What's New in Rental Housing Law
Keeping abreast of new local and state regulations for 2025
Below is a compilation of legislation and its effective dates. Measure BB laws took effect on December 20, 2024. AB 2493 went into effect on January 1, 2025; other state laws will be implemented later this year. These changes will significantly impact your rental operations throughout the year. Read further details about the state law changes here.
Berkeley’s rental laws have changed under Measure BB. Our side-by-side comparison shows precisely how the rules have shifted and what rental housing providers need to know. Stay informed, see the key differences here.
To get a quick overview of each law, click the plus sign.
Berkeley's Measure BB makes numerous changes to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance. Review our Measure BB Overview document or watch our Measure BB webinar playback to better understand your obligations under the new regulations.
Permits a landlord to charge a lease applicant an application fee only if the landlord offers an application screening process that considers applications in the order in which they are received, OR an application screening process in which the landlord or their agent returns the entire screening fee to any applicant who is not selected for tenancy. The returned application fee must be given, regardless of the reason, within 7 days of selecting an applicant for tenancy or 30 days of when the application was submitted, whichever occurs first. This law went into effect on January 1, 2025.
AB 2493 was authored by Assembly Member Pellerin (D-Santa Clara/Santa Cruz).
AB 2747 - Positive Rent Payment Credit Reporting - Effective April 1, 2025
AB 2747 requires specific landlords to offer each tenant obligated on a lease the option to have positive rental payment information reported to at least one nationwide consumer reporting agency. This law applies to most properties with 16 or more units, or 15 or fewer units if owned by a corporation that owns multiple rental properties. This law is effective starting April 1, 2025.
Cal. Civ. Code § 1954.07 (“For leases entered into on and after April 1, 2025, the offer of positive rental payment information reporting shall be made at the time of the lease agreement and at least once annually thereafter. For leases outstanding as of January 1, 2025, the offer of positive rental payment information reporting shall be made no later than April 1, 2025, and at least once annually thereafter.”)
A rental housing provider may charge a tenant the lesser of $10 per month or the actual cost of reporting positive rental payments unless the landlord does not incur any actual cost.
AB 2747 was authored by Assembly Member Haney (D-San Francisco).
This law specifies that claims made by a rental housing provider for security deposit deductions must be limited to a reasonable amount necessary to restore the premises back to the condition it was in before the tenancy, less standard wear and tear. It requires that owners must take photographs of the unit within a reasonable time after the possession of the the unit is returned to the rental housing provider, but before any repairs or cleanings that will be deducted from the security deposit are made. Owners must also take photographs within a reasonable time after the repairs or cleaning have been completed.
The law will have a two part phase-in. The first will take effect starting April 1, 2025 and will require the rental housing provider to take the photographs within a reasonable time after the tenant has vacated the unit. Starting July 1, 2025, rental housing providers must take the photographs of the leased unit immediately before or at the inception of the tenancy, as well as after the tenant has vacated.
All tenancies created prior to April 1, 2025 are not required to have taken photographs of the leased unit immediately before or at the inception of the tenancy. However, starting April 1, 2025 all tenancies are subject to the requirement to document the leased unit within a reasonable period after the tenant has vacated.
AB 2801 was authored by Former Assembly Member Friedman (D-Burbank)