California Civil Code section 1946.7 has long allowed a tenant who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or dependent-adult abuse (or whose household member or immediate family member is a victim) to terminate a residential tenancy with written notice and supporting documentation. Once valid notice is given, the tenant’s rent obligation ends no later than 14 calendar days later. Recent amendments, including those in SB 1051, have added a lock-change obligation at the landlord’s expense and have clarified documentation and anti-retaliation rules. The combination means that a termination under the statute is no longer only a rent calculation; it also triggers a 24-hour lock change, ordinary deposit accounting with the photo requirements of AB 2801, and confidentiality obligations.
An owner who treats the notice as an ordinary early move-out, continues to demand remaining lease rent, delays the lock change, or includes the termination in a later screening or eviction file creates avoidable exposure under both the Civil Code and fair-housing law.
The 14-Day Termination Under Civil Code § 1946.7
The tenant must give written notice of intent to terminate and attach one of the forms of documentation listed in the statute: a copy of a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or protective order; a copy of a written report by a peace officer stating that the victim has filed a report alleging they are a victim of the qualifying act; or documentation from a qualified third party (a licensed medical professional, mental-health professional, or specified counselor) showing that the victim is seeking assistance for physical or mental injuries or abuse resulting from the act. The notice must be given within 180 days of the date the order was issued, the report was made, or the act occurred, as applicable.
Once the notice is given, the tenant is responsible for rent for no more than 14 calendar days following the giving of the notice (or any shorter period the lease or Civil Code section 1946 already provides). After that period the tenant is released without penalty from any further rent or other payment obligation under the lease. If the premises are re-let before the 14 days expire, the rent is prorated. The landlord may not treat the termination as a breach, may not charge early-termination fees or advertising costs attributable to the early end of the tenancy, and may not require forfeiture of the security deposit solely because of the termination. Ordinary deposit accounting under Civil Code section 1950.5 still applies to any lawful deductions for damage beyond ordinary wear and tear that are unrelated to the abuse.
The statute covers the tenant, a household member, and an immediate family member. It does not require the landlord to investigate the underlying facts beyond confirming that the notice and one of the permitted forms of documentation have been provided. Contacting the third-party professional for additional details, or discussing the tenant’s situation with other occupants or neighbors, exceeds what the statute authorizes and creates privacy and retaliation risk.
Lock Changes at the Landlord’s Expense (SB 1051)
SB 1051, effective January 1, 2025, amended the lock-change provisions (now generally codified at Civil Code section 1941.5 and related sections). Upon written request by an eligible tenant, accompanied by one of the permitted forms of documentation, the landlord must change the locks of the dwelling unit not later than 24 hours after receiving the request and documentation, and must do so at the landlord’s own expense. The landlord then provides the eligible tenant with a key to the new locks. If the person alleged to have committed the abuse is a tenant of the same unit, additional requirements (typically a restraining order excluding that person) apply before the lock change can proceed against a co-tenant.
If the landlord fails to change the locks within the 24-hour window, the tenant may change them and the landlord must reimburse the tenant’s reasonable expenses. The practical consequence is that an owner needs a reliable 24-hour locksmith or maintenance arrangement rather than a next-business-day process. Billing the tenant for the lock change, or delaying it while seeking additional proof beyond what the statute lists, falls outside the requirement.
Security Deposit Accounting and Photographs (AB 2801)
The ordinary 21-day deposit accounting rules of Civil Code section 1950.5 continue to apply after a section 1946.7 termination. AB 2801 added photograph requirements that phase in during 2025. Beginning April 1, 2025, a landlord who intends to make a deduction must photograph the unit within a reasonable time after the tenant returns possession and before any repairs or cleaning for which a deduction will be claimed, and must photograph it again within a reasonable time after that work is completed. For tenancies beginning on or after July 1, 2025, the landlord must also photograph the unit immediately before or at the start of the tenancy. The photographs accompany the itemized statement.
Damage caused by the abuser is not chargeable to the victim-tenant. The photographs and the itemized statement should distinguish ordinary wear, tenant-caused damage unrelated to the abuse, and damage attributable to the abuser. Bad-faith retention of the deposit exposes the landlord to statutory damages of up to twice the deposit amount in addition to actual damages. In a multi-tenant unit the remaining occupants remain jointly and severally liable for the full rent after the victim’s termination; the victim’s share of any deposit is accounted for under the ordinary rules and returned to the departing tenant within the 21-day period, subject to lawful deductions that are not based on the termination itself.
Confidentiality, Retaliation, and Fair Housing
Documentation received under section 1946.7 or the lock-change provisions is sensitive. It should be kept in a secure file separate from the ordinary tenant file and should not be disclosed to other tenants, neighbors, or subsequent applicants except as required by law or court order. Retaliation for exercising the termination right—whether by withholding a deposit, reporting the termination as a breach to a screening company, or initiating an eviction based solely on the early departure—is prohibited.
The federal Fair Housing Act and California’s FEHA also constrain adverse action against a victim because of the abuse or because law enforcement was called. A zero-tolerance policy that treats police calls or property damage caused by an abuser as automatic grounds for eviction of the victim can constitute sex discrimination. When the abuser is a co-tenant, California law permits the landlord, in appropriate cases and with proper documentation, to pursue eviction of the abuser while allowing the victim to remain. The notices and the court filings must be drafted so that the victim is not treated as the party in breach.
Local just-cause ordinances in Oakland, San Francisco, and other Bay Area cities continue to apply to any subsequent eviction of a remaining occupant or of an abuser. In Oakland, for example, a no-fault eviction notice generally requires a current Business Tax Certificate. Those local rules do not alter the statewide 14-day termination or 24-hour lock-change deadlines, but they do affect any later action against other parties on the lease. Our notes on California security deposit rules cover the photograph and accounting steps that apply once the unit is vacant.
Practical Sequence When Notice Arrives
Confirm that the written notice includes one of the permitted forms of documentation and note the date received. Calendar the 14-day rent cutoff and the 21-day deposit deadline. If a lock-change request accompanies the notice (or arrives separately with documentation), arrange the change within 24 hours at the owner’s expense and provide the new key only to the eligible tenant. Photograph the unit after possession is returned and before any chargeable work, then again after the work, and include the photographs with the itemized statement. Do not deduct early-termination fees or damage caused by the abuser from the victim’s deposit. Keep the documentation in a restricted file.
For units with remaining co-tenants, continue to collect the full rent from those who remain under the joint-and-several clause, and account separately for the departing tenant’s deposit share. If an eviction of an abuser who is a co-tenant becomes necessary, use counsel familiar with both the statewide protections and the applicable local just-cause ordinance. Coordinated complete property management already maintains the 24-hour locksmith contact, the photograph protocol, and the restricted-file procedure so these steps occur on the statutory timeline rather than after a complaint.
The Longer Pattern
Section 1946.7 terminations are infrequent, but the deadlines that accompany them are short. The cost of a standing locksmith arrangement, a photograph checklist, and a restricted file for the documentation is modest. The cost of continuing to demand post-14-day rent, billing the tenant for locks, or disclosing the underlying incident is a combination of Civil Code damages, potential fair-housing liability, and the practical difficulty of re-leasing a unit while a dispute is pending. Owners who fold these terminations into the ordinary move-out process without the extra steps tend to discover the differences only when a deposit claim or a discrimination complaint arrives.
SLPM has managed East Bay residential property since 1978. We already process section 1946.7 notices against the 14-day and 21-day calendars, arrange lock changes within the 24-hour window at owner expense, and maintain the photograph and confidentiality protocols required by current law. If you would rather have the notice review, the lock change, and the deposit accounting handled as part of ordinary management, start with a free quote.
Request your free property management quote here. We will tell you how your current process for early terminations lines up with Civil Code sections 1946.7 and 1941.5 and the deposit rules as amended by AB 2801.
Sources
- California Civil Code § 1946.7 (termination by victim of domestic violence and related acts)
- Senate Bill 1051 (Victims of abuse or violence: lock changes)
- Assembly Bill 2801 (security deposit photographs)
- California Civil Code § 1950.5 (security deposits)
- HUD: Fair Housing Act Overview (protections related to domestic violence)
- WomensLaw.org: California Housing Laws – Changing Locks