Updated September 2026 | Authored by Scott Engle, Broker DRE #01332676 | Realty Management Group | Serving San Diego County Since 2005

Last verified against primary sources: September 20, 2026.

Since January 1, 2026, a working stove and refrigerator have been part of California's legal definition of a habitable rental. AB 628 added them to Civil Code §1941.1, which means a covered unit without them is not merely poorly equipped. It is untenantable, and the tenant has remedies.

Every rule below was read against the enacted bill text on September 20, 2026.

Quick Answer

What does AB 628 require? A working stove and a working refrigerator, each maintained in good order, in any California residential lease entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2026. The stove must safely produce heat for cooking; the refrigerator must safely store food. The law amends Civil Code §1941.1, the statute that defines habitability.

Did it apply to every unit on January 1, 2026? No. It attaches when a lease is entered into, amended, or extended on or after that date. An untouched month-to-month tenancy was not automatically covered, but a change of terms after January 1, including a rent increase, may trigger it.

What happens if a unit does not comply? The unit is untenantable under §1941.1. That opens repair-and-deduct up to one month's rent under Civil Code §1942, rent withholding where the defect is substantial, and in serious cases vacating without penalty.

AB 628 (Chapter 342, Statutes of 2025) amends California Civil Code §1941.1, effective January 1, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

AB 628 in plain English

California Assembly Bill 628 (AB 628), authored by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor and chaptered on October 6, 2025 as Chapter 342, Statutes of 2025, amends Civil Code §1941.1, the statute that lists what a rental dwelling must have to be habitable. Effective January 1, 2026, it adds a stove and a refrigerator, each maintained in good working order, to that list as paragraphs (10) and (11). It applies to any California residential lease entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2026, and not automatically to leases that predate it. Four categories are excluded under subdivision (b): permanent supportive housing, single-room occupancy units, residential hotels, and shared-kitchen facilities. A tenant may choose to supply their own refrigerator under four conditions written into the lease at signing; there is no equivalent choice for the stove. A covered unit that lacks either appliance is untenantable, which opens the tenant remedies in Civil Code §1942.

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In this guide

California AB 628 Stove and Refrigerator Requirements at a Glance

Table 1. AB 628 California appliance requirements at a glance, Civil Code §1941.1 as amended, in effect statewide including San Diego County, verified September 20, 2026.
Item	Rule	Authority
Stove required	Yes, maintained in good working order, capable of safely generating heat for cooking	Civ. Code §1941.1(a)(10)
Refrigerator required	Yes, maintained in good working order, capable of safely storing food	Civ. Code §1941.1(a)(11)(A)
Age or brand requirement	None. The 10-year age limit in the introduced bill was removed before passage	AB 628 as introduced Feb. 13, 2025 vs. enrolled text
Existing lease automatically covered?	No. Applies to a lease entered into, amended, or extended on or after Jan. 1, 2026	§1941.1(a)(10), (a)(11)(C)
Rent increase on month-to-month	Likely triggers coverage as an amendment; untested in a published decision	§1941.1(a)(11)(C); Civ. Code §827
Tenant-supplied refrigerator	Allowed only under four lease conditions set at signing; landlord may not require it	§1941.1(a)(11)(B)
Tenant-supplied stove	No opt-out exists	§1941.1(a)(10)
Recalled appliance	Repair or replace within 30 days of notice of the recall	§1941.1(c)(1)
Broken appliance, no recall	Reasonable time after notice; no fixed day count	Civ. Code §1942
Exemptions	Permanent supportive housing, SRO units, residential hotels, shared-kitchen facilities	§1941.1(b)
Consequence of non-compliance	Unit is untenantable; repair-and-deduct, withholding, or vacating	Civ. Code §1941.1, §1942

Source: California Legislature, AB 628 (McKinnor), Chapter 342, Statutes of 2025, enrolled text read September 20, 2026; California Civil Code §§827, 1941.1, 1942.

Key dates

February 13, 2025. AB 628 introduced by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, requiring a stove and refrigerator purchased within the last 10 years.
March to September 2025. Amended in the Assembly and Senate; the 10-year age limit removed, and the recall rule, the tenant refrigerator opt-out, and the four exemptions added.
October 6, 2025. Chaptered as Chapter 342, Statutes of 2025.
January 1, 2026. Effective. Applies to leases entered into, amended, or extended on or after this date.
September 20, 2026. This page last verified against the enrolled text.

What Does AB 628 Require? Civil Code §1941.1(a)(10) and (11)

AB 628 did not create a penalty scheme or a registration requirement. It added two items to the list of characteristics a dwelling must have to be habitable. That list already included effective waterproofing, working plumbing and gas, hot and cold running water, heating, electrical lighting, clean grounds, garbage receptacles, and sound floors and stairways. A stove and a refrigerator now sit on it as paragraphs (10) and (11). Because the enforcement mechanism was already built, the consequences are the standard habitability remedies rather than a fine.

The stove. Must be maintained in good working order and capable of safely generating heat for cooking. No brand, fuel type, or age is specified. A working gas range and a working electric cooktop both satisfy it.

The refrigerator. Must be maintained in good working order and capable of safely storing food. Again, no age or model requirement.

Maintained in good working order. This keeps applying after move-in. Supplying an appliance is not a one-time act. A landlord-supplied appliance that fails during a covered tenancy is a habitability issue, not a courtesy repair.

Recalled appliances. The statute deems a recalled stove not capable of safely generating heat, and a recalled refrigerator not capable of safely storing food. Subdivision (c)(1) then requires repair or replacement within 30 days of the landlord receiving notice of the recall. That is a fixed deadline in a statute otherwise governed by a reasonable-time standard, which makes it easy to miss and easy to prove.

Tenant-supplied refrigerator. Permitted for the refrigerator only, under §1941.1(a)(11)(B), and only if all four conditions hold:

Agreed at signing. The tenant and landlord mutually agree when the lease is signed that the tenant chooses to provide and maintain their own refrigerator.
Statutory statement in the lease. The lease contains a statement in substantially this 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."
30-day revocation right. The lease provides that the tenant may, with 30 days' written notice, inform the landlord they no longer wish to keep their own refrigerator, and that at the end of the 30 days the landlord shall install a refrigerator in good working order.
Not a condition of tenancy. The landlord shall not condition a tenancy upon the tenant providing their own refrigerator.

Where all four hold, §1941.1(a)(11)(B)(iv) states the landlord is not responsible for maintaining the tenant's refrigerator. A handshake arrangement, or a lease line that skips the statutory statement or the revocation clause, does not qualify, and the refrigerator remains the landlord's obligation. There is no equivalent provision for the stove.

Bottom line: the appliances must work, the obligation continues for the life of a covered tenancy, and the only opt-out is the refrigerator clause written into the lease at signing in the statutory form.

What AB 628 Does Not Require

Most of the errors in circulation about AB 628 are additions to the statute, not misreadings of it. The enacted text does not require any of the following:

New appliances. No age, purchase date, or condition-at-installation requirement. The appliance must work.
A 10-year age limit. The introduced bill of February 13, 2025 required a stove and refrigerator purchased within the last 10 years. That language was removed by amendment and is not in the enacted statute.
A particular brand, size, or fuel type. Gas or electric, full-size or apartment-size, any manufacturer. The tests are good working order and safe operation.
Automatic coverage of every tenancy on January 1, 2026. The requirement attaches to a lease entered into, amended, or extended on or after that date. An untouched pre-2026 tenancy is not covered until one of those events occurs.
A 30-day deadline for ordinary repairs. The 30 days in §1941.1(c)(1) applies to a recalled stove or refrigerator only. A broken appliance with no recall is governed by the reasonable-time standard in §1942.
A dishwasher, microwave, washer, dryer, or any other appliance. The statute names a stove and a refrigerator. Nothing else was added to §1941.1.

Bottom line: two appliances, working, in leases touched on or after January 1, 2026. Everything beyond that is someone's addition.

When Does AB 628 Apply to an Existing California Lease?

This is the section most summaries get wrong, and it is the only part with real timing risk. Paragraphs (10) and (11) each carry the same limit: they apply only to a lease entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2026.

Table 2. AB 628 coverage by lease situation, California residential tenancies, as of September 2026.
Situation	Covered by AB 628?
New lease signed on or after January 1, 2026	Yes
Fixed-term lease renewed or extended on or after January 1, 2026	Yes
Existing lease amended on or after January 1, 2026	Yes. An amendment is a trigger
Month-to-month tenancy, untouched since before January 1, 2026	Not automatically
Month-to-month tenancy served a rent increase after January 1, 2026	Likely yes. A change of terms amends the agreement; untested in a published decision
Fixed-term lease signed in 2025, still running, untouched	Not until it renews, extends, or is amended

Source: Civil Code §1941.1(a)(10) and (a)(11)(C), as amended by AB 628, Chapter 342, Statutes of 2025. Coverage of a §827 change of terms is the authors' reading of "amended" and has not been tested in a published decision.

Does AB 628 apply to month-to-month leases?

Short answer: No, not automatically. A pre-2026 California month-to-month tenancy is not covered solely because January 1, 2026 passed. A later amendment or extension may trigger AB 628.

A California month-to-month tenancy that began before January 1, 2026 and has not been changed since is not a lease entered into, amended, or extended on or after that date, so paragraphs (10) and (11) do not yet reach it. It becomes covered on the first post-2026 event that amends or extends it. Because a month-to-month tenancy has no fixed term to renew, the amendment route is the one that matters, and the most common amendment a month-to-month tenant receives is a rent increase.

Does a rent increase trigger AB 628?

Short answer: Probably, but no published California appellate decision has decided the issue.

A rent increase on a periodic tenancy is served as a change of terms under Civil Code §827, and a change of terms amends the rental agreement. On the plain reading of §1941.1(a)(11)(C), that amendment brings the unit under the stove and refrigerator requirement on the effective date of the increase. A court could read "amended" more narrowly to mean a signed modification.

RMG analysis, not settled law

Whether a Civil Code §827 rent-increase notice constitutes an amendment for purposes of §1941.1(a)(10) and (a)(11)(C) has not been resolved in a published California appellate decision. Realty Management Group treats a post-2026 rent increase as a potential triggering event for operational purposes, because the cost of being wrong runs one way: an owner who installs appliances before serving an increase loses nothing if the narrow reading prevails; an owner who did not has a habitability defect if the broad reading does.

Worked examples, California residential tenancies

Month-to-month since 2023, 8.2% increase served August 2026 on a San Diego County unit. Under the reading above, covered from the effective date of the increase.

New lease signed March 2026, tenant checks the statutory refrigerator box, lease carries the 30-day revocation clause. Covered, and compliant; the refrigerator is the tenant's responsibility until they revoke.

The practical consequence is a sequencing problem, not a purchasing problem. If you own units without appliances and you are planning renewals or increases, the appliance decision has to come before the notice, because the notice may be what creates the obligation.

The San Diego County AB 1482 rent cap is 8.2% for August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027. If you plan to take that increase on a month-to-month tenancy in a unit without a stove or refrigerator, the increase itself may bring the unit under AB 628. Notice rules under Civil Code §827 are in our San Diego rent increase guide. The cap and the AB 628 trigger work the same way whether the unit is in La Mesa, El Cajon, Santee, Escondido or Poway; the City of San Diego and Chula Vista add day-one just-cause rules on top, which changes the eviction analysis and not the appliance one.

Bottom line: the obligation follows the lease event, not the calendar. Decide on appliances before you serve anything that changes the terms.

We source, deliver, and INSTALL the appliances.

Realty Management Group audits appliance status across your units, sources the replacements, coordinates delivery and installation, and records model, serial number, and condition in the file. Appliances and installation at vendor cost, no markup. Covered by the flat $199 per month fee for one to three units at rents up to $5,000.

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What Happens If a Rental Stove or Refrigerator Is Recalled or Breaks?

Two different clocks, and most summaries merge them.

Recalled: 30 days, fixed. Under §1941.1(a)(10) and (a)(11)(A), a stove subject to a manufacturer or public-entity recall is deemed not capable of safely generating heat, and a recalled refrigerator not capable of safely storing food. The unit is therefore out of compliance from the recall date. Subdivision (c)(1) requires the landlord to repair or replace the appliance within 30 days of receiving notice that it is subject to recall. The clock runs from the landlord's notice of the recall, not from a tenant complaint. Subdivision (c)(2) preserves the tenant's §1942 remedies during those 30 days.

Broken, no recall: a reasonable time. A landlord-supplied stove or refrigerator that fails is a habitability defect under §1941.1, and the general rule in Civil Code §1942 applies: after the tenant gives notice, the landlord has a reasonable time to repair. The statute does not fix that in days. Section 1942(b) presumes 30 days is a reasonable time for purposes of the tenant's own repair-and-deduct remedy, but that is a presumption about when the tenant may act, not a landlord deadline, and for a refrigerator a reasonable time is short because food spoils. Summaries that apply the 30-day recall deadline to every failure are reading subdivision (c) into a situation it does not cover.

Bottom line: recall means 30 days from notice of the recall. Everything else is reasonable time, which for a refrigerator is days, not weeks.

Which California Rentals Are Exempt From AB 628? The Four Categories in §1941.1(b)

Subdivision (b) lists four categories of housing where paragraphs (10) and (11) do not apply:

Permanent supportive housing, as defined in Government Code §8698.4(c)(2)
Single-room occupancy units that provide living and sleeping space for the exclusive use of the occupant, including units where occupants share food preparation facilities
Units in a residential hotel, as defined in Health and Safety Code §50519(b)(1)
Units within a housing facility that offers shared or communal kitchen space to its residents, including a unit within an assisted living facility

A standard house, condo, duplex, or apartment with its own kitchen is on none of those lists. If you own a property with a genuinely shared kitchen and believe you qualify, document the shared facility and its condition. An exemption you can demonstrate is worth more than one you assert, and shared-kitchen arrangements are exactly what gets ambiguous three years into a tenancy.

What Happens If a Unit Falls Short? Remedies Under Civil Code §1942

Because AB 628 works through the habitability statute rather than creating its own penalty, the consequences are the ones California landlords already know, which also means they are well established and readily enforced.

Repair and deduct. Under Civil Code §1942, a tenant who gives notice of a habitability defect and does not see it fixed within a reasonable time may arrange the repair and deduct the cost from rent, up to one month's rent, not more than twice in any 12-month period. On an appliance that is a realistic single-transaction remedy: a tenant can buy a refrigerator and deduct it.

Rent withholding. Available where the defect is substantial. An entirely absent stove or refrigerator in a covered unit is not a marginal case.

Vacating without penalty. Section 1942 lets the tenant vacate instead of repairing. On a covered unit that means a vacancy you did not plan for.

Weakened position in any other dispute. A habitability defect on the record undermines an owner's position in an unrelated matter: a deposit deduction, a lease violation, an unlawful detainer. It becomes the tenant's first line of defense whatever the case is about.

One second-order effect: more required appliances means more service calls and replacements per unit per year. If your management company adds a percentage markup to vendor invoices, this statute raised your annual management cost with no change in service.

Published San Diego maintenance markups run up to 10% of the vendor invoice; what each company charges is in our San Diego fee guide.

AB 628 and AB 1482. Unrelated statutes that San Diego County owners meet at the same moment. AB 1482, at Civil Code §1947.12, controls how much rent can rise on a covered unit: 8.2% for August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027. AB 628 controls what the unit must contain once the lease is amended, and serving the AB 1482 increase is the event that may bring a month-to-month unit under it. Our San Diego rent cap guide covers the first.

AB 628 and AB 2801. AB 2801 amended Civil Code §1950.5 to require move-out photographs from April 1, 2025 and move-in photographs for tenancies beginning on or after July 1, 2025. AB 628 is habitability; AB 2801 is deposit documentation. The move-in photographs AB 2801 requires are also the record that a compliant stove and refrigerator were in place at the start of a covered tenancy, so photograph them with the model and serial plate visible. Details in our security deposit guide.

What to Do Now: The AB 628 Audit Sequence

The statute has been in effect since January. If you have not audited yet, the work is straightforward and the sequence matters.

Inventory every unit. Stove present and working. Refrigerator present and working. Landlord-supplied or tenant-supplied. Record it per unit, not per property.
Identify which tenancies are already covered. Anything signed, renewed, extended, or amended since January 1, 2026. Those units need to comply now.
Flag month-to-month tenancies without appliances. These are the timing risk. Decide on appliances before serving any rent increase or change of terms.
Update the lease template. If you will allow a tenant-supplied refrigerator, the lease needs the statutory statement and the 30-day revocation clause. Do it once in the template.
Check recall status on anything you supplied. The 30-day clock runs from notice of the recall. Search the model number against the Consumer Product Safety Commission recall list.
Photograph and document what you install. Model, serial number, install date, condition. AB 628 compliance and AB 2801 move-in photos both need it.
Set a replacement horizon; do not wait for failure. An appliance that dies mid-tenancy is now a habitability event. Replacing on your schedule is cheaper than replacing on the tenant's.

The Cost of Compliance for a San Diego County Rental

A basic range and a basic refrigerator are a real expense on a unit that has never had them. Against it: the habitability defect persists for the life of every covered tenancy, with a weakened position in any dispute during it, and vacancy is the expensive variable. San Diego County apartment vacancy was 5.5% in Q2 2026 (Kidder Mathews), up 60 basis points year on year.

RMG San Diego County leasing data, September 2024 to August 2026

Metric: days from vacancy to signed lease. Result: 13-day average. Sample: more than 40 leases signed on RMG-managed units in the trailing 24 months ending August 2026. Geography: San Diego County. Source: internal Rentvine management data. Comparison: national measures of 30 days (Apartment List 2026, list to lease) to 41 days (RentCafe 2025 year-end, total days vacant), which use different start points and are not directly comparable to each other.

A unit a tenant can move into without buying a refrigerator is easier to lease than one they cannot; how much easier depends on the unit and the market, and we do not publish a figure for it. Where we have city-level leasing data, it is on the city page: Mission Valley and La Mesa each carry their own days-to-lease figure and the methodology behind it.

Bottom line: buy the appliances on your schedule. The cost is known; the exposure is not.

Frequently Asked Questions: AB 628 and Civil Code §1941.1

What does AB 628 require for California rentals?

A stove and a refrigerator, each maintained in good working order, in any residential lease entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2026. The stove must be capable of safely generating heat for cooking and the refrigerator of safely storing food. AB 628 added both to the list of habitability characteristics in Civil Code §1941.1(a), as paragraphs (10) and (11).

Did AB 628 apply to all rentals on January 1, 2026?

No. Paragraphs (10) and (11) of Civil Code §1941.1(a) each state that they apply only to a lease entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2026. A month-to-month tenancy that has not been changed since before that date was not automatically covered. A change of terms after that date, including a rent increase served under Civil Code §827, may amend the rental agreement and bring the unit under the requirement. That reading has not been tested in a published decision.

Does a rent increase trigger AB 628 on a month-to-month tenancy?

Probably, and the statute has not been tested on the point. Civil Code §1941.1(a)(10) and (a)(11)(C) attach the requirement to a lease amended on or after January 1, 2026. A rent increase on a month-to-month tenancy is a change of terms served under Civil Code §827, and a change of terms amends the rental agreement. On that reading a unit without a stove or refrigerator becomes untenantable on the effective date of the increase. No published California appellate decision has decided whether a §827 change of terms is an amendment for this purpose; get specific advice before serving the notice.

Do the appliances have to be new?

No. The bill as introduced on February 13, 2025 required a stove and refrigerator purchased within the last ten years. That age limit was removed before passage. The enacted text requires only that each appliance be maintained in good working order and capable of doing its job. A working older unit complies; a newer one that has failed does not.

Can a tenant use their own refrigerator under AB 628?

Yes, for the refrigerator only, and only if all four conditions in Civil Code §1941.1(a)(11)(B) are met: agreement when the lease is signed; a lease statement in substantially the statutory form acknowledging that the landlord is otherwise required to provide a refrigerator and that the tenant has asked to bring their own; a lease term letting the tenant revoke on 30 days' written notice, after which the landlord must install a working refrigerator; and no conditioning of the tenancy on the tenant providing one. Where all four are met, the landlord is not responsible for maintaining the tenant's refrigerator. There is no equivalent opt-out for the stove.

Can a California landlord require a tenant to bring their own refrigerator?

No. Civil Code §1941.1(a)(11)(B)(iii) states that a landlord shall not condition a tenancy upon the tenant providing their own refrigerator. The opt-out exists only where the tenant chooses it at signing and the lease carries the statutory statement and the 30-day revocation clause. A listing or lease that makes a tenant-supplied refrigerator a condition of renting is outside the statute.

Can a California landlord require a tenant to bring their own stove?

No, and there is no stove opt-out at all. The tenant refrigerator provision in Civil Code §1941.1(a)(11)(B) has no counterpart in paragraph (10), which covers the stove. In a covered lease the landlord must provide a stove in good working order, capable of safely generating heat for cooking, regardless of any agreement with the tenant.

Which units are exempt from AB 628?

Civil Code §1941.1(b) lists four: permanent supportive housing as defined in Government Code §8698.4(c)(2); a single-room occupancy unit, including one where occupants share food preparation facilities; a unit in a residential hotel as defined in Health and Safety Code §50519(b)(1); and a dwelling unit within a housing facility that offers shared or communal kitchen space to its residents, including a unit in an assisted living facility. A standard house, condo, or apartment with its own kitchen is not on that list.

What if a supplied stove or refrigerator is recalled?

A recalled stove is deemed not capable of safely generating heat, and a recalled refrigerator not capable of safely storing food, so the unit is out of compliance from the date of the recall. Under Civil Code §1941.1(c)(1), the landlord must repair or replace the appliance within 30 days of receiving notice that it is subject to recall. The 30-day clock runs from notice of the recall, not from a tenant complaint. Subdivision (c)(2) preserves the tenant's remedies under §1942 in the meantime.

Who pays when the refrigerator breaks?

Whoever supplied it. A landlord-supplied refrigerator in a covered lease is a habitability item under Civil Code §1941.1(a)(11): the landlord repairs or replaces it at the landlord's expense, and failure within a reasonable time opens the tenant's remedies under §1942. A refrigerator the tenant supplied under a valid opt-out is the tenant's responsibility; §1941.1(a)(11)(B)(iv) states the landlord is not responsible for maintaining it. If the opt-out was not documented in the statutory form, the refrigerator is the landlord's obligation.

How quickly must a landlord replace a broken stove or refrigerator?

Within a reasonable time after notice, the general habitability standard under Civil Code §1942; the statute does not define it in days. The fixed 30-day deadline in §1941.1(c)(1) applies only to a stove or refrigerator subject to a recall, and runs from the landlord's notice of the recall. Summaries that apply 30 days to every appliance failure are reading the recall rule into a situation it does not cover. A broken refrigerator is a food-safety issue, and a reasonable time is short.

What happens if a covered unit does not have a stove or refrigerator?

The unit is untenantable under Civil Code §1941.1. The tenant may repair and deduct up to one month's rent under §1942, not more than twice in any 12-month period, withhold rent where the defect is substantial, or vacate without penalty. A habitability defect on the record also weakens the owner's position in any unrelated dispute during that tenancy, including a deposit deduction or an unlawful detainer.

Does Realty Management Group handle AB 628 appliance compliance?

Yes. We audit appliance status across managed units, source replacements, coordinate delivery and installation, and record model, serial number, and condition in the property file. Appliances and installation are billed at vendor cost with no markup. The coordination is part of our flat $199 per month management fee for one to three units at rents up to $5,000, and $179 per unit per month for four to sixteen units.

Glossary

AB 628: California Assembly Bill 628 (McKinnor), Chapter 342, Statutes of 2025. Amends Civil Code section 1941.1 to add a stove and refrigerator to the characteristics of a habitable dwelling for leases entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2026.
Civil Code section 1941.1: The California statute listing the characteristics a dwelling must have to be tenantable: waterproofing, plumbing, water, heating, electrical, sanitation, garbage receptacles, sound floors and stairs, and, since AB 628, a stove and refrigerator.
Untenantable: The condition of a dwelling that substantially lacks any characteristic listed in Civil Code section 1941.1. An untenantable dwelling triggers the tenant remedies in Civil Code section 1942.
Entered into, amended, or extended: The three lease events that bring a tenancy under AB 628. Entered into is a new lease; extended is a renewal or extension of a fixed term; amended is a change to the terms of an existing agreement. The statute does not define amended.
Change of terms: A notice under Civil Code section 827 changing the terms of a periodic tenancy, most commonly a rent increase; 30 days' written notice for an increase of 10 percent or less, 90 days above that. Whether a section 827 notice amends a lease for purposes of AB 628 has not been decided in a published opinion.
Repair and deduct: The remedy in Civil Code section 1942 allowing a tenant, after notice and a reasonable time, to make a repair the landlord has neglected and deduct the cost from rent, up to one month's rent, not more than twice in any 12-month period.
Refrigerator opt-out: The arrangement in Civil Code section 1941.1(a)(11)(B) under which a tenant may choose at signing to provide and maintain their own refrigerator, subject to four conditions: agreement at signing, the statutory statement in the lease, a 30-day written-notice right to revoke, and no conditioning of the tenancy on it.

Sources

AB 628 (McKinnor). California Legislature, chaptered October 6, 2025, Chapter 342, Statutes of 2025, enrolled text, Section 1. Supports the appliance requirement, the lease-event trigger, the four exemptions, the opt-out conditions, the 30-day recall rule, and the removal of the introduced 10-year age limit. Primary source, verified September 20, 2026.

Civil Code §1941.1. Official code text, California Legislative Counsel, as amended effective January 1, 2026, subd. (a)(10), (a)(11), (b), (c). Supports the current statutory text as amended. Primary source, verified September 20, 2026.

Civil Code §1942. Official code text, subd. (a), (b). Supports repair-and-deduct, the reasonable-time standard, and the option to vacate. Primary source, verified September 20, 2026.

Civil Code §1947.12. Official code text, subd. (a), (g). Supports the AB 1482 cap, 8.2% in San Diego County for August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027. Primary source, verified September 20, 2026.

Civil Code §827. Official code text, subd. (b). Supports notice periods for a change of terms on a periodic tenancy. Primary source, verified September 20, 2026.

San Diego County apartment vacancy, 5.5%, Q2 2026. Kidder Mathews, San Diego multifamily market report, Q2 2026. Supports the vacancy figure in the cost section.

National time to lease. RentCafe 2025 year-end report (41 days, total days vacant); Apartment List 2026 (about 30 days, list to lease). Supports the comparison range in the RMG data block.

RMG days to lease, 13-day average. Realty Management Group internal Rentvine management data, more than 40 San Diego County leases signed in the trailing 24 months ending August 2026, measured from vacancy to signed lease. Not independently verifiable; the sample, window, geography, and metric are stated so the figure can be evaluated.

This guide reflects California law as of September 20, 2026. AB 628 amends Civil Code §1941.1 effective January 1, 2026. Whether a change of terms served under Civil Code §827 amends a rental agreement for purposes of §1941.1(a)(10) and (11) has not been decided in a published opinion, and owners with month-to-month tenancies in units without appliances should get specific advice before serving one. This is general information, not legal advice. Consult a qualified California attorney about your property.

About the author

Scott Engle is the Broker/Owner of Realty Management Group (DRE #01332676, Corp DRE #02075336). He has been a licensed California real estate broker since 2002, has managed San Diego County rental property since 2003, and founded Realty Management Group in 2005. As of August 2026, RMG manages 400+ units countywide, with management starting at a flat $199 per month, and holds a 4.9-star rating across 127 Google reviews. RMG has been named Best Property Management Company in San Diego by Expertise.com in 2023, 2024, and 2025.

Which of your units are already COVERED?

Any lease signed, renewed, or amended since January 1 is under AB 628 now; any month-to-month tenancy you serve an increase on may follow. Send us your unit list and we will tell you which comply, which do not, and what the gap costs at vendor price. The answers are yours either way.

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AB 628 Stove and Refrigerator Rule: What California Landlords Must Provide

California AB 628 Stove and Refrigerator Requirements at a Glance

What Does AB 628 Require? Civil Code §1941.1(a)(10) and (11)

What AB 628 Does Not Require

When Does AB 628 Apply to an Existing California Lease?

Does AB 628 apply to month-to-month leases?

Does a rent increase trigger AB 628?

What Happens If a Rental Stove or Refrigerator Is Recalled or Breaks?

Which California Rentals Are Exempt From AB 628? The Four Categories in §1941.1(b)

What Happens If a Unit Falls Short? Remedies Under Civil Code §1942

What to Do Now: The AB 628 Audit Sequence

The Cost of Compliance for a San Diego County Rental

Frequently Asked Questions: AB 628 and Civil Code §1941.1

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California AB 628 Stove and Refrigerator Requirements at a Glance

What Does AB 628 Require? Civil Code §1941.1(a)(10) and (11)

What AB 628 Does Not Require

When Does AB 628 Apply to an Existing California Lease?

Does AB 628 apply to month-to-month leases?

Does a rent increase trigger AB 628?

What Happens If a Rental Stove or Refrigerator Is Recalled or Breaks?

Which California Rentals Are Exempt From AB 628? The Four Categories in §1941.1(b)

What Happens If a Unit Falls Short? Remedies Under Civil Code §1942

AB 628 Next to AB 1482 and AB 2801

What to Do Now: The AB 628 Audit Sequence

The Cost of Compliance for a San Diego County Rental

Frequently Asked Questions: AB 628 and Civil Code §1941.1

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