Highland, CA Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Highland Municipal Code § 15.52.140(A) sets the local habitability test for rentals: it is a public nuisance to occupy, allow to be occupied or maintain any residential rental unit which fails to comply with state and local laws as they relate to housing standards, property maintenance, building codes, local zoning or other state and city codes and ordinances. The standards themselves come from those codes. Section 15.28.010 adopts the 1997 Uniform Housing Code by reference as part of the property maintenance code for the city, with the building official as the authority charged with administration and enforcement.

The rental program checks the standard two ways. The owner's self-certification checklist under § 15.52.080 certifies that health and safety, building code and fire code violations do not exist on the unit. The city then inspects from the public right-of-way for compliance with codes on zoning, building, health, safety and property maintenance. Violations trigger a written notice with a reinspection date and a statement that the lessor cannot retaliate against a lessee under Civil Code Section 1942.5, and the owner has 30 days from receipt to correct them.

The remedies in § 15.52.140 stack. Any violation of Chapter 15.52 is a public nuisance with abatement expenses recoverable under HMC § 8.28.020, and under Health and Safety Code Section 17980(f) the city can charge the owner for postage or mileage costs. Subsection E lets the city, in its sole discretion, refer a qualifying property to the State Franchise Tax Board Substandard Housing Program to disallow income tax deductions for interest, taxes, amortization and depreciation.

A certificate is not a habitability guarantee: it must state that the business license certificate is not a warranty or guarantee that there are no defects in the unit, nor shall the city be held responsible for defects on the property. For rental buildings with four or more units, § 5.34.030 adds a nuisance rule tied to listed crimes and four or more city ordinance violations in a 12-month period.