Alameda, CA Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)
Key Facts
- Owner duty
- Exterminate before renting or leasing
- Standard
- Structure kept rodent- or pest-free
- Governing section
- AMC 13-11A.3(h) (IPMC 309.2)
- Exception
- Tenant-caused infestation shifts duty to tenant
- First citation fine
- $250, rising to $1,000
Summary
Alameda's Property Maintenance Code makes the owner of any rental structure responsible for extermination before renting or leasing it and for keeping the structure and premises in a rodent- or pest-free condition throughout the tenancy. Section 13-11A.3(h) amends IPMC 309.2 to place that duty on the landlord unless the tenant's own neglect causes the infestation.
309.2 Owner. The owner of any structure shall be responsible for extermination within the structure prior to renting or leasing the structure. The owner of a structure or premises containing a dwelling unit, multiple occupancy, rooming house or a nonresidential structure shall be responsible for maintaining the structure and premises in a rodent or pest-free condition. If an infestation is caused by an occupant substantially failing to properly maintain their occupied area of the structure or premises as clean and sanitary as the condition of the structure or premises permits, the occupant and owner shall be responsible for pest elimination. For as long as the occupant's failure either substantially causes an unlivable condition to occur, or substantially interferes with the owners' ability to remedy the condition, the owner does not have to remedy the condition. Where the infestation is caused by defects in the structure, the owner shall be responsible for extermination.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 74).
Full Breakdown
2, Owner, to state that the owner of any structure shall be responsible for extermination within the structure prior to renting or leasing the structure, and that an owner of a structure or premises containing a dwelling unit, multiple occupancy, rooming house or a nonresidential structure shall be responsible for maintaining the structure and premises in a rodent or pest-free condition. The duty shifts only where an occupant's own failure to keep their unit clean and sanitary substantially causes the infestation or blocks the owner from fixing it; once that occupant interference ends, or if the infestation traces to a defect in the structure itself, such as gaps that let rodents in, the owner is on the hook again.
1 gives the code official authority to require the owner or manager to hire a licensed exterminator and produce a written report on the infestation's presence and severity, with a follow-up letter confirming successful treatment. 1 adopted the underlying 2024 IPMC as the Alameda Property Maintenance Code by Ordinance No. S.
Violations & Fines
A landlord who fails to exterminate before re-renting a unit, or who lets a structure stay infested, is subject to a Property Maintenance Code administrative citation: $250 for a first violation, $500 for a second within three years, and $1,000 for a third or later violation, under Section 1-7.4, in addition to any tenant habitability claim available under state law.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has to pay for pest control in an Alameda rental?
Can my landlord require a pest inspection report?
What if the infestation is my landlord's fault, like a hole in the wall?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alameda
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Repairs & Habitability in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Alameda County handle repairs & habitability.