After years of ignored complaints, deferred maintenance, and several emergency events, you’ve had enough of your landlord’s failure to repair your dilapidated rental home. You’ve made more complaints – oral and written – than you can count, you’ve reported them to the government and obtained notices of violation from your local code enforcement agency, and you’ve attempted to mediate the matter, possibly even through your local Rent Board. But, these efforts proved fruitless. Your home remains plagued by conditions that render it uninhabitable to the point it endangers your health, safety, and body. You’ve already thought about suing your landlord and know it is possible, but what exactly constitutes an actionable habitability defect entitling you to commence a civil action in court?
Although California law does not provide a precise definition as to what exactly constitutes a habitability defect, we use the following definition:
Habitability Defect: A substantial condition existing at the rental premises that endangers the life, limb, health, property, safety, or welfare of the occupants, nearby residents or the public.
Black’s law dictionary defines habitability as a, “condition of the building in which inhabitants can live free of serious defects that might harm health and safety.” Black’s Law Dictionary 779 (9th ed., 2009). In our opinion, the Black’s Law Dictionary definition is inadequate in a California lawsuit because California law requires habitability defects to be hazardous to be actionable. But, what actual issues that you might find in a home constitute a habitability defect?
Although a breach of the warranty of habitability claim is based on a breach of the lease agreement – a breach of contract claim – California tenants may look to California statutory law for guidance as to what actual issues constitute a habitability defect. California Civil Code section 1941.1 contains a list of habitability defects as declared by the California Legislature. A dwelling that substantially lacks any of the following, “affirmative standard characteristics,” is uninhabitable:
- Effective waterproofing and weather protection of roof and exterior walls, including unbroken windows and doors;
- Plumbing or gas facilities that conformed to applicable law in effect at the time of installation, maintained in good working order;
- A water supply approved under applicable law that is under the control of the tenant, capable of producing hot and cold running water, or a system that is under the control of the landlord, that produces hot and cold running water, furnished to appropriate fixtures, and connected to a sewage disposal system approved under applicable law;
- Heating facilities that conformed with applicable law at the time of installation, maintained in good working order;
- Electrical lighting, with wiring and electrical equipment that conformed with applicable law at the time of installation, maintained in good working order;
- Building, grounds, and appurtenances at the time of the commencement of the lease or rental agreement, and all areas under control of the landlord, kept in every part clean, sanitary, and free from all accumulations of debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents, and vermin;
- An adequate number of appropriate receptacles for garbage and rubbish, in clean condition and good repair at the time of the commencement of the lease or rental agreement, with the landlord providing appropriate serviceable receptacles thereafter and being responsible for the clean condition and good repair of the receptacles under their control;
- Floors, stairways, and railings maintained in good repair;
- A locking mail receptacle for each residential unit in a residential hotel, as required by Section 17958.3 of the Health and Safety Code. This subdivision shall become operative on July 1, 2008;
- A stove that is maintained in good working order and capable of safely generating heat for cooking purposes. A stove that is subject to a recall by the manufacturer or a public entity is not capable of safely generating heat for cooking purposes. This paragraph shall only apply to a lease entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2026; and,
- A refrigerator that is maintained in good working order and capable of safely storing food, and a refrigerator that is subject to recall by the manufacturer or a public entity is not capable of safely storing food.
And, further, California Health & Safety Code section 17920.3 is also edifying as to what exactly constitutes a habitability defect. Under this law, the following constitute habitability defects:
(a) (1) Missing or improper water closet, lavatory, or bathtub or shower;
(a) (3) Missing kitchen sink;
(a) (5) Water that cannot become both hot and cold;
(a) (6) Lack of adequate heating;
(a) (7) Missing or improper required ventilation;
(a) (8) Inadequate natural lighting and ventilation;
(a) (9) Inadequate room and space dimensions;
(a) (10) Missing required electrical lighting;
(a) (11) Dampness;
(a) (12) Vermin, insects, or rodent infestations, provided the infestation is cited by the government;
(a) (13) Visible mold growth, provided the mold growth is cited by the government;
(a) (14) General dilapidation or improper maintenance;
(a) (15) Lack of connection to required sewage disposal system;
(a) (16) Lack of adequate garbage and rubbish storage and removal facilities, as cited by the government.
(b) (1) Deteriorated or inadequate foundations;
(b) (2) Defective or deteriorated flooring or floor supports;
(b) (3) Flooring or floor supports of insufficient size to carry imposed loads with safety;
(b) (4) Members of walls, partitions, or other vertical supports that split, lean, list, or buckle due to defective material or deterioration;
(b) (5) Members of walls, partitions, or other vertical supports that are of insufficient size to carry imposed loads with safety;
(b) (6) Members of ceilings, roofs, ceiling and roof supports, or other horizontal members that sag, split, or buckle due to defective material or deterioration;
(b) (7) Members of ceilings, roofs, ceiling and roof supports, or other horizontal members that are of insufficient size to carry imposed loads with safety;
(b) (8) Fireplaces or chimneys that list, bulge, or settle due to defective material or deterioration;
(b) (9) Fireplaces or chimneys that are of insufficient size or strength to carry imposed loads with safety;
(c) Any nuisance;
(d) All wiring, except that which conformed with all applicable laws in effect at the time of installation if it is currently in good and safe condition and working properly;
(e) All plumbing, except plumbing that conformed with all applicable laws in effect at the time of installation and has been maintained in good condition, or that may not have conformed with all applicable laws in effect at the time of installation but is currently in good and safe condition and working properly, and that is free of cross connections and siphonage between fixtures;
(f) All mechanical equipment, including vents, except equipment that conformed with all applicable laws in effect at the time of installation and that has been maintained in good and safe condition, or that may not have conformed with all applicable laws in effect at the time of installation but is currently in good and safe condition and working properly;
(g) Faulty weather protection;
(g) (1) Deteriorated, crumbling, or loose plaster;
(g) (2) Deteriorated or ineffective waterproofing of exterior walls, roofs, foundations, or floors, including broken windows or doors;
(g) (3) Defective or lack of weather protection for exterior wall coverings, including lack of paint, or weathering due to lack of paint or other approved protective covering;
(g) (4) Broken, rotted, split, or buckled exterior wall coverings or roof coverings;
(h) Any building or portion thereof, device, apparatus, equipment, combustible waste, or vegetation that, in the opinion of the chief of the fire department or the chief’s deputy, is in such a condition as to cause a fire or explosion or provide a ready fuel to augment the spread and intensity of fire or explosion arising from any cause;
(i) All materials of construction, except those that are specifically allowed or approved by this code, and that have been adequately maintained in good and safe condition;
(j) Those premises on which an accumulation of weeds, vegetation, junk, dead organic matter, debris, garbage, offal, rodent harborages, stagnant water, combustible materials, and similar materials or conditions constitute fire, health, or safety hazards;
(k) Any building or portion thereof that is determined to be an unsafe building due to inadequate maintenance, in accordance with the latest edition of the Uniform Building Code;
(l) All buildings or portions thereof not provided with adequate exit facilities as required by this code, except those buildings or portions thereof whose exit facilities conformed with all applicable laws at the time of their construction and that have been adequately maintained and increased in relation to any increase in occupant load, alteration or addition, or any change in occupancy;
(m) All buildings or portions thereof that are not provided with the fire-resistive construction or fire-extinguishing systems or equipment required by this code, except those buildings or portions thereof that conformed with all applicable laws at the time of their construction and whose fire-resistive integrity and fire-extinguishing systems or equipment have been adequately maintained and improved in relation to any increase in occupant load, alteration or addition, or any change in occupancy;
(n) All buildings or portions thereof occupied for living, sleeping, cooking, or dining purposes that were not designed or intended to be used for those occupancies; and,
(o) Inadequate structural resistance to horizontal forces.
Taken together, these two (2) laws can assist California tenants as they determine whether or not the issue in their home rises to the level of a habitability defect supporting a civil lawsuit in the State of California.
Repeated complaints and broken promises should not define your experience at home. When serious defects persist and requests for repairs go unanswered, pursuing a habitability claim may be an important step toward holding those responsible accountable and seeking compensation for the harm you have suffered. Your complaints, photographs, inspection reports, and records of losses can help tell that story, and help you as you litigate your breach of the implied warranty of habitability claim (for actionable habitability defects) in a court of law.