only if the animal stays. Where the lease prohibits pets without consent, an unapproved pet is a curable breach, and the notice is a three-day notice to perform covenants or quit under Code of Civil Procedure section 1161(3), with Saturdays, Sundays, and judicial holidays excluded from the count.
The Judicial Council’s guide to eviction notice types for landlords uses removing a pet as its example of a notice to perform.
For tenancies covered by the Tenant Protection Act, Civil Code section 1946.2 treats breach of a material lease term as at-fault just cause but requires a notice of violation with an opportunity to cure first. Only if the violation is not cured may the owner serve a three-day notice to quit without a further chance to cure. Our guide to breach of lease evictions covers both notices.
The City of Los Angeles adds a limit. An owner cannot change the terms of a tenancy to prohibit pets and then evict over a pet that was previously allowed, unless the animal is an unabated nuisance.
Los Angeles owners must also file the notice with the Housing Department within three business days of service, as the Department explains on its at-fault eviction page for owners.
SB 1296 adds one statewide rule from April 1, 2027: a tenant’s failure to sign a pet addendum cannot be the sole basis of an unlawful detainer action. An owner may still require a signed addendum as a condition of approving a request to keep a pet, and evictions for material breach are unchanged.
Do not accept the animal informally and enforce later. An owner who knew about a pet for months and kept taking rent has given the tenant a waiver argument.
Can a landlord add a pet addendum or a no-pet rule to an existing tenancy?
For a month-to-month tenancy outside rent regulation, yes, on 30 days’ written notice under Civil Code section 827. Inside a fixed-term lease, the terms change only by agreement.
Just cause rules narrow that sharply. Section 1946.2 lists no eviction ground for refusing new terms, other than declining a renewal of similar duration with similar provisions, and the statute does not settle whether breaching a unilaterally imposed term is a material breach. In the City of Los Angeles, the Just Cause Eviction Ordinance answers that question against the owner unless the tenant agreed in writing.
SB 1296 adds a caution. Subdivision (e) refers to amending an established pet policy for prospective tenants only, subdivision (l) preserves a landlord’s authority to amend consistent with other law, and no court has applied either to a sitting tenant. The safer course is to negotiate new pet terms, usually in exchange for approving an animal.
Is a landlord liable when a tenant’s dog bites someone?
Usually not, unless the landlord knew the dog was dangerous and had the power to remove it. Civil Code section 3342 places strict liability for a dog bite on the dog’s owner, not on the landlord.
In Uccello v. Laudenslayer (1975) 44 Cal.App.3d 504, the Court of Appeal held that a landlord owes a duty to third parties only with actual knowledge of the dangerous animal coupled with the right to remove it by retaking possession. Donchin v. Guerrero (1995) 34 Cal.App.4th 1832 added that knowledge can be proved by circumstantial evidence, and that a landlord’s false denial of knowledge is itself evidence.
Under that rule the addendum file is evidence. A prior bite complaint in the file is evidence of knowledge, and a lease clause allowing the owner to revoke pet permission is evidence of the ability to act. An owner who receives a credible aggression complaint should act on it in writing, using the revocation clause and, where needed, the grounds in our guide to nuisance evictions in California.
What should a California pet addendum include?
It should identify the animal, set conduct rules, state the money terms accurately, and reserve the owner’s right to revoke permission. From April 1, 2027 it should also be written in plain language, because the same document will usually serve as the disclosed pet policy. We review it with the main lease as part of lease drafting and review.
- The specific animal: species, breed, weight, name, and vaccination status. Approval covers that animal only.
- Leash and common-area rules, waste removal, and noise.
- The pet rent amount, and a statement that any pet deposit is part of the refundable security deposit and within the statutory cap.
- Tenant responsibility for damage and injury claims, and written notice with a cure period if the animal becomes a nuisance or a safety risk.
- A sentence stating that the charges and the breed, size, and weight limits do not apply to service or support animals.
Leave out any declawing or devocalizing requirement. Civil Code section 1942.7 prohibits a landlord from requiring either as a condition of occupancy, with a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per animal.
What should landlords do before April 1, 2027?
Write the policy now and fix the money terms at the same time.
- Put the pet policy in writing for every property, including properties where the policy is “no pets.”
- Audit deposits and strike the word “nonrefundable” from every form. For security collected or demanded on or after July 1, 2024, the regular deposit plus the pet deposit cannot exceed the cap.
- Add the policy and an acknowledgment line to the application packet, and add a link on the property website and on listings you control.
- Give applicants the policy before taking the application fee. Our guide to tenant screening compliance covers the fee rules.
In our experience representing Los Angeles County owners, the deposit audit finds the real exposure. A building that took a pet deposit after July 1, 2024 on top of a full one-month deposit is over the cap today, unless the small-landlord exception applies.
Frequently asked questions about pet addendums in California
Is a pet addendum legally binding in California?
Yes. A signed pet addendum is part of the lease. Terms that conflict with the security deposit cap or the fair housing regulations are not enforceable.
What is the new pet law in California?
Senate Bill 1296 added Civil Code section 1942.7.5, which becomes operative on April 1, 2027. It requires every residential landlord to keep a written pet policy and provide it with the rental application. It does not require any landlord to allow pets.
What if a landlord says no pets in California?
Most private landlords may prohibit pets, although some publicly financed housing must allow them. Every owner must still consider a request for an assistance animal under the fair housing rules, and from April 1, 2027 must state the prohibition in a written pet policy given to applicants.
Do landlords actually verify ESA letters?
They may ask for reliable documentation when the disability or the need for a support animal is not apparent. A letter from a licensed practitioner who has evaluated the tenant is the usual form, but it is not the only acceptable one. The owner cannot demand a diagnosis or medical records.
Does a pet deposit have to be refundable in California?
Yes. Civil Code section 1950.5 bars any lease from characterizing security as nonrefundable.
Speak with a Los Angeles landlord attorney about your pet policy
Borna Houman Law represents landlords and property owners across Los Angeles County. Read more on our Los Angeles landlord attorney page and our landlord-tenant law page.
Call (888) 42-BORNA to schedule a confidential consultation. Bring your current lease, pet addendum, and rental application. We represent landlords and property owners only.
Written by Borna Houman, attorney at Borna Houman Law, California Bar No. 352339, 2530 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA.
This article is general information about California landlord-tenant law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Civil Code section 1942.7.5 is not operative until April 1, 2027, local ordinances differ by city, and every tenancy turns on its own facts. Speak with a lawyer about your property.
