Flood Zone Disclosure on an El Segundo Lease: What Government Code Section 8589.45 Requires

Published August 10, 2026

Since July 1, 2018, a California landlord who knows a rental sits in a special flood hazard area or area of potential flooding must say so in writing, in at least eight point type. Government Code section 8589.45 sets the trigger, the type size, and what the notice must and does not have to say.

The short answer

Since July 1, 2018, a California landlord who has actual knowledge a rental property sits in a special flood hazard area or area of potential flooding must give prospective tenants a written notice, in at least eight point type, before the lease or rental agreement is signed. Government Code section 8589.45 sets the trigger, the format, and the required content. It does not require the landlord to investigate flood risk.

Last verified: August 10, 2026

Why this matters in El Segundo

El Segundo sits between the coast and LAX, with low lying areas near the Chevron refinery corridor and the Santa Monica Bay shoreline. Whether a specific address in El Segundo falls inside a FEMA special flood hazard area or a state designated area of potential flooding is address specific. A landlord does not need to guess. The Governor's Office of Emergency Services runs a free lookup tool, MyHazards, and FEMA publishes its own flood map service. Section 8589.45 actually points tenants to that same state tool inside the required notice.

What triggers the disclosure

The duty turns on actual knowledge, not on a standing obligation to investigate. Under Government Code section 8589.45, an owner or person offering the property for rent has actual knowledge the property is in a special flood hazard area or area of potential flooding if any of the following is true:

• A public agency has given the owner written notice that the property is in such an area
• A lender or mortgage holder requires the owner to carry flood insurance on the property as a condition of the loan
• The owner currently carries flood insurance on the property

If none of those apply, the statute does not appear to impose an independent duty to research flood maps before every new lease. That said, checking MyHazards or the FEMA map for a rental before listing it is a low cost step that avoids an actual knowledge dispute later.

Who must give the notice, and when

The disclosure duty falls on "the owner or person offering the property for rent." It applies to every lease or rental agreement for residential property entered into on or after July 1, 2018. Leases signed before that date are not covered by the statute's plain terms, but any lease renewal or new tenancy created afterward is.

Format: at least eight point type

The notice must be in a minimum of eight point type. That is smaller than the ten point minimum used for some other California tenant disclosures, so do not assume the same template size covers both. If a landlord bundles this notice into a larger lease packet, the flood disclosure text itself still has to meet the eight point floor even if surrounding boilerplate is smaller.

Civil Code section 1632 also applies to this disclosure, which is the state's foreign language lease translation law. If the lease negotiation was conducted primarily in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or Korean, that cross reference matters for how the notice is delivered.

What the notice must say

Based on the statute, a compliant notice covers:

1. A statement, where actual knowledge exists, that the property is located in a special flood hazard area or an area of potential flooding
2. A reference directing the tenant to the Office of Emergency Services MyHazards tool for further information
3. A statement that the owner's insurance does not cover the tenant's personal possessions, and a recommendation that the tenant consider renter's insurance and flood insurance
4. A statement that the owner is not required to provide any additional information about flood hazards beyond what the notice already contains

That last point matters for a landlord's own exposure. The statute appears to cap the disclosure obligation at the notice itself. It is not, on its face, an invitation for tenants to demand a full flood history or engineering report.

Quick reference

| Requirement | Detail | Citation |

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

| Applies to | Every residential lease or rental agreement entered on or after July 1, 2018 | Government Code 8589.45 |

| Who discloses | Owner or person offering the property for rent | Government Code 8589.45 |

| Trigger | Actual knowledge: agency notice, lender flood insurance requirement, or owner carries flood insurance | Government Code 8589.45 |

| Minimum type size | 8 point | Government Code 8589.45 |

| Must reference | Office of Emergency Services MyHazards tool | Government Code 8589.45 |

| Additional duty beyond notice | None stated in the section | Government Code 8589.45 |

| Related translation rule | Civil Code section 1632 | Government Code 8589.45 |

A practical checklist for a South Bay landlord

1. Look up the property's flood status on the Office of Emergency Services MyHazards tool and the FEMA flood map service before listing.
2. If you carry flood insurance on the property, or a lender requires it, that alone triggers the actual knowledge standard even if no agency has separately notified you.
3. Build the eight point minimum notice, with the four content points above, into your standard El Segundo lease packet rather than treating it as a one off add on.
4. If lease negotiations happen in a language other than English among the group covered by Civil Code section 1632, confirm the translation requirement is met alongside this notice.
5. Keep a dated copy of the notice each tenant received. The statute ties the duty to actual knowledge at the time of leasing, and a signed, dated notice is the cleanest record that the disclosure happened.

FAQ

Does every El Segundo rental need this notice, or only ones actually in a flood zone?

The written notice about flood hazard location is only required when the landlord has actual knowledge, under the statute's specific triggers, that the property is in a special flood hazard area or area of potential flooding. If none of those triggers apply, confirm with the current statute and, if in doubt, check MyHazards before assuming no notice is owed.

What counts as "actual knowledge" under Government Code section 8589.45?

Written notice from a public agency that the property is in such an area, a lender or mortgage holder requiring flood insurance as a loan condition, or the owner currently carrying flood insurance on the property.

Is eight point type the same as the type size used for other California lease disclosures?

No. Some other tenant disclosures use a ten point minimum. Do not assume one template size satisfies every disclosure; check the type size required by each specific statute.

Does the landlord have to investigate whether the property is in a flood zone?

The statute's trigger is actual knowledge, not an affirmative duty to investigate. Checking the state and federal flood maps before listing is a reasonable practice step, not a stated legal requirement in the text retrieved.

Does the notice have to include a full flood history or an engineer's report?

No. The statute states the owner is not required to provide additional information about flood hazards to the property beyond what the required notice contains.

Does this apply to a lease signed before July 1, 2018 that is still in effect?

The statute applies to leases and rental agreements entered into on or after July 1, 2018. Confirm how your specific lease renewal or holdover situation is treated with a licensed professional.

This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your notice language, your property's flood zone status, and your specific lease timing against the current statute at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov and with a licensed attorney.

Topics: compliance, landlord law, disclosures, South Bay, flood zone, El Segundo

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