Rental Housing Repairs and Habitability in San Diego

• Danger right now. Fire, smoke, a gas smell, arcing or sparking wiring, or a collapsing ceiling: leave and call 911. For gas leaks and electrical hazards, see our power outage and gas leak guide.
• Which jurisdiction. A San Diego mailing address does not always mean the City of San Diego. The City inspects rentals inside its limits. The County's Department of Environmental Health and Quality covers rental housing in the unincorporated area and several smaller cities, and other cities have their own code enforcement. See Outside the City of San Diego.
• Rental, not your own home. This guide is about problems a landlord is responsible for. For unpermitted construction, illegal units or problem properties in general, see our code enforcement guide; for empty or boarded-up buildings, our vacant and abandoned buildings guide.

The state's California Tenants guide (2026 edition, published by the California Department of Real Estate) recommends giving the landlord written notice of any repair you believe the landlord is responsible for. Most of the state remedies below depend on the landlord having been told and given a reasonable time to act, and the City's Request for Investigation asks whether you have contacted the responsible party.

• What to write. A dated, signed letter or message that describes each problem specifically, where it is in the unit, when it started, and the repair needed. Keep a copy.
• How to deliver it. The guide suggests certified mail with a return receipt, or handing it to the landlord, manager or agent and asking for a receipt. Neither is required by law, but both give you proof the notice arrived. For an urgent problem, call or tell the landlord in person first, then put it in writing right away.
• Document it. Dated photos and video of the problem, repair receipts, and a log of every call, message and visit, including what was said and who came to look. The guide says this kind of record matters if a dispute ever reaches court.
• Letting the landlord in. A landlord may enter to make necessary or agreed repairs but, in most cases, must give written notice at least 24 hours ahead, according to the guide.

Under Civil Code section 1941 and the implied warranty of habitability recognized by the California Supreme Court, a landlord must put a rental in a condition fit to live in and repair problems that make it unfit, other than damage the tenant caused. Section 1941.1 lists what a home can be considered untenantable for substantially lacking. As summarized in the state's California Tenants guide:

The guide also lists other requirements, among them a working toilet, sink and tub or shower, natural light and openable windows, safe exits, working dead bolts and window locks, and working smoke detectors (plus carbon monoxide detectors where there are gas appliances or an attached garage). It says the warranty is not broken just because a unit is not in perfect or attractive condition, or by minor code violations that do not affect habitability. Less serious repairs and amenities are usually governed by the lease.

The tenant's side. Civil Code section 1941.2 requires tenants to keep their part of the premises reasonably clean, dispose of trash properly, use gas, electrical and plumbing fixtures properly, and not damage the unit. The guide says that if a tenant's own failure substantially caused a problem or stopped the landlord from fixing it, the landlord does not have to repair it.

The California Tenants guide describes several options when a landlord does not make required repairs within a reasonable time. Each has strict conditions and real risks, including a lawsuit or eviction case if a court decides the remedy did not apply. The guide recommends talking to a lawyer, legal aid organization or tenant program before using any of them. In brief:

• Repair and deduct (Civil Code section 1942). For serious problems that affect health and safety and that the tenant did not cause: after notice and a reasonable time (the guide says 30 days is usual, less for urgent problems such as no heat in cold weather), the tenant may pay for the repair and deduct it from the rent. The cost may be no more than one month's rent, and the remedy may be used no more than twice in any 12 months.
• Moving out. Section 1942 also lets a tenant leave a seriously defective unit, under similar conditions, without owing further rent.
• Rent withholding. Based on court decisions, the guide describes withholding some or all rent for serious defects. It is the riskiest option: the guide advises saving the withheld money, because a court may order it paid, and a tenant who loses may be evicted.
• A lawsuit, and why an inspection matters. A tenant can sue for damages. Civil Code section 1942.4 adds special damages of $100 to $5,000 plus actual damages when, among other conditions, a housing inspector has given the landlord written notice to fix a substandard condition, it is still not fixed 35 days after that notice was mailed without good cause, and the landlord then demands or collects rent, raises it, or serves a three-day notice. The guide notes an inspection report is also useful evidence for the other remedies.

Civil Code section 1942.5 prohibits a landlord from retaliating against a tenant for lawfully exercising tenant rights. As the California Tenants guide explains it:

• protected acts include asking for repairs, using or announcing repair and deduct, complaining to a public agency such as code enforcement after giving the landlord notice, and causing an inspection or citation;
• retaliatory acts can include ending the tenancy, raising the rent, reducing services or filing to evict;
• an attempt to evict within six months after such an act is presumed retaliatory, if the tenant's rent is current and the tenant has not used this defense more than once in the past 12 months;
• a tenant can raise retaliation as a defense in an eviction case, or sue for actual damages plus up to $2,000 for each retaliatory act.

Separately, the City's Residential Tenant Protections Ordinance, Municipal Code sections 98.0701 to 98.0709, bars landlords from retaliating against tenants for exercising rights under that ordinance (section 98.0708).

Inside the City of San Diego, housing conditions are inspected by the Development Services Department's Building & Land Use Enforcement Division (BLUE), which handles building and housing code complaints on private property. The County's housing complaint page also sends City of San Diego residents to BLUE's number.

• How to file. Submit a Request for Investigation online, mail the Request for Investigation form NC-114 (English, Spanish) to the address printed on it, or call 619-236-5500. You will be asked if you have contacted the responsible party. As of November 4, 2026, the City's guide to Get It Done reports has no report type for rental housing conditions.
• What the form asks. The property address, unit number and nearest cross street; the owner, manager and tenant if known; whether it is single-family, duplex or multifamily and whether it is a rental; a description of the problem; and checkboxes for the hazards BLUE treats as most urgent, including “Uninhabitable living conditions,” “Leaking sewage” and “Live, exposed electrical wires.” It asks you to attach photos.
• Not anonymous. BLUE does not accept anonymous requests. It says complainant information is kept confidential, but that in rare instances the City may have to reveal it in a court proceeding.

• Assignment. BLUE says a new case is given a priority level and assigned to staff within one business day. Building complaints go to Combination Inspectors, who enforce building codes.
• Research and inspection. Staff check existing approvals for the property, usually followed by an inspection with the responsible party, looking at its development, use and condition against the applicable codes. Be ready to let the inspector see the problem inside your unit.
• Notice and a chance to comply. If violations are found, staff decide the remedy, which may be a citation or notice. In most cases the responsible person is given a chance to fix the problem voluntarily by a deadline.
• If it is not fixed. After the deadline, the City may use abatement by a contractor with costs recovered, civil penalties of up to $10,000 a day and $500,000 in total, or a criminal or civil case by the City Attorney.
• Follow your case. You can check the status of an investigation online. The form asks you to keep BLUE updated on whether conditions improve. Ask for or keep a copy of any notice issued; under Civil Code 1942.4, the date an inspector's notice was mailed starts the 35-day period described above.

• Mold and leaks. The California Tenants guide says mold the landlord knows about that affects livability or health can breach the warranty of habitability, and that since January 1, 2016, visible mold judged by a health or code enforcement officer to be more than superficial (such as mildew) may be a substandard condition. Report water intrusion and suspected mold to the landlord in writing. A leak in the City's own pipes or meter is different; see our water leaks guide, and for discolored or smelly tap water, our tap water guide.
• No heat or hot water. Working heating and hot running water are on the state's habitability list. The guide notes that when the heat is out in very cold weather, a reasonable time to repair may be as short as one to two days. If the whole building lost gas or power, the utility may be the cause; see our power outage and gas leak guide.
• Wiring and sewage. Live, exposed electrical wires and leaking sewage are Priority I for BLUE. For a sewer overflow in the street rather than inside the building, see our sewer spills guide.
• Rats, cockroaches and bedbugs. State law requires a rental to be free of rodents and vermin at the start of a tenancy and the landlord to keep areas under its control that way. The County Vector Control Program offers free educational rat inspections of the outside of buildings but does not trap, bait or remove rodents, and its pests page says bedbugs, cockroaches, fleas and similar pests are outside its authority. Our mosquitoes, rats and pests guide covers what the County does.

The County's Housing Program, part of the Department of Environmental Health and Quality, enforces state laws on sanitation, maintenance, ventilation and occupancy of housing in the unincorporated county and in Carlsbad, Coronado, Del Mar, Encinitas, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, Poway, San Marcos, Santee, Solana Beach and Vista. It does not serve the City of San Diego, Chula Vista, El Cajon, Escondido, Imperial Beach, National City or Oceanside, which handle their own housing complaints.

• County housing complaints. Use the online form on the County's housing complaints page, call 858-505-6903, or email the duty desk listed there. The same page lists the phone number for each city it does not serve.
• County Code Compliance. The County's Code Compliance Division handles zoning and building complaints such as construction without permits on private property in the unincorporated area, and refers housing-related issues to Environmental Health. Its map (PDF) shows whether an address is in the unincorporated area.

• California Tenants. The state's full guide to residential tenants' and landlords' rights and responsibilities, 2026 edition, from the Department of Real Estate (English PDF, Spanish PDF). Its repairs and habitability chapter is the basis for most of the state-law summary above.
• San Diego Housing Commission. City law (Municipal Code section 98.0705) requires the Housing Commission to publish a Tenant Protection Guide covering tenants' rights under the City's tenant protections ordinance and state law, including habitability, and requires landlords covered by the ordinance to give it to tenants. The guide lists legal aid and community resources. It also says the Housing Commission has no authority to enforce the ordinance; it does not inspect private rentals for code violations.
• Legal advice. The state guide repeatedly recommends checking with a lawyer, legal aid organization, housing clinic or tenant program before using repair and deduct, rent withholding or a lawsuit.