California Now Requires a Working Stove and Refrigerator in Every Rental (AB 628, 2026)

Published August 10, 2026

AB 628 adds a working stove and refrigerator to California's list of habitability requirements. The rule applies to leases entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2026, and it changes what a landlord must fix before a unit can be called livable.

The short answer

Starting with leases entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2026, California Civil Code section 1941.1 requires every rental unit to have a working stove and a working refrigerator to be legally tenantable. AB 628 (Chapter 342) added both appliances to the existing habitability list. A tenant may supply their own refrigerator only by mutual written agreement at lease signing. Certain unit types are exempt.

Last verified: August 10, 2026

What the law actually changed

Civil Code section 1941.1 has long set the baseline for what makes a California dwelling "tenantable" under section 1941. Before AB 628, that list covered things like weatherproofing, plumbing, hot and cold running water, heating, electrical wiring, clean common areas, garbage receptacles, and floors and stairways in good repair. It said nothing about a stove or a refrigerator.

AB 628, authored by Assemblymember McKinnor and signed October 6, 2025, closes that gap. It adds two new paragraphs, numbered 10 and 11, to subdivision (a) of section 1941.1.

Paragraph 10 requires "a stove that is maintained in good working order and capable of safely generating heat for cooking purposes." Paragraph 11 requires "a refrigerator that is maintained in good working order and capable of safely storing food." Both paragraphs state they apply only to a lease entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2026.

The bill also ties recalls directly to habitability. The statute now says a stove or refrigerator "that is subject to a recall by the manufacturer or a public entity is not capable of" performing its function, meaning a recalled appliance is legally untenantable even if it still runs. For the deadline that applies once a landlord learns of a recall, see the companion article on the 30-day repair or replace window.

The four characteristics AB 628 added

| Requirement | Civil Code 1941.1 citation | Applies to |

|---|---|---|

| Working stove, capable of safely generating cooking heat | Section 1941.1(a)(10) | Leases entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2026 |

| Working refrigerator, capable of safely storing food | Section 1941.1(a)(11)(A) | Same |

| Tenant may supply own refrigerator, only by mutual written lease agreement | Section 1941.1(a)(11)(B) | Same, opt-in only |

| Recalled stove or refrigerator treated as not working | Section 1941.1(a)(10) and (11)(A) | Same |

Who is exempt

Subdivision (b) of section 1941.1 excludes four categories of housing from the new stove and refrigerator requirements:

• Permanent supportive housing, as defined in Government Code section 8698.4(c)(2).
• A single-room occupancy unit that provides exclusive living and sleeping space, including where occupants share food preparation facilities.
• A unit in a residential hotel, as defined in Health and Safety Code section 50519(b)(1).
• A dwelling unit inside a housing facility with shared or communal kitchen spaces, including an assisted living facility.

If your South Bay property does not fall into one of those four categories, the stove and refrigerator rule applies once a covered lease event happens on or after January 1, 2026.

The tenant-supplied refrigerator carve-out

AB 628 lets a tenant bring their own refrigerator instead of relying on the landlord's, but only under a specific process written into the statute. The lease must be signed with all of the following in place:

1. The lease contains a disclosure, in substantially the statutory language, telling the tenant that state law requires the landlord to provide a working refrigerator, and that by checking the box the tenant is asking to bring their own and accepting responsibility for keeping it working.
2. The lease lets the tenant end the arrangement with 30 days written notice, after which the landlord must install a working refrigerator.
3. The landlord cannot condition the tenancy on the tenant agreeing to supply their own refrigerator.
4. The landlord has no maintenance responsibility for a refrigerator the tenant provided.

There is no equivalent carve-out for the stove. A landlord cannot shift stove responsibility to the tenant under any version of this statute.

What this means for leases signed before 2026

Read the statute's own trigger carefully. The new requirements attach only to a lease "entered into, amended, or extended" on or after January 1, 2026. A tenancy that started in 2024 and has simply continued month to month without a new lease, amendment, or extension is not automatically pulled into the new stove and refrigerator standard by the statute's plain text. The moment that lease is renewed, amended, or a new lease is signed, the requirement attaches.

Because habitability disputes and code enforcement can turn on this distinction, and because month-to-month renewal mechanics vary, confirm with a landlord-tenant attorney how your specific lease renewal language interacts with this trigger date.

How this interacts with the existing repair-and-deduct remedy

AB 628 did not touch Civil Code section 1942, the statute that already lets a tenant repair a habitability defect and deduct the cost from rent, or vacate, when a landlord has neglected to fix it after notice. The bill added a sentence to section 1941.1 clarifying that the new stove and refrigerator repair or replace duty "does not prohibit a tenant from exercising any remedy authorized" under section 1942. In practice, a broken or recalled stove or refrigerator is now squarely inside the same untenantability framework that already governs a broken heater or a leaking roof.

What to do before January 1, 2026

Walk every unit and confirm the stove and refrigerator both work. For any appliance you know is subject to a manufacturer or agency recall, start the repair or replacement process now rather than waiting for a tenant complaint. If you want to offer tenants the option to bring their own refrigerator, build the statutory disclosure language into your lease template before your next signing, not after.

FAQ

Does AB 628 apply to a lease I signed in 2023 that has not been renewed?

The statute's new stove and refrigerator requirements apply to a lease entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2026. Whether a month-to-month continuation without a formal renewal counts is a fact-specific question. Confirm with a landlord-tenant attorney for your specific lease.

Can I make the tenant responsible for the stove the way I can for a self-supplied refrigerator?

No. Section 1941.1(a)(10) has no opt-out provision. The landlord must provide and maintain a working stove regardless of any lease agreement.

What counts as "capable of safely generating heat for cooking purposes"?

The statute does not define a technical standard beyond good working order and safety. If you have a specific code compliance question about a particular appliance, confirm with your city's building department.

Is a recalled stove automatically a habitability violation even if it still cooks food?

Yes. The statute states a recalled stove or refrigerator is not capable of performing its safety function, which makes the unit untenantable under section 1941 regardless of whether the appliance still operates.

Does this law apply to all nine South Bay cities the same way?

Civil Code section 1941.1 is state law and applies statewide. Individual cities may have additional local ordinances. Confirm with each city's own municipal code before assuming no local rule adds to this.

This is general information about a recently enacted state law, not legal advice. Confirm how AB 628 applies to your specific lease and property with a licensed California landlord-tenant attorney.

Topics: compliance, habitability, AB 628, South Bay, property management

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