Napa County, CA Rental Property Rules: Just Cause Eviction (2026)

Napa County has not enacted a stand-alone local just-cause eviction ordinance for the unincorporated county. 12 (rent cap). 2, a landlord of a covered residential property may not terminate a tenancy after the tenant has continuously and lawfully occupied the unit for 12 months without 'just cause' stated in the notice of termination. ) and no-fault categories (owner or close-relative move-in, withdrawal of the unit from the rental market under the Ellis Act, demolition or substantial remodel, government order). No-fault terminations require relocation assistance equal to one month of rent, paid either as a direct payment within 15 calendar days of service of notice or as a waiver of the final month's rent.

Covered units include most residential properties; key statutory exemptions from just cause are single-family homes and condominiums owned by natural-person owners (not corporations, LLCs with any corporate member, or REITs) when proper written notice of exemption is served, owner-occupied duplexes, and housing certificated for occupancy within the previous 15 years (rolling). The City of Napa enacted a separate local just-cause ordinance that goes beyond AB 1482 for properties inside the city; that ordinance does not apply to addresses outside city limits.