Gov. Code, § 53165 · Article 10. Prohibition on Penalties Against Tenants and Landlords for Law Enforcement Contact or Emergency Services
Gov. Code, § 53165
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Individual in an emergency” means a person who believes that immediate action is required to prevent or mitigate the loss or impairment of life, health, or property.
(2) “Local agency” means a county, city, whether general law or chartered, city and county, town, housing authority, municipal corporation, district, political subdivision, or any board, commission, or agency thereof, or other local public agency.
(3) “Occupant” means a person residing in a dwelling unit with the tenant. “Occupant” includes a lodger as defined in Section 1946.5 of the Civil Code.
(4) “Penalty” means the following:
(A) The actual or threatened assessment of fees, fines, or penalties.
(B) The actual or threatened termination of a tenancy or the actual or threatened failure to renew a tenancy.
(C) The actual or threatened revocation, suspension, or nonrenewal of a rental certificate, license, or permit.
(D) The designation or threatened designation as a nuisance property or as a perpetrator of criminal activity under local law, or imposition or threatened imposition of a similar designation.
(E) Subjecting a tenant to inferior terms, privileges, and conditions of tenancy in comparison to tenants who have not sought law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance.
(5) “Resident” means a member of the tenant’s household or any other occupant living in the dwelling unit with the consent of the tenant.
(6) “Tenant” means tenant, subtenant, lessee, or sublessee.
(7) “Victim of abuse” includes:
(A) A victim of domestic violence as defined in Section 6211 of the Family Code.
(B) A victim of elder or dependent adult abuse as defined in Section 15610.07 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(C) A victim of human trafficking as described in Section 236.1 of the Penal Code.
(D) A victim of sexual assault means a victim of any act made punishable by Section 261, 264.1, 285, 286, 288, 288a, or 289 of the Penal Code.
(E) A victim of stalking as described in Section 1708.7 of the Civil Code or Section 646.9 of the Penal Code.
(8) “Victim of crime” means a victim of a misdemeanor or felony.
(b) A local agency shall not promulgate, enforce, or implement any ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation, that authorizes, or requires the imposition, or threatened imposition, of a penalty against a resident, owner, tenant, landlord, or other person as a consequence of law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance being summoned by, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency.
(c) If a local agency violates this section, a resident, tenant, owner, landlord, or other person may obtain the following:
(1) A court order requiring the local agency to cease and desist the unlawful practice.
(2) A court order rendering null and void any ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation that violates this section.
(3) Other equitable relief as the court may deem appropriate.
(d) This section preempts any local ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation insofar as it is inconsistent with this section, irrespective of the effective date of the ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 626, Sec. 13. (AB 1171) Effective January 1, 2022.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV§ionNum=53165.
- Text hash
- sha256 d046f2914754298e476dedb8b672848da9fccc570278b27aedae6845876f9cf8
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Civil Code
Penal Code
- Pen. Code, § 236.1Printed as Section 236.1 of the Penal Code
- Pen. Code, § 261Printed as Section 261, 264.1, 285, 286, 288, 288a, or 289 of the Penal Code
- Pen. Code, § 264.1Printed as Section 261, 264.1, 285, 286, 288, 288a, or 289 of the Penal Code
- Pen. Code, § 285Printed as Section 261, 264.1, 285, 286, 288, 288a, or 289 of the Penal Code
- Pen. Code, § 286Printed as Section 261, 264.1, 285, 286, 288, 288a, or 289 of the Penal Code
- Pen. Code, § 288Printed as Section 261, 264.1, 285, 286, 288, 288a, or 289 of the Penal Code
- Pen. Code, § 289Printed as Section 261, 264.1, 285, 286, 288, 288a, or 289 of the Penal Code
- Pen. Code, § 646.9Printed as Section 646.9 of the Penal Code
Welfare and Institutions Code
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.