Elk Grove, CA Rental Property Rules: Rental Registration (2026)

Under Elk Grove Municipal Code § 16.20.1200 and § 16.20.1218, no rental dwelling unit in a property of sixteen or fewer units may be occupied by a tenant unless the owner has registered the property with the City and paid the rental housing registration fee to the Finance Department (§ 16.20.1204, § 16.20.1211). Registration forms are available at City Hall public counters or the City's website and must list at least one property title owner, the property manager if different, every property address, the number of rental units and buildings at each address, and an emergency contact authorized to act for the owner and to allow inspection (§ 16.20.1218(B)).

Any change to that information, including a transfer of ownership or a new emergency contact, must be reported to the City in writing within thirty days (§ 16.20.1218(C)). A registration is valid for three years under § 16.20.1207, after which it must be renewed, unless the owner or property manager completes a certified rental property education program under § 16.20.1220, in which case the registration continues indefinitely until the contact information changes or the property is sold. The registration fee itself is set by City Council resolution, not fixed in the code text, per § 16.20.1214.

Billing runs through the Finance Department against the county assessor's roll of record ownership, and overpayments are refunded while shortfalls are added to the next bill, with no adjustment reaching back more than three years (§ 16.20.1211).