Overview
- The requirement applies to leases entered into, amended, or extended on or after Jan. 1, 2026, and units lacking those appliances will be deemed uninhabitable.
- Exemptions include permanent supportive housing, single-room occupancy units, residential hotels, and properties with shared or communal kitchens.
- Tenants may use their own refrigerator if they prefer with the landlord’s agreement.
- Tenant advocates praised the change as overdue, while the California Rental Housing Association called it a costly and unnecessary mandate.
- A 2022 Los Angeles Times analysis found California, especially L.A. and Orange counties, had an unusually high share of rentals marketed without refrigerators.