Four things go into every California lease for a house: your contact information, the Megan's Law notice, the bed bug notice, and the state mold booklet. Six more apply only when a fact about your house triggers them, and one of those six, the AB 1482 exemption notice, is the one most owners miss.
The short answer: the table below sorts the list for an owner renting one house. The sorting is our judgment about a typical single-family house, not a legal ruling on yours. We're property managers, not attorneys, so confirm anything that matters with a California attorney.
Jump to a section:
The checklist, sorted
The four every house lease needs
The six that depend on your house
Where each document comes from
Audit the lease you already have
What this post leaves out
The checklist, sorted
Most pages on this question give you one long list. The list doesn't tell you which items apply to your house, so here are two groups: the items every house lease needs, and the items that depend on a fact you have to go find out. The last column shows the statute, so you can read the text yourself.
| Item | Applies when | How it gets to the tenant | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner or manager contact information | Every house lease | In the lease: name, phone, and street address where personal service can be made | Civ. Code 1962(a)(1) |
| Megan's Law notice | Every house lease (single-family leases on or after July 1, 1999) | In the lease, at least 8-point type | Civ. Code 2079.10a |
| Bed bug notice | Every new tenancy | Written notice before the tenancy starts, at least 10-point type | Civ. Code 1954.603 |
| Mold booklet | Every prospective tenant | Handed over before the lease is signed | Health & Safety Code 26148 |
| Lead paint pamphlet and disclosure | House built before 1978 | Pamphlet plus disclosure; the lead warning statement goes in or attaches to the lease | Federal rule, epa.gov/lead/real-estate-disclosure |
| AB 1482 exemption notice | You own the house as an individual, not through a REIT, corporation, or LLC with a corporate member | In the rental agreement | Civ. Code 1946.2(e)(8), 1947.12(d)(5) |
| Smoking areas | You ban smoking anywhere on the property | In the lease, naming the areas where smoking is banned | Civ. Code 1947.5 |
| Flood hazard notice | You have actual knowledge the house sits in a flood hazard area | In the lease, at least 8-point type | Gov. Code 8589.45 |
| Pest control notice | You signed a contract for periodic pest control | Copy of the pest control company's notice to each incoming tenant | Civ. Code 1940.8 |
| Shared utility meter | Your tenant's gas or electric meter also serves areas outside the unit and you know it | Disclosure before the tenancy, plus a written agreement on who pays | Civ. Code 1940.9 |
The four every house lease needs
Civil Code section 1962 requires a written rental agreement to state the name, phone number, and street address where personal service can be made for the owner and for anyone authorized to manage the property. If you hire a manager, both sets of details go in. When either one changes, the lease information has to change with it.
Civil Code section 2079.10a requires a lease of a single-family home entered on or after July 1, 1999 to include a notice about the sex offender database, in at least 8-point type. Since April 1, 2006, the notice points the tenant to the Megan's Law website the Department of Justice maintains. The notice lives inside the lease document itself.
Civil Code section 1954.603 requires a written bed bug notice before a new tenancy begins, in at least 10-point type. The statute doesn't say the tenant has to sign it. We have tenants acknowledge it anyway, because a signed page settles any question about whether it got delivered.
Health and Safety Code section 26148 requires you to give prospective tenants a consumer booklet about mold's health risks, before the lease is entered. That is a separate duty from fixing mold. Our habitability guide covers the repair side. If you've read it, you still haven't handed over the booklet.
The six that depend on your house
The AB 1482 exemption notice comes first. Civil Code sections 1946.2(e)(8) and 1947.12(d)(5) exempt a house or condo that can be sold separately from any other unit, as long as the owner isn't a real estate investment trust, a corporation, or an LLC with at least one corporate member. The exemption also requires written notice in the rental agreement for tenancies that start or renew on or after July 1, 2020. Both conditions have to be met. If the notice is missing, the exemption conditions aren't met, and that changes what rent increases and terminations look like for the tenancy. Our guides to California rent control explain what the law does. This post only tells you the notice has to be in the document.
Lead paint. If the house was built before 1978, the federal rule requires you to give the tenant the EPA pamphlet "Protect Your Family From Lead In Your Home," disclose known lead-based paint and hazards, hand over any records you have, and include a lead warning statement in the lease or attach it. Keep a signed copy for three years after the lease begins. Housing built after 1977 is exempt.
Smoking. If you ban smoking anywhere on the property, Civil Code section 1947.5 requires the lease to name the areas where it's banned, for leases entered on or after January 1, 2012 with tenants who haven't lived there before. No smoking rule means no clause.
Flood hazard. Government Code section 8589.45 applies to leases entered on or after July 1, 2018, and only when you have actual knowledge the house sits in a flood hazard area. Actual knowledge includes written notice from a public agency, a lender requiring flood insurance, or flood insurance you carry yourself. The disclosure has to give the flood status, refer the tenant to the Office of Emergency Services website and its MyHazards tool, say your insurance doesn't cover the tenant's belongings, and say you have no duty to provide further flood information. Print it in at least 8-point type.
Pest control. Civil Code section 1940.8 applies only if you signed a contract for periodic pest control service. Then each incoming tenant gets a copy of the notice the pest control company prepares under Business and Professions Code section 8538.
Shared meters. Civil Code section 1940.9 applies if your tenant's gas or electric meter also serves areas outside the unit and you know it. You disclose that before the tenancy and sign a written agreement on who pays. A detached house with its own meters skips this one.
Where each document comes from
Owners finish most articles knowing what's required and having no idea where to get it. Here is where each one lives.
The lead pamphlet and a sample Lessor's Disclosure form both come from the EPA at epa.gov/lead/real-estate-disclosure. The Megan's Law wording sits in the text of section 2079.10a, so copy it from the statute rather than from a template. The mold booklet is the one the statute calls a consumer-oriented booklet developed by the state, so look up the current version before you hand it over. The flood disclosure points the tenant to the Cal OES MyHazards tool, and you can run your own address through it in about two minutes. The pest control notice comes from your pest control company.
Audit the lease you already have
Most owners start with a lease they downloaded or got from a friend. Fifteen minutes with the table tells you what's missing.
1. Find your contact information, the Megan's Law paragraph, and the bed bug notice. All three should be on the page.
2. Look up the year the house was built. Before 1978, you need the lead pamphlet and warning statement.
3. Check how title is held. If it sits in an entity, read section 1946.2(e)(8) before you write the exemption notice.
4. Run the address through MyHazards, and pull your insurance file for any flood policy or lender letter.
5. Check whether you have a pest control contract and whether the meters serve the house alone.
That research is most of the job, and the lease pages are the easy part. If you're still choosing a term, start with month-to-month vs yearly lease. The deposit terms in the lease are a separate topic, covered in our security deposit guide. The full sequence for a first rental sits in how to rent out your house. If your house is in Encinitas, our Encinitas property management page shows how we handle leasing there.
What this post leaves out
This post covers the ten items in the table. California and federal law add other notices for specific situations, and cities add their own rules. We didn't verify those for this post, so check your city's requirements and have a real estate attorney review your lease.
Frequently asked questions
What disclosures are required in a California lease?
Four items apply to every residential house lease: owner or manager contact information (Civil Code section 1962), the Megan's Law notice (section 2079.10a), the bed bug notice (section 1954.603), and the state mold booklet (Health and Safety Code section 26148). Lead paint, the AB 1482 exemption notice, smoking areas, flood hazard, pest control, and shared utility meters apply only when a fact about your house triggers them.
Do I need a lead paint disclosure if the house was built after 1977?
No. The EPA's disclosure rule exempts housing built after 1977. For a house built in 1978 or later, the lead pamphlet and warning statement don't apply. For anything older, they do.
Does the Megan's Law notice have to be inside the lease?
Yes. Civil Code section 2079.10a says a lease of a single-family home entered on or after July 1, 1999 must include the notice, in at least 8-point type. For leases since April 1, 2006, the notice points the tenant to the Megan's Law website the Department of Justice maintains.
Do I hand over the mold booklet only if I know of mold?
No. Health and Safety Code section 26148 ties the booklet to prospective tenants, and the section doesn't limit it to houses with known mold. Give it before the lease is signed.
Can I use the AB 1482 exemption if an LLC owns the house?
Not always. Civil Code section 1946.2(e)(8) excludes a real estate investment trust, a corporation, and a limited liability company in which at least one member is a corporation. If your title sits in an entity, confirm with a California attorney before you write the exemption notice.
What if my lease came from the internet?
Check it against the table above, item by item. A downloaded form can predate a statute or cover the whole state without your house's facts. Fifteen minutes with the table tells you what's missing.
Is this legal advice?
No. We're property managers, not attorneys. This post lists what the statutes say and where each document comes from. A real estate attorney reviews your lease for your situation.
Raintree Property Management provides full-service property management for single-family homes and condos across North County San Diego, including Carlsbad, Encinitas, Oceanside, San Marcos, Vista, Escondido, Del Mar, and Solana Beach. CalDRE #02073946. We are property managers, not attorneys: this article is general information about California lease disclosures, not legal advice, and it doesn't address your situation. Statute text checked November 2, 2026. Confirm anything that matters with a qualified California attorney.
Want a deeper reference for California landlord compliance, screening, and tax tracking? The Profit Protection Kit is a free four-document set: a CA compliance checklist, screening red-flags worksheet, rental tax tracker spreadsheet, and the current North County rental market snapshot. No phone call, no sales follow-up. Read at your pace.
Raintree Property Management, CalDRE 02073946.
