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

Section 4-14.08 ties housing conditions in Novato rentals to the Uniform Housing Code. The council's stated purpose in section 4-14.01 is to ensure the proper maintenance of apartments and hotels, to identify and require correction of substandard housing conditions, and to prevent deterioration and blight. Section 4-14.02 defines an apartment building as one or more buildings on a single parcel holding three or more apartments, each used for habitation for a fixed 30-day term or longer, and a hotel as a building with four or more guest rooms.

The Community Development Director or a designee inspects each covered building one time each calendar year, or more frequently if needed, against all applicable city ordinances and the substandard housing provisions of the Uniform Housing Code (section 4-14.03). Separately, section 4-1.4.13 adopts the 2024 International Property Maintenance Code, and the building administrative provisions in section 4-1.3 (101.2.13) describe it as the minimum standards for light, ventilation, space, heating, sanitation, protection from the elements, fire and safety hazards, and sanitary maintenance, along with the responsibilities of owners and occupants.

Once violations are corrected, the city issues the owner a certificate of compliance, which must be posted in a conspicuous common area where interested persons can view it (section 4-14.09). Section 4-14.04 excludes owner-occupied apartments, residential condominiums, hospitals and state licensed community care facilities, government-run housing, mobilehomes and mobilehome parks, and buildings that have been vacated and secured against entry. Those properties sit outside the chapter's housing inspection program.