Does California Law Require a Working Stove and Refrigerator in a Rental in 2026?

Published July 15, 2026

AB 628 makes a working stove and fridge a habitability requirement in every CA rental starting 2026.

Yes. Under Assembly Bill 628, effective January 1, 2026, every California rental unit must have a working stove and refrigerator or the unit is not legally habitable. If either appliance is subject to a manufacturer or government recall, the landlord must repair or replace it within 30 days of getting notice of the recall.

What AB 628 actually changed

California Civil Code section 1941.1 lists the conditions a dwelling must meet to be considered "tenantable." For decades that list covered things like weatherproofing, plumbing, heat, and electrical wiring, but it never explicitly required a stove or a refrigerator. AB 628, authored by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor and signed October 6, 2025, adds both appliances to that statutory list. Starting January 1, 2026, a stove has to be "maintained in good working order and capable of safely generating heat for cooking," and a refrigerator has to be capable of "safely storing food." Miss either one and you have a habitability problem, not just a maintenance complaint.

This applies to leases entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2026. We would not wait for a renewal to fix a dead stove anyway, but owners should know the legal floor moved.

The 30 day recall clock

The part of AB 628 that catches owners off guard is the recall provision. If a stove or refrigerator already in a unit gets recalled by the manufacturer or a public entity, the law treats that appliance as automatically failing the habitability standard, whether or not it has actually stopped working. The landlord then has 30 days from receiving notice of the recall to repair or replace it. Thirty days moves fast when a part is backordered or a specific model needs a technician, so the practical move is to check appliance make and model against recall databases (the Consumer Product Safety Commission maintains one) as soon as you hear about a recall in the news, not after a tenant flags it.

Who can supply the fridge

AB 628 leaves one piece of flexibility: at lease signing, a landlord and tenant can mutually agree that the tenant will provide and maintain their own refrigerator, and that arrangement is allowed to stand. There is no equivalent carve-out for the stove. A landlord cannot shift responsibility for the stove onto the tenant under any agreement. If you manage a unit where a prior tenant left a personal fridge and the new tenant expects one from you, put the refrigerator arrangement in writing in the lease rather than assuming the old setup carries over.

Who is exempt

The law does not apply to every kind of housing. It excludes single room occupancy units, units in residential hotels, permanent supportive housing, and dwellings within facilities that use a shared or communal kitchen. For a typical single family rental or small multifamily property in the South Bay, none of those exemptions apply. If you own a standard house, duplex, or apartment unit, AB 628 applies to you in full.

What this means for you

If your rental has an aging stove or refrigerator, do not wait for it to fully die before replacing it, and build appliance condition into every make ready and lease renewal checklist starting now. Keep a record of appliance brand and model numbers on file so a recall notice can be matched to your units immediately instead of during a scramble. A habitability violation on an appliance that used to be a courtesy repair is now a legal exposure, and California courts have historically allowed tenants to withhold rent, repair and deduct, or sue over habitability failures, so this is not a category to treat casually.

If you would rather not track recall notices and appliance age across a portfolio yourself, that is exactly the kind of thing we build into our maintenance workflow at Schofield.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm with a licensed professional before you act.

Sources

1. AB 628 bill text and status, California Legislative Information
2. California Apartment Association: Working stove, refrigerator required in rental units under newly signed law
3. California Civil Code section 1941.1, FindLaw
4. KQED: In 2026, All Rental Homes in California Will Need to Have These 2 Things
5. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall search

Last verified: July 2026.

Topics: compliance, habitability, AB 628, appliances, landlord tenant law, El Segundo

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Schofield Properties is a family run property management company at 323 Richmond St, El Segundo, CA 90245. We have managed the South Bay since 1972 and personally oversee about 186 doors today. Book a call to talk about your property.