Stanislaus County, CA Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- §16.25.030(AA), amending IPMC §602.3
- Minimum temperature
- 68°F in habitable rooms, baths, toilets
- Reduced minimum exception
- 65°F where monthly average exceeds 30°F
- Who must comply
- Owners/operators renting or leasing units
- Enforcing officials
- Chief building official & environmental resources director
- Max misdemeanor penalty
- $1,000 fine and/or 6 months jail
Summary
Stanislaus County's amended housing code requires every landlord who rents, leases, or lets a dwelling or sleeping unit to supply heat maintaining at least 68°F in all habitable rooms, bathrooms, and toilet rooms. Section 16.25.030(AA) rewrites the International Property Maintenance Code's heat-supply section specifically to impose that duty on owners and operators of rental housing.
Section 602.3 Heat Supply, is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following: Every owner and operator of any building who rents, leases or lets one or more dwelling units or sleeping units on terms, either expressed or implied, to furnish heat to the occupants thereof shall supply heat to maintain a minimum temperature of 68°F (20°C) in all habitable rooms, bathrooms and toilet rooms. Exceptions: 1. When the outdoor temperature is below the winter outdoor design temperature for the locality, maintenance of the minimum room temperature shall not be required provided that the heating system is operating at its full design capacity...2. In areas where the average monthly temperature is above 30°F (-1°C), a minimum temperature of 65°F (18°C) shall be maintained.
Full Breakdown
25, its local housing code, then amended several sections to fit county needs. Two of those amendments concern heat. 2, covering owner-occupied residential heating, requires heating facilities capable of maintaining 68°F in every habitable room, bathroom, and toilet room, based on the California Residential Code's design standard, and bars portable space heaters or cooking appliances from being used to satisfy that requirement. 3, the rental-specific counterpart, goes further: any owner or operator who rents, leases, or lets one or more dwelling or sleeping units, on express or implied terms to furnish heat, must actually supply heat maintaining that same 68°F minimum in all habitable rooms, bathrooms, and toilet rooms for the tenant.
Two exceptions soften the mandate: landlords don't have to maintain the minimum when the outdoor temperature drops below the winter outdoor design temperature for the area, provided the heating system is running at full design capacity, and in areas where the average monthly temperature stays above 30°F, a lower 65°F minimum applies instead. 020, enforce this heat-supply duty as part of the broader housing code inspection covering plumbing, ventilation, light, and structural maintenance in rental housing across the unincorporated county.
Violations & Fines
A landlord who fails to supply the required 68°F minimum heat is in violation of the county's Property Maintenance Code, enforced through the same notice-and-order process used for any substandard housing condition: the code official's notice must describe the defect and give a compliance deadline, and Section 16.25.030(K) ties penalties for unresolved notices to Section 109.4 of the housing code. Absent a more specific penalty, the general misdemeanor penalty in Section 1.36.010 applies, up to $1,000 in fines, six months in county jail, or both.
Frequently Asked Questions
What minimum temperature must a Stanislaus County landlord provide?
Are there exceptions to the 68°F rental heat requirement?
Who enforces the rental heat rule in unincorporated Stanislaus County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Stanislaus County
California rules heatmap·Compare Stanislaus County to another location·View the California rental property rules overview
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