Property management and California residential landlord-tenant law

Manage the property and the relationship

A property manager implements the owner's objectives within the management agreement and the law. Core work includes leasing, collecting rent, arranging maintenance, keeping accurate financial records, and communicating with the owner and tenants. A management agreement should define authority, compensation, reporting, and responsibility for expenses. Keep client funds separate from operating funds and document receipts and disbursements.

California recognizes specific licensing exceptions for resident apartment managers and certain supervised employees. Under Business and Professions Code section 10131.01, qualifying unlicensed property-management employees may show units, handle preprinted applications, accept specified payments, quote employer-scheduled terms, and accept signed leases. These limited functions do not authorize independent negotiation of lease terms.

During occupancy

Maintain habitable housing, respond to repair requests, apply screening standards consistently, and respect tenants' possession and privacy. In California, rent and security payments generally must have at least one payment option that is neither cash nor electronic funds transfer. A third-party rent payer may be required to acknowledge in writing that payment does not create a tenancy.

At move-out

California residential security deposits are governed by Civil Code section 1950.5; the nonresidential deposit rules in section 1950.7 are a different framework. Ordinary wear and tear and preexisting damage cannot be charged against the residential tenant or deposit. Professional cleaning is not a routine charge: it must be reasonably necessary to restore the starting condition, excluding ordinary wear. Notify the tenant in writing of the option to request an initial inspection and the right to attend. The inspection gives the tenant an opportunity to correct deficiencies before deductions.

For multiple adult tenants, absent an applicable exception or a written agreement with all adult tenants specifying another arrangement, the remaining deposit is returned by a check payable to all adult tenants on the rental agreement at termination. The itemized statement may be delivered to one adult tenant chosen by the landlord.

Ending possession

For a tenancy covered by California's just-cause law, protection generally attaches after 12 months of continuous lawful occupancy. When additional adult tenants join before an existing tenant reaches 24 months, the threshold is either 12 months for all tenants or 24 months for at least one. Rent default is an at-fault just cause. State a required just cause in the written termination notice. Coverage, exceptions, local protections, and the required notice procedure must be checked for the particular tenancy. A notice is not an eviction judgment: use the lawful court process to recover possession instead of lockouts or utility shutoffs.