Happy New Year and Happy Renting, are you wondering what kind of laws you’ll be facing as a rental property owner in 2025?

You knew there’d be new laws. This is California, after all.

Over 60 housing-related bills were signed into law, according to the California Association of Realtors. But, some of them will be more meaningful to you than others.

Let’s take a look at some of the Peninsula rental law changes that owners need to know for 2025. Here’s a comprehensive guide from your local property management resource (us!).

Expanded Eviction Protections

Just cause eviction laws have been on the books for several years. Most landlords and owners understand the strict requirements around evicting a tenant.

New legislation has now given tenants extra time to respond to an eviction proceeding that has made its way to the courts.

This law, AB 2347 goes into effect on January 1, 2025. Instead of having five business days to respond to an eviction notice, or a Summons and Complaint, tenants will now have 10 days to respond. The law also clarifies the timeline for filing motions to strike the complaint, which is now between five and seven days after receiving notice.

Default evictions occur when tenants do not respond to the unlawful detainer lawsuit. This new bill will prevent those evictions and give tenants more time to access legal help or prepare a defense to the pending eviction.

What does this law mean for you, when you’re evicting a tenant? It means that those unlawful detainer lawsuits will take longer to resolve. Evictions will stretch on a little bit longer, thanks to the doubling of the time in which a defendant may respond to an eviction complaint.

If there’s a silver lining here, it’s that AB 2347 could potentially streamline proceedings by allowing oral arguments in the form of objections and replies rather than written complaints and oppositions. Also, hearings will need to be conducted within seven days unless there’s a good cause for an extension of time.

Tenant Screening and Application Fees

AB 2493, which is effective January 1, allows landlords and property managers to charge an application screening fee only if applications are accepted in the order in which they are received and only if the first application to meet the screening criteria is approved. This law also requires that you or your property manager provide the screening criteria to the applicant in writing when the application is requested.

Reporting Rents to Credit Bureaus

AB 2747 requires that you, as the rental property owner, offer tenants the option of having their positive rental payment information reported to at least one nationwide consumer reporting agency. When you have a lease starting on and after April 1, 2025, you need to make this offer at the time you sign the lease and then at least once annually. For existing leases, as of Jan. 1, 2025, the offer of positive rental payment information reporting must be made no later than April 1, 2025, and at least once annually thereafter.

The good news is, you have the option to charge tenants a fee to cover actual costs of reporting their on-time rental payments. This charge cannot exceed $10 each month, and it must go towards the cost of reporting the positive rental payments.

There are exemptions to this law. It does not apply to owners of a residential rental building that contains 15 or fewer dwelling units, unless both of the following apply:

The landlord owns more than one residential rental building, (number of units in each building does not matter); and,
The landlord is a real estate investment trust, a corporation, or a limited liability company in which at least one member is a corporation.

We aren’t sure how many tenants will be willing to pay for the privilege of having their on-time rents reported to the credit bureaus, but we do believe this might incentivize them to get the rent in when it’s due.

Security Deposit and Unit Photos

This new law requires landlords who collect a security deposit must take photographs of the unit at three separate points before and after a tenancy:

Immediately before the tenants move in, or at the start of a new tenancy.
Within a reasonable time after the lease term ends and the unit is returned to the landlord, but prior to any repairs or cleaning.
Within a reasonable time after repairs or cleaning are completed.

As a landlord, you’ll be required to provide these photographs to your departing tenant. Beginning April 1, 2025, the landlord must take photographs of the unit within a reasonable time after the rental home is returned to the landlord. For tenancies that begin on or after July 1, 2025, you will have to take photographs of the unit immediately before, or at the start of, the tenancy.

Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Reforms

Renting out an ADU on an existing property can be a profitable way to earn additional rent and expand a real estate portfolio. Several new laws will provide flexibility and accessibility for ADUs.

SB 1211 allows for more ADU opportunities on existing multifamily properties. Owners can add new ADUs, up to a number that’s equivalent to 25 percent of the existing units, and also up to eight detached ADUs. The total number of detached ADUs permitted will depend on how many units are on the existing multifamily property.
AB 2533 strengthens the ADU Amnesty Program, which is a statewide initiative that establishes safety standards for local agencies when they’re assessing informal ADUs. Ultimately, this law aims to reduce fees for lower-income homeowners. It also requires cities to provide a checklist of standards up front. This law leads to more transparency and affordability in the ADU process.

These are the most relevant new laws to rental property owners on the Peninsula. If you’d like to talk in more detail, please contact us at Bayside Management. We lease, manage, and maintain investment properties in San Mateo and around the Peninsula, including San Carlos, Redwood City, Pacifica, San Bruno, Half Moon Bay, Daly City, Mountain View, Foster City, and Palo Alto.