Davis, CA Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)

11 of the Davis Municipal Code creates a residential rental dwelling unit registration and inspection program, adopted in 2017 and amended in 2020, meant to proactively identify substandard and unsafe rental housing before tenants are forced to report it themselves. Owners of single-family rental units (one to four units) must register with the city and cannot rent a unit until it is registered. The community development and sustainability director administers the program and may inspect a registered unit for three reasons: a random compliance audit checking registration paperwork, move-in inspection forms and fees; a complaint of code violations or health and safety risks; or a staff-initiated inspection based on reasonable belief of violations, including what's visible from the public right-of-way.

Inspections of single-family units began six months after the ordinance's adoption. Owners get twenty-one calendar days' notice to provide access once the city requests an inspection, and must give tenants at least twenty-four hours' written notice before entry. Newly constructed units with a certificate of occupancy or a passed final inspection are exempt from the inspection requirement, though not registration, for five years. A unit that passes inspection receives a rental housing inspection certification valid for one or five years, during which it isn't subject to a random audit, though a reported violation can still trigger a new inspection.