Four bills imposing rental housing restrictions stall for the year

Four California bills that would have added new screening limits, eviction restrictions, and disclosure or monitoring duties for housing providers stalled in the Appropriations Committees on May 14, taking them off the table for the rest of 2026.

The measures included AB 1725, AB 2064, SB 1155, and SB 1243. The California Apartment Association opposed the bills and led coalition efforts against them. Together, the four measures would have affected tenant screening, eviction timing, rent collection, and new compliance duties for California rental housing providers.

AB 2064 would have added criminal history as a protected characteristic under the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. California Apartment Association previously reported that the measure would have exposed housing providers to discrimination claims even when they did not directly screen for criminal history if other policies had a discriminatory effect. Full story

SB 1155 would have barred landlords from moving forward with evictions for nonpayment of rent when federal employees or contractors were affected by a government shutdown. Under the bill's latest language, covered tenants also would have been protected from late fees and interest during that period. Full story

SB 1243 would have required housing providers to pause unlawful detainer actions when a tenant claimed immigration enforcement activity had disrupted their household income. The proposal also would have barred late fees, interest, and penalties on covered nonpayment during the protected period. Full story

AB 1725 would have required landlords and home sellers near oil wells to give written hazard disclosures to tenants and buyers, and it would have required some multifamily owners to maintain methane gas monitoring or alarm systems in covered units. Full story

The association argued the measures would have increased litigation and compliance exposure, shifted public-policy burdens onto private housing providers, and further limited owners' ability to manage rental housing.