Finding suitable rental housing in California has never been more of a challenge – particularly for those Californians living with disabilities. This guide is intended to provide general advice and guidance to Californians with disabilities seeking suitable housing on the private market.

This guide is not a replacement for legal or financial advice, but instead is intended to help individuals who may have never rented a home on their own before. For help with questions specific to your unique circumstances, you may contact DRC at 1-800-776-5746.

Finding a Suitable Unit:

1. How to find a housing unit:

1. Search engines – Search engines such as Google and Bing are often a great place to start a search for rental housing.
2. Local housing authority lists – Local housing authorities often keep lists of affordable housing developments, although these often have wait lists. Click here to contact information for your local housing authority.
3. Housing Navigation services/211 – you may call 211 to ask about housing navigation services that may be available in your area. Housing navigation services may be able to help you find a suitable unit.
4. Fraud awareness – Rental scams are unfortunately common in recent times so you should take steps to protect yourself such as: making sure to not pay anything before seeing unit, never signing any lease or application without seeing unit first, not paying excessively large application fees (see section 2b below), and being skeptical of too-good-to-be-true prices.

2. Initial questions to ask

1. What is it like living in the community in question? One good first step to find this out is to search for online reviews of the property, if available, to find common complaints so that you can ask the landlord about these concerns. Are the complaints resolved? Does it appear that landlord is responsive to complaints? Is there a common complaint that people keep talking about?
2. Fees to ask about – Application fees are very common and are intended to reimburse the landlord for costs involved with running background checks and credit checks. These fees are limited by State law and should not be more than the actual cost to the landlord for processing the application and running the background and credit checks. In no case can the application fee exceed the state maximum, which is currently set at $65.37 as of 2024 and increases annually.
3. Credit and income requirements – landlords usually require that applicants’ income be at least 2-3x the monthly rent, and that applicants meet credit check requirements such as not owing money to previous landlords, and not having evictions on one’s record. It is important to ask landlords up front what their requirements are to avoid wasting application fee money. Landlords cannot legally use these requirements to discriminate against you for an unlawful reason, however, such as by setting different credit requirements for applicants with different national origins. Landlords also may not use the income requirement to prohibit low-income applicants using a subsidized housing program such as Section 8. In these cases, the tenant’s rent-to-income calculation must be based on the tenant’s part of the rent and not on the entire amount of the contract rent. Landlords in California cannot legally refuse to rent to Section 8 participants just because they are on Section 8.
4. Background checks – most landlords require applicants to submit to background checks. These checks often look for debts that you may owe, certain earlier eviction cases against you, and any criminal history.
5. Pet policies – Pet owners or potential future pet owners should be sure to ask what the landlord’s policies are about pets. Many landlords restrict pets, such as by only allowing certain breeds, by having weight limits, or by prohibiting certain types of pets and pet equipment such as aquariums. If you have a disability-related need for a companion or service animal, you may qualify for exceptions to these rules as a Reasonable Accommodation. You may find more information about Reasonable Accommodations in section 5 below.

3. Tour the unit to be rented

1. Model unit vs actual unit – Many larger properties have a “model unit” which is intended to be shown to prospective residents. These units are generally furnished and not necessarily the same floor plan as other units that are available. Be sure to ask the landlord whether the unit you are viewing is the actual unit to be rented, or whether it is a model unit. If it is a model unit, insist on also viewing the unit to be rented before paying any money or signing a lease. This is critical so that you can find any potential issues with the actual unit you will be renting.
2. View at different times of the day – If possible, tour the property at different times of the day, such as in the early morning, afternoon, and evening. This can help you find potential issues before committing to a unit, such as noisy neighbors, accessibility concerns, or parking issues.
3. Parking issues – Is parking assigned or first-come-first-served? Are there enough parking spaces for the number of residents? Are accessible parking spaces available if needed?
4. Security concerns – Is access to the property restricted? If there are gates, how do residents and visitors gain access?
5. Accessibility – if the building has stairs which would be difficult for you to use, does the building have a working elevator? Is there accessible parking at the property?
6. Laundry – Does the property have a laundry room, washer/dryer in the unit, or neither of these? Is the laundry room accessible for you and available during the hours you will need it? If there is no laundry at all on the property, is there a laundromat nearby that you could use?
7. Mail and delivery procedures – how do residents receive mail and are there accessibility concerns with getting to and from the mail rooms or package rooms? Are packages held at a particular location, or are they delivered to the individual residents’ doors? Do delivery personnel have access to the property outside of normal business hours? If there is a package room, is it available during the hours you would need it?

4. Tour the surrounding area to make sure it meets your needs

1. Noise – what is the noise like inside the unit and in the surrounding area? If you can, try to visit the area at different times of day to find out if it is very noisy when you will need quiet.
2. Traffic – What is the traffic situation like in the area? If you commute to work, will the traffic patterns in the area make it difficult?
3. Safety – Is the property gated? How do residents and visitors access the building? Is there a lot of crime in the surrounding area? You may wish to use online tools to get an idea of what kinds of criminal activity may be occurring in the area. You may be able to find these tools by doing an online search for terms such as “crime map [name of area]”.
4. Schools – if you have children or plan to have children while living in the unit, what are the schools like in the area? You can use online tools to see what schools are in the area and ratings and/or reviews may also be available to read online.

5. Accommodations

1. You have the right to be free from discrimination based on any “protected class” such as race, color, religion, sex/gender, gender identity, pregnancy, sexual orientation, marital status, military or veteran status, medical condition and/or disability, national origin, ancestry, or genetic information.
2. If you need a change in a rule or procedure in your rental due to your disabilities (such as if you have an Emotional Support Animal and the landlord does not allow or charges for pets), you may request Reasonable Accommodations from the landlord. See Your Right to Reasonable Housing Accommodations for more information about Reasonable Accommodations.
3. If you need a change to the unit itself due to your disabilities (such as installation of a grab bar in a shower), you have the right to request Reasonable Modifications. With Reasonable Modifications, however, landlords usually have the right to require that the tenant pays for the modification as well as paying to return the unit to its original condition when you move out. See Housing Discrimination Based on Disability - Your Rights and Options for more information about Reasonable Modifications.

Lease Review and Move-In

This section will focus on reviewing the lease, the application process, and documenting damage when you move in.

1. Reviewing the Lease

1. Fraud awareness: Never sign a lease or pay any money before being given the opportunity to view the unit to be rented and to review the proposed lease document. A prospective landlord demanding that you sign a lease or pay a deposit before even viewing a unit is a red flag – this is often a sign of a rental scam.
2. A lease is a legal contract and grants both the tenant and the landlord certain rights and responsibilities.
3. Key terms to look out for in a lease include:
   1. Lease duration – leases can be of any duration, although some common lease durations for apartments range from month-to-month to a one-year or longer lease term. It is important to consider whether you will be able to remain in the unit throughout the lease term, as there may be financial consequences to moving out of the unit before the end of the lease term. If you break your lease early without an approved reasonable accommodation for disability-related needs, you may be responsible for continuing to pay rent until a suitable replacement tenant is found.
   2. Rent amount and due date – the lease should state the amount of rent due, and when each payment is due. The lease should also include payment instructions as well as any applicable late fees and penalties for late payments.
   3. Security deposit – the lease should state the amount of any required security deposit, as well as the conditions under which it may be withheld by the landlord after you move out. A security deposit is an amount of money that you pay to the landlord when you move in to a unit, which is then refunded to you when you move out after subtracting costs to repair damage done to the unit and other allowable deductions. Under California law, as of 1/1/2024 many (but not all) landlords are prohibited from charging more than one months’ rent as a security deposit. If you believe your landlord is attempting to overcharge for a deposit, please seek legal assistance so that your unique circumstances can be reviewed.
   4. Subletting – Many landlords prohibit subletting – or renting out a room in the unit yourself to a roommate – without the landlord’s approval. If you intend on getting a roommate, ensure you are familiar with your landlord’s policy on this as stated in the lease.
   5. Property rules – the lease will likely also include certain rules for residing on the property, such as quiet hours, pet policies, and rules for using amenities. These are important to review and understand, as repeated or serious violations of these rules could be grounds for eviction. If you need reasonable accommodations due to your disabilities for exceptions to any of these rules, please see DRC’s Reasonable Accommodations publication, also available on our website under Resources > Housing/Homelessness > Housing Discrimination Based on Disability – Your Rights and Options
4. If you have questions about lease terms, seek legal advice before signing. If you sign a lease you will be required to abide by any terms that are not illegal, even if you did not understand them when you signed. Please seek legal advice for any questions you have regarding the lease before signing. A landlord who attempts to pressure you into signing before you obtain such advice is a red flag – a landlord should want all parties to understand what they are signing to avoid future problems and misunderstandings down the line.

2. Application process

1. Landlords generally will require an application and payment of an application fee for all adult prospective residents of the unit. Under California law, this fee should only reimburse the landlord for their actual expenses in checking the credit and background of prospective tenants – landlords should not be making a profit off of the application fees. In no case can the application fee exceed the state maximum, which is currently set at $65.37 as of 2024 and increases annually with inflation. If you believe a landlord is attempting to charge excessive application fees, please seek legal assistance before paying or agreeing to such fees.

3. Move-in/documenting damage

1. On the lease start date, after signing, the landlord will provide you with the keys to the unit. Once this happens, it is important that you document any damage or issues with the unit immediately. Any issues you identify with the unit, such as holes in walls, torn carpeting, stains, damaged or broken appliances, etc, should be immediately reported to the landlord in writing. You should also take date- and time-stamped pictures of the unit showing all of the reported damage for your records. You may also wish to take a video of your first walkthrough of the unit to keep for your records.
2. When it comes time to move out of your apartment down the line, your landlord is not permitted to withhold amounts from your deposit to repair damage that existed before your lease started. Having pictures and documentation of existing damage will allow you to prove these conditions already existed before you moved in.