Ventura, CA Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)
Key Facts
- Minimum temperature
- 68°F in habitable rooms, bathrooms, toilet rooms
- Who must supply it
- Any owner or operator renting or leasing a unit
- Banned substitute heat
- Cooking appliances, unvented portable space heaters
- Enforcing office
- Code Enforcement Division
- Appeals body
- City Council sitting as Board of Appeals
Summary
Ventura amends the adopted Property Maintenance Code to require landlords to supply heat. Municipal Code Section 12.310.020(DD)-(EE) makes owners keep every habitable room, bathroom and toilet room at a minimum 68°F, and bars space heaters or cooking appliances as the sole heat source. Code Enforcement handles complaints under the San Buenaventura Property Maintenance Code.
Section 602.2 Residential occupancies. Dwellings shall be provided with heating facilities capable of maintaining a room temperature of 68°F (20°C) in all habitable rooms, bathrooms and toilet rooms as measured per Section 602.5. Cooking appliances shall not be used, nor shall portable unvented fuel-burning space heaters be used, as a means to provide required heating. ... Section 602.3 Heat supply. Every owner and operator of any building who rents, leases, or lets one or more dwelling units or sleeping units on terms, either expressed or implied, to furnish heat to the occupants thereof shall supply heat maintain a minimum temperature of 68°F (20°C) in all habitable rooms, bathrooms, and toilet rooms.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2026-008, passed May 12, 2026).
Full Breakdown
010), then wrote in its own heat requirements. 2 to require every dwelling to have heating facilities capable of maintaining a 68°F room temperature in all habitable rooms, bathrooms and toilet rooms, and it specifically bars using cooking appliances or portable unvented fuel-burning space heaters as a substitute for that heating system. 3 to put the duty on the landlord directly: any owner or operator who rents, leases or lets a dwelling unit or sleeping unit, whether the lease says so expressly or only implies it, must supply heat that maintains that same 68°F minimum in habitable rooms, bathrooms and toilet rooms. 1 to require prompt extermination of any insect or rodent infestation. 1.
Violations & Fines
A landlord who fails to supply heat under Section 12.310.020(EE) is subject to a code enforcement notice of violation and can be prosecuted under the fee and penalty structure in the City's User Fee resolution referenced at amended Section 104.1. The property owner remains liable for a Section 302.1 sanitation violation even where a third-party manager or tenant agreement purports to shift that duty, and the occupant can be held jointly liable for causing or contributing to a violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What minimum temperature must a Ventura rental provide?
Can my landlord blame a property manager for a maintenance violation?
Where do I report a heat or habitability problem in Ventura?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Ventura
California rules heatmap·Compare Ventura to another location·View the California rental property rules overview
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Repairs & Habitability in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Ventura County handle repairs & habitability.