Davis, CA Rental Property Rules: Just Cause Eviction (2026)
Just cause eviction rules in Davis, CA, sometimes called tenant protection or "for cause" eviction ordinances, list the specific legal reasons a landlord can end a tenancy.
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Davis Muni. Code § 18.02.030
- Condition for protection
- Tenant not in default on rent
- Landlord defense
- Written good-faith statement of lawful cause
- Burden if contested
- Landlord must prove statement true
- Adopted by
- Ordinance 896
Summary
Davis bars a landlord from evicting, raising rent on, or cutting services to a tenant in retaliation for exercising landlord-tenant rights, so long as the tenant is current on rent, unless the landlord can show a lawful cause for the action in writing.
If a landlord's dominant purpose is retaliation against a tenant because of the tenant's exercise of rights under this article, and if the tenant is not in default as to the payment of rent, the landlord may not recover possession of the rental unit in any action or proceeding, cause the lessee to quit the premises involuntarily, increase the rent or decrease any services. ... Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) and (b), a landlord may recover possession of a unit and do any of the other acts described in subsection (a) if the notice of termination, rent increase or other act is accompanied by a written statement of the grounds upon which the landlord, in good faith, seeks to recover possession, increase rent or do any of the other acts described in subsection (a).
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4915048; v22 updated 2026-05-19).
Full Breakdown
02, and the tenant is not in default on rent, the landlord may not recover possession in any action or proceeding, force the tenant to quit involuntarily, raise the rent, or cut services. 02's tenant rights extend to forming, joining, or participating in a tenant organization on matters like rental rates, housing services, and terms of tenancy, or declining to do so. The protection is not absolute: a landlord can still act if the notice of termination, rent increase, or other act is accompanied by a written statement of the grounds for the action given in good faith, and if the tenant challenges that statement, the landlord must prove it true at the hearing.
2 (the Tenant Protection Act), which independently requires landlords of most tenancies over 12 months to state one of several enumerated just causes before terminating a tenancy, regardless of retaliatory motive. 030 and the state's just-cause requirement, depending on the facts of the notice served.
Violations & Fines
Article 18.02 does not set a fine or misdemeanor charge; instead it operates as a legal bar and defense. If a landlord's dominant purpose is retaliatory and the tenant is current on rent, the landlord cannot lawfully recover possession, raise rent, or cut services through that action, and a court proceeding brought for that purpose can be defeated on that ground. Where the landlord supplies a written good-faith statement of lawful grounds and the tenant disputes it, the burden falls on the landlord to establish the truth of that statement at trial or hearing, not on the tenant to disprove it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Davis landlord evict a tenant for joining a tenant organization?
Does Davis require just cause for every eviction?
How can a Davis landlord avoid a retaliation claim under Section 18.02.030?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Davis
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