California’s new security deposit law went into effect Monday. Now, when landlords charge a security deposit, in most cases, that deposit cannot be larger than one month’s rent. The security deposit cap has some exceptions. Below is a short guide to the new law.Some landlords used to charge two or three times the monthly rent as a security deposit. The cap puts an end to that practice, with an exception for small landlords.
Among the assemblymembers who voted on the bill in September, AB 12 passed 50 to 18, with unanimous support from Democrats and full rejection by Republicans.The law, called AB 12, went into effect July 1. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it into law in October. The law does not cap potential liability. This means that if a tenant damages a property, a landlord can still seek damages if the amount owed by a tenant is larger than the security deposit.Parisa Ijadi-Maghsoodi, a poverty and civil rights lawyer with San Diego-based Pease Law who has previously represented tenants in real estate disputes, said the law will make housing more accessible to people who can’t afford the higher security deposits.
Ijadi-Maghsoodi said this web resource from the state lists the four reasons a landlord can use a tenant’s security deposit: