California landlord entry laws
How much notice your landlord owes you before coming in, when they may enter without it, and what California law lets you do about it.
Notice required
24 hours in writing (6 days if mailed)
The landlord must give reasonable notice in writing. Twenty-four hours is presumed reasonable if delivered personally or posted; mailing at least six days before the intended entry is presumed reasonable. The landlord may not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant.
Cal. Civ. Code § 1954
When they may enter
Normal business hours only, unless the tenant consents.
When they may enter without notice
No notice is required to respond to an emergency, or where the tenant is present and consents at the time of entry.
What you can do about a violation
Section 1954 itself carries no penalty. A civil penalty of up to $2,000 per violation is available under § 1940.2, but only for a significant and intentional violation of § 1954 committed for the purpose of influencing a tenant to vacate. A prevailing tenant may recover it, including in small claims court.
Cal. Civ. Code § 1940.2(a)(4), (b)
Before you rely on this
California law depends on facts only you can confirm. Check these first.
Were the entries significant and intentional — and has your landlord separately tried to get you to move out?
The $2,000 penalty requires both a significant, intentional violation and a purpose of making you vacate. Without that purpose, § 1954 states a rule with no penalty attached, and we will not imply one that isn't there.
What to do right now
Record facts, not conclusions: dates and times of entries, and any request, notice, or conversation about you moving out. Those facts are what the penalty turns on.
Put it in writing
We'll write a letter citing Cal. Civ. Code § 1954, listing each entry with its date and time, and stating what the statute provides. Free to generate and download.
Write my California entry letterOther California tenant rights
Landlords who get one of these wrong often get another wrong too.
How this page was checked
- Read from the source. Every deadline, cap and penalty here was taken from California's published text — the statute, session law or administrative code itself.
- No legal-information websites. Commercial summaries were used only to find a provision, never as authority for it. An automated check fails our build if any state we serve cites a secondary source.
- Locked against drift. The verified figures are pinned by regression tests, so a later edit cannot quietly change a deadline or a penalty.
- Last verified August 21, 2026. Laws change — confirm the current text before relying on it.
General information, not legal advice. We are not a law firm.
Compare all 51 jurisdictions — notice periods range from 12 hours to 72, and thirteen states have no rule at all.