Landlord harassment is illegal in California. But the rules and costs of a claim differ by city. If you own a rental, check which laws cover your home before you act. This guide explains the state rules and the local laws in Los Angeles, Concord and Oakland. It also shows how repairs, visits and rent disputes can go wrong.
Updated October 8, 2026.
The Los Angeles rules apply within the City of Los Angeles, not throughout Los Angeles County. Concord and Oakland also have separate laws. This is not a complete list of cities with tenant protections.
California law: pressure to move is different from enforcing a lease
Civil Code section 1940.2 bans certain acts used to make a tenant move out. California’s 2026 Department of Real Estate landlord-tenant guide, page 69, explains the main rules:
- Conduct that amounts to theft or extortion.
- Threats, force or menacing conduct that interferes with the tenant’s quiet enjoyment of the home. Quiet enjoyment means using the home without substantial interference from the landlord.
- A significant, intentional violation of the rules on entering the rental, used to pressure the tenant to leave.
A tenant who wins a claim can receive a civil penalty of up to $2,000 for each violation. That figure is not a cap on every claim. Other laws may apply to the same acts, and a city’s rules may allow other awards.
Enforcing a lease in good faith is different. The DRE guide says an owner may warn a tenant about acts that could breach the lease, rules or law. An owner may also explain those rules in the normal course of business. A lawful warning is not harassment just because the tenant dislikes it.
However, unpaid rent does not justify a lockout. California Courts’ eviction guide says landlords cannot force tenants out by changing locks, shutting off utilities or throwing out belongings. Use the court process when an eviction is necessary.
Los Angeles: a broader definition and substantial civil remedies
Los Angeles adopted its Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance in 2021. Changes took effect December 29, 2024. LAHD says the law covers all residential properties. If your rental is exempt from rent stabilization, that alone does not exempt it from this law.
Harassment now means a landlord’s bad-faith conduct toward specific tenants that causes harm. Bad faith includes willful, reckless or grossly negligent conduct. The older test based on a “knowing and willful course of conduct” no longer describes the rule. Owners need to consider reckless conduct too, not only deliberate harm.
The amending ordinance, No. 188416, lists examples such as:
- Failing to complete necessary repairs on time or using unsafe repair practices.
- Abusing entry rights, including excessive visits or photographing areas beyond the lawful inspection’s scope.
- Threatening tenants or their guests with physical harm.
- Trying to coerce a tenant into leaving through payment offers.
- Refusing lawful rent or rental assistance payments, or obstructing required assistance paperwork.
- Misleading tenants about whether they must leave or interfering with tenant organizing.
A payment offer is not, by itself, coercion. How you make the offer and the buyout rules matter. Before you propose an agreement or serve a notice, check the official documents linked in our Los Angeles landlord forms resource.
A tenant who wins under LAMC section 45.35 must receive three times compensatory damages. These are damages for the harm suffered, including mental or emotional distress. Civil penalties range from $2,000 to $10,000 per violation. The law also provides reasonable attorney fees and costs. Rent refunds, relocation and other relief may also apply.
The court may add up to $5,000 per violation if the tenant was older than 65 or disabled when the conduct occurred. Note that the age rule says older than 65, not 65 or older.
A 2026 development consequence
LAHD’s owner and developer guidance gives August 20, 2026 as the operative date for its Anti-Harassment Violators Database provisions. Certain final judgments or citations can lead to a beneficial owner’s placement on that list. This can block demolition permits and development approvals for five years. The law sets thresholds and exceptions.
This measure concerns development. A tenant complaint alone does not trigger the penalty. If you plan to buy or redevelop an occupied property, check its rental history and recorded city restrictions. LAHD explains which findings count and how the notice and review process works.
Concord: detailed rules for repairs, access and rent payments
Concord’s Residential Tenant Anti-Harassment Protection Ordinance is in Municipal Code Chapter 19.50. It defines an owner to include someone acting through staff or a property manager. Hiring a manager does not put day-to-day conduct outside the law.
Section 19.50.020 bans listed acts or failures to act done in bad faith. These include not completing required repairs, abusing access and using threats to force a move. False statements about tenant rights can also breach the law. It also covers rent payments, privacy and tenant organizing.
The entry rules are particularly practical. Examples include failing to give an approximate entry window, providing an unreasonably long window or failing to tell a tenant that a visit was canceled. A notice is not a substitute for coordinating the work it describes.
Concord also bans continued texting in bad faith after a tenant objects in writing to messages by text. The objection itself must not be by text. Keep a note of how the tenant wants you to contact them. Staff need to know when to stop a disputed practice.
Concord’s civil remedies
Under section 19.50.040, civil penalties range from $2,000 to $5,000 per violation at the court’s discretion. The court may add up to $5,000 per violation if the tenant is older than 65 or disabled.
The chapter also provides at least three times actual damages or $1,000 minimum damages, whichever is greater. Actual damages are the losses proved in the claim. To triple emotional distress damages, the court must find a knowing violation or reckless disregard of the law. A tenant who wins receives reasonable attorney fees and costs. The civil penalty alone is not the full cost of a claim.
The ordinance expressly preserves lawful evictions.
Oakland: check harassment coverage separately from rent control
In Oakland, the Tenant Protection Ordinance appears in Municipal Code Chapter 8.22, Article V. Section 8.22.630 says it can cover units outside the city’s rent adjustment or just-cause eviction laws. Some units are exempt, including certain health facilities and temporary treatment or transitional housing. Check this separately from rent control.
Section 8.22.640 bans listed bad-faith conduct by owners, agents, contractors and staff. Examples include withheld repairs, abusive access and threats. False claims that tenants must move and refusal of lawful rent payments can also breach the rule. It also covers coercive buyout tactics and removing housing services to make tenants leave.
Under Oakland’s civil remedies in section 8.22.670, specified violations can lead to at least three times actual damages or $1,000 minimum damages, whichever is greater. For elderly or disabled tenants, the minimum is $2,000; for catastrophically ill tenants, it is $2,500. The ordinance defines those categories, and only one heightened category applies.
To triple emotional distress damages, the court must find that the owner acted knowingly or with reckless disregard. A tenant who wins can also recover reasonable attorney fees. The City Attorney has separate powers to enforce the law.
Check the notice duty too. Where the building has an interior common area that all tenants can access, Oakland requires its prescribed TPO notice in at least one such area. The city’s Tenant Protection Ordinance page links the notice forms.
Keep a complaint from becoming a pattern
Good records help you establish what happened, but they do not excuse harmful conduct. Build a repair and communication process that your staff and contractors can follow:
- Track repairs through completion. Record the report, urgency, access arrangements, contractor visit and result. Use our guide to handling maintenance requests to organize the follow-up.
- Give entry a clear purpose. Specify the work, coordinate the visit and notify the tenant of cancellations. Keep photos within the lawful visit’s scope.
- Separate payments from disputes. Keep an accurate rent ledger. Get legal advice before rejecting a payment connected with a pending eviction.
- Keep demands factual. Do not threaten utility shutoffs, immigration reports or consequences you cannot lawfully impose.
- Review contractors’ conduct. Explain access limits and give tenants a contact for problems during the work.
When a complaint arrives
If a complaint arrives, keep the messages and work records, check the facts and address urgent problems. Do not use a possible pre-lawsuit notice period as a reason to delay repairs.
For example, a contractor may need a part before finishing a repair. Tell the tenant what is missing, when you expect it and who will follow up. Keep the work order open until you check that the repair is complete. Silence leaves both parties guessing and makes a later review harder.
Los Angeles requires written notice and a reasonable chance to remedy certain repair claims before suit, with an exception for intentional disregard of tenant well-being. Oakland also has notice requirements for specified claims. Its 15-day cure provision has exceptions and does not replace existing repair duties. Ask counsel which procedure applies to the actual allegation.
In short, check which city rules apply and fix the problem that led to the complaint. Keep a clear record of each step. You can get help with rent collection and owner accounting. That support does not replace legal advice on a claim.
Frequently asked questions
Is a lawful eviction notice landlord harassment?
Not automatically. California permits good-faith warnings about lease violations, and Concord and Oakland expressly preserve lawful evictions. False reasons, threats or other prohibited conduct can still create a harassment claim. Have an attorney review a disputed notice rather than using pressure to make a tenant leave.
Are harassment penalties the same throughout California?
No. Civil Code section 1940.2 provides a civil penalty of up to $2,000 per violation. Los Angeles, Concord and Oakland have different local remedies. A civil penalty is not necessarily the total award, and no single number describes every possible claim.
What should an owner do after a harassment complaint?
Preserve communications, inspection notices, payment records and repair history. Investigate the complaint, address urgent conditions and get advice on the applicable city rules. Follow any required notice and response process without assuming it extends a repair deadline.
Sources
All sources checked October 8, 2026. Statewide guidance applies to California; each city ordinance applies within that city’s jurisdiction. The local remedies below are not a statewide penalty schedule.
- California Department of Real Estate: 2026 Landlord-Tenant Guide — pages 48–50 and 69 on entry, pressure to move, good-faith warnings and the section 1940.2 penalty.
- California Courts: Eviction cases in California — court process and the prohibition on lockouts, utility shutoffs and removing belongings to force a move.
- Los Angeles Ordinance No. 188416 — amended harassment definition, civil remedies, repair-claim notice and December 29, 2024 effective date.
- LAHD: Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance for Landlords and Developers — residential coverage and database provisions operative August 20, 2026.
- Los Angeles Ordinance No. 188481 — adopted February 7, 2025, effective February 11, 2025; section 16.60 A.6 authorizes the database process and five-year development restrictions, with a separately announced operative date.
- Concord Municipal Code Chapter 19.50 — prohibited conduct, texting objections, remedies and lawful evictions.
- City of Concord: Residential Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance guide — confirms the July 28, 2022 effective date and residential coverage.
- Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 8.22, Article V — coverage, exemptions, prohibited conduct, notice requirements and civil remedies.
- Oakland Ordinance No. 13608 C.M.S. — adopted and effective July 21, 2020; Attachment A and sections 8.22.650–8.22.670 contain the notice rules, damages and attorney-fee remedies.
- City of Oakland: Tenant Protection Ordinance — prohibited conduct and official notice materials.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Laws and procedures can change. Confirm the rules for your property’s jurisdiction and consult a qualified attorney about a notice, complaint, settlement or court case.
