San Jacinto, CA Rental Inspections: Tenant Complaint Process (2026)

Chapter 5.62 of the San Jacinto Municipal Code, the Nonowner Occupied Property Inspection Program, sets out how the City of San Jacinto inspects rental housing. Section 5.62.030 applies it to all existing residential nonowner occupied property, including parking lots, driveways, landscaping, accessory structures, fences, walls, swimming pools, hot tubs and spas, and code enforcement officers conduct the initial and subsequent inspections. Under § 5.62.060, code enforcement is authorized to conduct an annual exterior inspection.

Notice comes first. Section 5.62.090 allows service by regular mail to the owner at the address on the Riverside County assessor's last equalized assessment roll, or to the occupant at the occupant's last known address. Service is prima facie evidence that the recipient knows of, and has permitted, nuisance activity on the property. Seven days after notice is served, the exterior of the buildings can be inspected. In advance of that notice, the owner or occupant can request a scheduled inspection. For properties of sixteen dwelling units or more, code enforcement is not required to contact the owner or an agent to set an appointment.

Interior entry has its own steps. When the officer has reason to believe an interior inspection is warranted, the notice to the occupant and owner states an approximate date and time. If the occupant or owner refuses access, the city attorney is authorized to seek a warrant from a court of competent jurisdiction. An occupant's invitation allows officers to enter for a scheduled or unscheduled inspection.

Afterward, § 5.62.110 requires a written report mailed to both owner and occupant that itemizes each violation and sets a correction period from twenty-four hours up to sixty days. A reinspection fee, set by city council resolution, applies if the work was not done. The one place the chapter uses the word complaint is § 5.62.040(A): a complaint about a newly constructed building ends its two-year exemption, which runs from the certificate of occupancy. Condominium units owned as interior only, hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, and mobile home parks are excluded.