CIV § 1941.1

Untenantable Rental Standards: CIV § 1941.1

CIV § 1941.1 deems a rental untenantable lacking weatherproofing, plumbing, hot water, heat, or wiring. Recalled stoves must be repaired in 30 days.

Official text CIV § 1941.1 — California
  • (a) A dwelling shall be deemed untenantable for purposes of Section 1941 if it substantially lacks any of the following affirmative standard characteristics or is a residential unit described in Section 17920.3 or 17920.10 of the Health and Safety Code:
  • (1) Effective waterproofing and weather protection of roof and exterior walls, including unbroken windows and doors.
  • (2) Plumbing or gas facilities that conformed to applicable law in effect at the time of installation, maintained in good working order.
  • (3) A water supply approved under applicable law that is under the control of the tenant, capable of producing hot and cold running water, or a system that is under the control of the landlord, that produces hot and cold running water, furnished to appropriate fixtures, and connected to a sewage disposal system approved under applicable law.
  • (4) Heating facilities that conformed with applicable law at the time of installation, maintained in good working order.
  • (5) Electrical lighting, with wiring and electrical equipment that conformed with applicable law at the time of installation, maintained in good working order.
  • (6) Building, grounds, and appurtenances at the time of the commencement of the lease or rental agreement, and all areas under control of the landlord, kept in every part clean, sanitary, and free from all accumulations of debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents, and vermin.
  • (7) An adequate number of appropriate receptacles for garbage and rubbish, in clean condition and good repair at the time of the commencement of the lease or rental agreement, with the landlord providing appropriate serviceable receptacles thereafter and being responsible for the clean condition and good repair of the receptacles under their control.
  • (8) Floors, stairways, and railings maintained in good repair.
  • (9) A locking mail receptacle for each residential unit in a residential hotel, as required by Section 17958.3 of the Health and Safety Code. This subdivision shall become operative on July 1, 2008.
  • (10) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a stove that is maintained in good working order and capable of safely generating heat for cooking purposes. A stove that is subject to a recall by the manufacturer or a public entity is not capable of safely generating heat for cooking purposes. This paragraph shall only apply to a lease entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2026.
  • (11) (A) Except as provided in subdivision (b) and subparagraph (B), a refrigerator that is maintained in good working order and capable of safely storing food. A refrigerator that is subject to recall by the manufacturer or a public entity is not capable of safely storing food. (B) A tenant and landlord may mutually agree when the lease is signed if the tenant chooses to provide and maintain their own refrigerator, provided that all of the following apply:
  • (i) The lease contains a statement in substantially the following form: “Under state law, the landlord is required to provide a refrigerator in good working order in your unit. By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have asked to bring your own refrigerator and that you are responsible for keeping that refrigerator in working order.” (ii) The lease provides that the tenant may, with 30 days written notice, inform the landlord that they no longer wish to keep their own refrigerator in the unit, and that at the end of the 30-day notice period, the landlord shall install a refrigerator in good working order in the unit.
  • (iii) A landlord shall not condition a tenancy upon the tenant providing their own refrigerator.
  • (iv) The landlord shall not be responsible for the maintenance of a refrigerator provided by the tenant. (C) This paragraph shall only apply to a lease entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2026.
  • (b) The characteristics described in paragraphs (10) and (11) of subdivision (a) shall not apply to any of the following:
  • (1) Permanent supportive housing, as that term is defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 8698.4 of the Government Code.
  • (2) A single-room occupancy unit that provides living and sleeping space for the exclusive use of the occupant, including those in which occupants share food preparation facilities with occupants.
  • (3) A unit in a residential hotel, as that term is defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 50519 of the Health and Safety Code.
  • (4) A dwelling unit within a housing facility that offers shared or communal kitchen spaces to its residents, including a dwelling unit within an assisted living facility.
  • (c) (1) A landlord shall repair or replace a stove or refrigerator that is subject to recall by the manufacturer or a public entity, as described in paragraphs (10) and (11) of subdivision (a), within 30 days of receiving notice that the stove or refrigerator is subject to recall.
  • (2) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to prohibit a tenant from exercising any remedy authorized under Section 1942.
  • (d) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to prohibit a tenant or owner of rental properties from qualifying for a utility energy savings assistance program, or any other program assistance, for heating or hot water system repairs or replacement, or a combination of heating and hot water system repairs or replacements, that would achieve energy savings.

Text as published in the 2026 snapshot of the code.

Source: Vaquill Open US Law, compiled from official state publishers (huggingface.co), reproduced under license CC BY 4.0.

Read this provision at the official source →

What it actually says

Section 1941.1 is the checklist that gives § 1941 its content. Subdivision (a) says a dwelling is deemed untenantable if it substantially lacks any of the listed affirmative standard characteristics, or is a unit described in Health and Safety Code § 17920.3 or § 17920.10. The list is concrete: effective waterproofing and weather protection of roof and exterior walls including unbroken windows and doors; plumbing and gas facilities maintained in good working order; an approved water supply capable of producing hot and cold running water; heating facilities in good working order; electrical lighting and wiring in good working order; building and grounds kept clean, sanitary and free of debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents and vermin; adequate rubbish receptacles; floors, stairways and railings in good repair; a locking mail receptacle in a residential hotel; and — for leases entered into, amended or extended on or after 1 January 2026 — a working stove and a working refrigerator, the refrigerator subject to a written opt-out the tenant may choose.

The operative word is "substantially". The test is not whether every item on the list is in perfect order but whether the dwelling substantially lacks one of them, which is why a single loose railing and a staircase with no railing at all are not the same case. And the section is written as a floor: it says what makes a dwelling untenantable, not what makes it good.

Because the list is closed and specific, the argument in a real dispute is usually about which item a defect falls under rather than whether the tenant deserves the repair. A recurring leak is item (1); a bathroom fan that does not clear steam is not on the list at all, though the mould it produces may bring in the sanitation item or the separate mould provisions. Which item applies, and whether the lack is substantial, is a factual question worth taking to a lawyer or a local code enforcement office.

When it applies

  • No hot water, or a boiler that has been out for weeks
  • A roof or window that lets water in every time it rains
  • No working heat in winter
  • Rodents, roaches or bed bugs in a part of the building the landlord controls
  • Wiring that trips constantly, or sockets that do not work
  • A broken stove or refrigerator under a lease signed or renewed from 2026

What this section does not say

  • It is not a general standard of comfort. Air conditioning, dishwashers, good insulation, quiet and modern fittings are not on the list, and their absence does not make a dwelling untenantable under this section.
  • A minor fault in a listed item is not enough. The section requires that the dwelling "substantially lacks" the characteristic, so a single dripping tap is not the same as plumbing that does not work.
  • It does not itself require the landlord to do anything. The duty is in § 1941; this section supplies the definition that duty is measured against.
  • It does not decide who pays. Where the tenant caused the condition, §§ 1929 and 1941.2 may take it out of the landlord's obligation entirely.
  • It is not the local housing code. A city inspector enforces the Health and Safety Code and local ordinances; this section is a civil standard used between landlord and tenant, and the two can produce different answers.

Worked examples

Invented situations, written to show how the wording bites. They are not real cases, not judgments and not precedent, and nothing here predicts what would happen in yours.

Illustrative example

Water comes through a bedroom ceiling every time it rains hard, staining the plaster and soaking the carpet. The landlord says it is a cosmetic issue and will be painted over in the summer.

How the wording applies

Effective waterproofing and weather protection of roof and exterior walls is the first item on the section 1941.1 list, and the test is whether the dwelling substantially lacks it. The fact it turns on is the source: water entering through the roof or wall is a listed defect, while condensation on a cold wall raises the tenant's own obligations under section 1941.2 instead.

How the parties settled it

The landlord commissions a roof inspection within a fixed number of days and completes any repair identified within a stated period, with an agreed rent credit for each week the bedroom is unusable.

Illustrative example

A water heater fails and the tenant is told a plumber is coming next week, three weeks running. In the meantime water is being heated on the stove.

How the wording applies

Hot and cold running water is a listed characteristic, so a dwelling without it substantially lacks one and is untenantable within the section. The decisive facts are the length of the failure and the date the landlord was told, because the remedies that follow, in section 1942 and section 1942.4, each run on their own clock from that notice.

How the parties settled it

The landlord installs a replacement heater by a fixed date and credits the rent for the weeks without hot water, and the tenant withdraws a repair-and-deduct notice already served.

Illustrative example

A lease renewed in 2026 lists a refrigerator and a stove as provided. The stove stops working and the landlord says appliances are not his responsibility.

How the wording applies

For leases entered into or renewed on or after 1 January 2026 the section adds a working stove or oven and a refrigerator to the characteristics a dwelling must have. What this turns on is the date of the lease or renewal, which decides whether the appliance is a habitability item or merely something the landlord once supplied as a courtesy.

How the parties settled it

The landlord repairs or replaces the stove within an agreed period and credits the tenant for meals bought out over a capped number of days.

How courts have read it

Decisions construing this provision. The question and the summary are ours; the quoted sentence is the court's own words, taken from the published opinion. These are the decisions in our corpus, not every decision there is, and nothing here predicts any other case. Reported 1991 to 2017.

Scott v. Kaiuum, 8 Cal. App. 5th Supp. 1 (2017)

Court of Appeal

What the court had to decide

Did the conditions of the rental unit violate Civil Code section 1941.1, thereby triggering the landlord's inability to demand rent under Civil Code section 1942.4?

What it held

Yes, the conditions described in the Housing Authority's notice showed the unit lacked the affirmative standard characteristics listed in Civil Code section 1941.1, making it untenantable and triggering the protections of Civil Code section 1942.4.

In the court's words
the conditions of the unit as described in the notice of abatement served on respondent showed that the unit fell below the standards of Civil Code section 1941.1.

Source: Caselaw Access Project, CC0 1.0 Universal (public domain dedication).

Related sections

CIV § 1941 Landlords Must Keep Dwellings Fit to Live In: CIV § 1941 CIV § 1941.2 Substantial Tenant Breach Cancels Repairs: CIV § 1941.2 CIV § 1942 Deduct Up to One Month's Rent or Vacate: CIV § 1942 CIV § 1942.4 No Rent After 35 Days Unrepaired: CIV § 1942.4

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We copy this text from the official publisher and re-check it against that source on every page load, but we cannot guarantee it is complete, current or free of error, and we accept no liability for any reliance on it. An amendment can take effect before a consolidation catches up. The publisher's own copy is linked below; where the two differ, it is the official one that counts.

This page reproduces the text of CIV § 1941.1 in force at the date shown and explains it in general terms. It is not legal advice and takes no account of the circumstances of your case, which can change the answer completely. For a live dispute, for limitation periods, and before taking any step in court, consult a qualified lawyer in California.

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