Alameda, CA Rental Property Rules: Just Cause Eviction (2026)
Just cause eviction rules in Alameda, CA, sometimes called tenant protection or "for cause" eviction ordinances, list the specific legal reasons a landlord can end a tenancy.
Key Facts
- Governing law
- Alameda Municipal Code Sec. 6-58.80
- Eviction grounds allowed
- Only eight enumerated just-cause grounds
- Owner move-in occupancy
- Must reside 3 years as primary residence
- Owner move-in reuse bar
- 24 months before reusing ground
- Wrongful eviction remedy
- Punitive damages plus fees (Sec. 6-58.135)
- Maximum civil penalty
- $10,000 per violation
Summary
Alameda landlords cannot terminate a tenancy for any reason outside eight specific just-cause grounds in the city's rent control ordinance, from nonpayment and lease breach to owner move-in, demolition, or a government order to vacate. Owner move-ins and no-fault terminations trigger mandatory relocation payments, and evicting on an invalid ground exposes the landlord to a wrongful-eviction suit.
No Landlord shall take action to terminate any Tenancy including, but not limited to, making a demand for possession of a Rental Unit, threatening to terminate a Tenancy, serving any notice to quit or other notice to terminate a Tenancy, e.g. an eviction notice, bringing any action to recover possession or be granted possession of a Rental Unit except on one (1) of the following grounds: A.Failure to pay rent. The Tenant upon proper notice has failed to pay the Rent to which the Landlord is entitled under a Rental Agreement; provided, however, that the "failure to pay rent" shall not be cause for eviction if (i) the Tenant cures the failure to pay rent by tendering the full amount of the Rent due within the time frame in the notice but the Landlord refuses or fails to accept the Rent or (ii) the Tenant tenders some or all of the Rent due and the Landlord accepts some or all of the Rent.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 74).
Full Breakdown
80 of the Alameda Municipal Code, part of the city's 2016 voter-approved rent control ordinance (Measure L1, Article XV), bars a landlord from taking any step toward ending a tenancy, including serving a notice to quit, unless one of eight enumerated grounds applies: nonpayment of rent (with a cure right), a material breach of the lease after a notice to cease, nuisance, refusal to give the landlord access, owner move-in, demolition, permanent withdrawal from the rental market, or compliance with a government order to vacate.
The owner move-in ground carries its own conditions: the landlord must be a natural person with at least a 50 percent ownership stake, must move in (or move an enumerated relative in) within 60 days of the tenant vacating, must occupy the unit as a primary residence for at least three years, and cannot use the same ground again on the property for 24 months absent a qualifying disability accommodation. 95. 135 makes an unlawful eviction attempt grounds for a wrongful-eviction suit carrying actual and punitive damages plus attorneys' fees for the prevailing tenant.
Violations & Fines
An eviction attempted on a ground the ordinance does not list, or without following its notice and cure procedures, is a wrongful eviction under Section 6-58.135, exposing the landlord to actual and punitive damages, injunctive relief, and the tenant's attorneys' fees. Section 6-58.140 adds administrative citations starting at $250, misdemeanor penalties up to $1,000 or six months in county jail, and civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation, plus an extra $5,000 where the tenant is a senior, disabled, or has minor children.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an Alameda landlord evict without a stated reason?
What must an owner do to evict for their own move-in?
What happens if a landlord wrongfully evicts a tenant?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alameda
California rules heatmap·Compare Alameda to another location·View the California rental property rules overview
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Just Cause Eviction in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Alameda County handle just cause eviction.