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LeaseRedFlag

CA · Tier 1

California residential lease decoder

Plain-English per-clause-type enforceability for California residential leases. Each rule below pins to the California state-legislature citation when verified, or to a "pending verification" placeholder when it isn't — never a guess.

2 of 12 clause types verified. Verify directly at the California legislature

Analyzer · residential lease

Decode a clause

Paste a clause excerpt — your text never leaves the browser. Or pick a clause type to read its 50-state enforceability grid.

Everything happens in your browser. We don't POST your text anywhere — there is no server hop in v1. See how the analyzer actually works.

Privacy promise

We don't see your lease.

  • Your browser, your text. Your lease text is processed in your browser. In v1, no lease content leaves your device — there is no server hop at all.
  • Redact-before-hop architecture. When the AI extraction tier ships (Pattern F), only the redacted clause text leaves the browser. Tenant name, landlord name, address, and phone numbers are stripped first.
  • No content logging, ever. We never store, sell, or share your lease text. Aggregate counts (clause-class, success or failure) are the only telemetry — never content, never identity.

Verify the architecture: how the analyzer works · full privacy policy.

Clause by clause

Clause-by-clause rules

12 most-litigated residential lease clauses. Verified rules lead; the rest are honestly labeled pending verification, each linked to the state legislature. Verified means the rule was matched to the cited statute text on the date shown.

  1. security-deposit

    Security-deposit caps and return timelines

    State-restricted

    A landlord may not demand or receive a security deposit of more than one month's rent, except in the cases set out in §1950.5(c)(2), (3) and (5); under (c)(5) the limit is two months' rent. The deposit, less itemized deductions, is due back within 21 calendar days after the tenant vacates.

    Source · Cal. Civ. Code §1950.5 · primary source · Checked November 1, 2026 against the official text as archived on September 25, 2026

  2. late-rent-eviction

    Pay-or-quit / eviction notice timing

    State-restricted

    After rent is unpaid, a landlord must serve a written 3-day notice to pay or quit (excluding weekends and judicial holidays for purposes of the cure period under recent amendments) before filing an unlawful-detainer action.

    Source · Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §1161 · primary source · Checked November 1, 2026 against the official text as archived on September 24, 2026

10 clause types pending verification for California

  • Late-fee schedule

    Pending verification

    General doctrine across states: Reasonable-relationship-to-actual-damages doctrine (e.g., Cal. Civ. Code §1671) plus state-specific caps and grace periods.

  • Pet fees, pet rent, pet deposits

    Pending verification

    General doctrine across states: State security-deposit-cap statutes plus federal FHA accommodations (42 U.S.C. §3604) for assistance animals.

  • Automatic renewal of the lease

    Pending verification

    General doctrine across states: State-statute auto-renewal restrictions; consumer-protection auto-renewal disclosure requirements (where they apply to leases).

  • Attorney-fee-shifting clause

    Pending verification

    General doctrine across states: Attorney-fee-reciprocity statutes (e.g., Cal. Civ. Code §1717); American Rule background.

  • Repair-obligation shifting

    Pending verification

    General doctrine across states: Implied warranty of habitability (Javins v. First National Realty, 1970) — recognized by statute or common law in nearly every state.

  • Habitability waiver

    Pending verification

    General doctrine across states: Implied warranty of habitability (cannot be waived); state housing-code violations.

  • Mandatory arbitration / jury-trial waiver

    Pending verification

    General doctrine across states: Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. §1-16); state-specific lease arbitration disclosure rules; unconscionability defense.

  • Non-disclosure / non-disparagement

    Pending verification

    General doctrine across states: Consumer Review Fairness Act (15 U.S.C. §45b); state anti-SLAPP and anti-gag statutes.

  • Sublease and assignment

    Pending verification

    General doctrine across states: Reasonable-consent default rule (jurisdiction-dependent); restraint-on-alienation doctrine.

  • Holdover-tenant rent multiplier

    Pending verification

    General doctrine across states: Holdover tenancy doctrine; liquidated-damages reasonableness; state-specific holdover-rent statutes.

Not legal advice. LeaseRedFlag is informational only. We are not a law firm; we don't represent you. State landlord-tenant law changes — verify any rule directly with the California legislature link above before relying on it. For lease disputes that matter, talk to a licensed real-property or tenant-rights attorney in California.