California Landlord Required Disclosures: The Full Checklist (2026)

California requires a dozen or so written disclosures for most residential leases. Missing one rarely voids the lease, but it hands the tenant a claim and weakens your position in any later dispute. Here's the list, with the legal source where there is one.

Always required

1. Megan's Law notice (Civil Code §2079.10a). The statutory language pointing tenants to the state sex-offender database must appear in every lease or rental agreement.
2. Bed bugs (Civil Code §1954.603). General information about bed bugs and how to report a suspected infestation.
3. Rent control status. Whether the unit is covered by AB 1482 or a local ordinance, or exempt — and if exempt, why. For single-family homes and condos, the exemption itself depends on giving the exact written notice (see this article).

Required when it applies

4. Lead-based paint (buildings built before 1978; federal law). The EPA pamphlet "Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home" plus a signed disclosure of known hazards.
5. Mold (Health and Safety Code §26147), when you know or have reasonable cause to believe it is present and it exceeds permissible exposure limits or poses a health threat. Give the disclosure before the lease, and to current tenants of affected units as soon as reasonably practical.
6. Flood zone, if the property is in a known flood hazard area.
7. Drug contamination, if the unit was used to make methamphetamine or fentanyl and remediation isn't complete.
8. Death in the unit (Civil Code §1710.2): any death on the premises within the past 3 years, disclosed before the lease. You don't have to disclose that the person had HIV or AIDS.
9. Shared utility meters (Civil Code §1940.9): if you know a tenant's gas or electric meter also serves areas outside their unit, disclose it before the tenancy begins (or on discovery) and put the cost arrangement in a written agreement.
10. Pest control (Civil Code §1940.8): if you have a contract for periodic pest control service, give each new tenant a copy of the notice from the registered structural pest control company.
11. Demolition permit, if one has been filed for the property.
12. Former ordnance location (Civil Code §1940.7), if you actually know of a former federal or state military training area within one mile of the unit.

How to make it stick

• Put every disclosure in writing and get the tenant's signature or initials before move-in.
• Keep one signed packet per tenancy, with the date, in the tenant's file.
• Re-check the list before each new lease or renewal; the 2026 rules added items, and cities add their own.

This article is informational, not legal advice, and the list may not cover every local requirement. For your specific situation, talk to a California landlord-tenant attorney.