Kern County, CA Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)
Key Facts
- Minimum temperature
- 68°F in habitable rooms, bathrooms, toilet rooms
- Governing section
- 17.16.040, amending 2024 IPMC § 602.2
- Banned heat source
- Cooking appliances, portable unvented fuel heaters
- Screens required
- 16 mesh per inch, self-closing screen doors
- Appeals board
- Kern County Board of Supervisors (Section 106.5)
- Deleted IPMC sections
- 602.3 Heat Supply and 602.4 Occupiable workspaces
Summary
Kern County's Property Maintenance Code requires every dwelling in the unincorporated county to hold habitable rooms, bathrooms and toilet rooms at 68 degrees Fahrenheit, per Section 17.16.040 amending IPMC Section 602.2. Landlords cannot rely on cooking appliances or portable unvented heaters to meet that duty, and the Code Official can placard a noncompliant unit "Occupancy Unsafe."
Section 602.2 amended—Residential occupancies.
Section 602.2. Dwellings shall be provided with heating facilities capable of maintaining a room temperature of 68 degrees F (20 degree C) in all habitable rooms, bathrooms, and toilet rooms in accordance with the provisions of Section R303.10 of the Kern County Residential Code. Cooking appliances shall not be used, nor shall portable, unvented fuel-burning heaters be used a means to provide required heating.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 59 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
10, and it bars using cooking appliances or portable, unvented fuel-burning heaters as the required heat source. 4 (Occupiable workspaces), so the model code's seasonal heat-supply date ranges do not apply locally; only the flat 68-degree capability standard controls year-round. The same chapter regulates exterior habitability conditions too, requiring insect screens of at least 16 mesh per inch on doors and windows serving habitable rooms, with a self-closing device on screen doors. 1, who administers and enforces the whole chapter. 3 lets the building official record a declaration of substandard property with the County Recorder once the notice period runs without compliance or a timely appeal.
5 makes the Kern County Board of Supervisors itself the board of appeals for property maintenance decisions, since IPMC Appendix B (Means of Appeals) was not locally adopted.
Violations & Fines
A Code Official who finds a dwelling can't hold 68 degrees may issue a repair notice; ignoring it lets the county post an "Occupancy Unsafe" placard under Section 109.7 and, if uncorrected, record a declaration of substandard property against the parcel under Section 109.4.3. Removing a placard without the Code Official's approval is separately punishable. Appeals go straight to the Kern County Board of Supervisors under Section 106.5, not a separate hearing board.
Frequently Asked Questions
What temperature must a Kern County rental maintain?
Can a landlord meet the heating rule with a space heater or the kitchen stove?
Who enforces this and what can they do to a noncompliant rental?
Can a tenant appeal a Code Official's heating-related order?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kern County
California rules heatmap·Compare Kern County to another location·View the California rental property rules overview
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