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

, passed June 21, 2017) created the city's Rental Housing Inspection Program after the City Council found that more than 8,500 rental units, roughly half of all housing in Madera, were vulnerable to deferred maintenance because owners avoided repair costs and tenants feared retaliation for reporting problems. 05, any owner engaging in the business of rental housing must hold a City Rental Business License, register every unit with the Neighborhood Revitalization Department, and pay the required fees; registration lasts three years and lapses early if the owner misses a 30-day window to report a change in ownership or contact information.

06 subjects all rental housing properties and units to routine periodic inspection at least once every three years to check compliance with Titles III, IV, V, VII, IX and X of the Municipal Code, the state Health and Safety Code's substandard-building provisions, the State Housing Law, and the Uniform Code for Building Conservation. Owners enrolled in the city's Self-Certification Program still face routine city inspection of at least 10 percent of their units. 07 sets an initial inspection fee at actual cost up to three hours per unit under the Master Fee Schedule, plus re-scheduling and re-inspection fees and a Registration Delinquency Fee if an owner misses the 30-day registration deadline after notice.

04 if another agency already inspects them every three years, if they passed a city inspection or received a certificate of occupancy within the past ten years, or after two consecutive violation-free routine inspections, but an administrative citation ends that exemption. 23 covering Civil Code habitability and retaliation protections.