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Published July 15, 2026
Bed bugs, Megan's Law, flood zone, death on premises, and the translation rule, all with the exact statutes.
South Bay landlords who skip a single required disclosure can hand a tenant an automatic claim, and sometimes a right to void the lease. Five disclosures trip people up most: bed bugs, Megan's Law, flood zone, a death on the property, and, if the lease was negotiated in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or Korean, a full written translation before signing.
Since July 1, 2017, California Civil Code section 1954.603 has required landlords to give every new tenant a written notice, in at least 10 point type, covering what bed bugs look like, how they behave, why the tenant should report a suspected infestation right away, and how to report it. This is not a one time addendum you attach and forget. It goes in every new lease, and it is separate from any obligation to disclose a known active infestation at the specific unit or an adjacent one. We build this into every lease packet at Schofield because an owner who skips it has no defense if a dispute lands in small claims court.
Civil Code section 2079.10a requires a specific, close to verbatim notice in every residential lease, rental agreement, and home sale contract in California: that information about registered sex offenders is available from the Department of Justice at www.meganslaw.ca.gov, and that depending on the offender's history the site will show either an address or just a community and ZIP code. Paraphrasing it, shortening it, or leaving it out of a renewal is a common and easily avoidable mistake. The type must be at least 8 point.
Government Code section 8589.45 has applied to every lease signed on or after July 1, 2018. If the owner has actual knowledge the property sits in a special flood hazard area, that has to be disclosed in at least 8 point type. Actual knowledge under the statute includes written notice from a public agency, a mortgage lender requiring flood insurance, or the owner already carrying a flood policy. The notice also has to tell the tenant that renter's insurance does not cover flood loss to their belongings, point them to the state's MyHazards tool, and state that the owner is not required to provide anything beyond what the statute lists. In low lying pockets of El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, and Redondo near the water, this is not a formality. Check the FEMA flood map for the parcel before you sign anyone.
Civil Code section 1710.2 says an owner or agent does not have to volunteer that someone died on the property, or how, once more than three years have passed. Read the other direction: if a death, including the manner of death, occurred within the past three years, it should be disclosed to a prospective tenant. The one exception written into the statute is that you never have to disclose that a former occupant had HIV or died of AIDS related complications, even within the three year window. And regardless of the three year clock, if a prospective tenant asks you directly whether anyone died on the property, you cannot lie. An intentional misrepresentation in response to a direct question is not protected by this statute at any point in time.
If a lease negotiation happened primarily in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or Korean, whether the tenant speaks limited English or simply prefers to transact in that language, Civil Code section 1632 requires the landlord to deliver a full written translation of the lease, covering every term and condition, before the tenant signs. This is not a summary. It is a complete translated copy. Skip it and the tenant can rescind the agreement. In a South Bay market with a large Spanish speaking and growing Asian language rental population, this is one of the most overlooked disclosure rules we see, especially with independent landlords who use a bilingual leasing agent but hand the tenant only the English lease to sign.
None of these five disclosures are discretionary and none of them are optional paperwork you can catch up on later. Each one is a specific statute with specific wording or specific timing, and getting even one wrong exposes you to a tenant claim, a rescission, or worse in an eviction defense down the line. Build a standard lease packet with all five baked in, review it any time the statutes get amended, and never assume a template you bought once is still current.
If you would rather not track five different disclosure statutes across every unit you own, that is what we do at Schofield.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm with a licensed professional before you act.
Last verified: July 2026.
Topics: compliance, lease disclosures, California landlord law, El Segundo, South Bay rentals
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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.
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