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Los Angeles, California Medium Risk Clause

Lease Renewal Clause
in Your Lease

What it actually means, what California law says, what's specific to Los Angeles - and exactly what to do. In plain English.

Last reviewed: October 2026
Location: Los Angeles, California
Read time: 8 minutes
Not legal advice
LD
Written by
LeaseDecoded Research Team
Statutes verified against primary state sources
How this page is sourced
Every statute cited here was read in its published text before this page went live: on the state's own site where that site can be reached, otherwise on a republished copy of the code. Court decisions are quoted from the published opinion and linked to it, so you can read the original yourself.
Primary sourcesNot legal advice
Content verified against primary state statutes before publication Last updated: October 2026

Quick Summary - What You Need to Know

  • Landlords need 60 days' written notice to end your tenancy, or 30 days under a year in the unit.
  • After 12 months in the unit, not renewing requires a just cause from a legal list.
  • A no-fault cause owes you one month's rent in relocation money, or your final month's rent waived.
  • Los Angeles adds the RSO and a citywide Just Cause Ordinance, which also require a listed just cause.
  • An automatic renewal clause is voidable unless printed in at least eight-point boldface type.
Section 01

Understanding the Lease Renewal Clause

60 days
Notice required to not renew in Los Angeles
In Los Angeles, a landlord who wants to end or not renew your tenancy must give 60 days' written notice, or 30 days if you have lived there under a year (Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.1). After 12 months in the unit, § 1946.2 also requires a listed just cause, and a no-fault cause comes with relocation money.

This page is for Los Angeles renters whose lease is ending and who want to know whether the landlord can simply decline to renew. In California, the end of your lease and the end of your tenancy are not the same thing.

How long you have lived in the unit decides how much protection you have, and whether an automatic renewal clause binds you can depend on how it is printed. Check both before you answer a renewal offer or a notice.

What renters assume

When my lease term ends, my Los Angeles landlord can choose not to offer another one, for any reason.

What is actually true

Past 12 months in the unit, Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 bars non-renewal without a listed just cause. A no-fault cause costs the landlord one month's rent in relocation help.

In Austin a fixed-term lease just expires - the Texas sections we read require no non-renewal notice. Los Angeles demands 60 days, a reason off a legal list, and a check.

Only Seattle comes close, where SMC 7.24.030.J makes landlords offer a renewal unless they have cause not to.

Clause decoder

Lease Renewal Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Los Angeles, CA

The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.

Real clause - quoted in a published court opinion

Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.

Subsection (c) of paragraph 24 of the lease a Pennsylvania appellate court read in 2025, reproduced as the opinion prints it:

(c) Landlord may increase the rent or change any other term of the Lease for any renewal period by sending written notice to Tenant. Landlord must send this notice at least 60 days before the end of the Term or of any renewal term. Tenant may reject the renewal terms by sending written notice to Landlord 60 days prior to the end of the current lease ending date. Tenant must then vacate at the end of the current Term. The Lease will renew on the terms set forth in Landlord's renewal notice if Tenant does not send notice ending the Lease.

Quoted from the published opinion in Cooper v. SGYS St. Ives, LLC, 333 A.3d 1046, 2025 PA Super 66 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2025). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.

What the 4 highlighted phrases mean
1

“or change any other term of the Lease”

A renewal notice can do far more than move the rent - parking, pets, guests, storage, laundry, anything the document covers. In California the clause carrying that power has a formatting rule of its own: Civ. Code § 1945.5 makes an automatic-renewal provision voidable unless it is printed in at least eight-point boldface type. That is a question about the physical document in your hand, and it is worth answering before you start arguing about the terms themselves.

Tenant-favourable“Any change to a non-rent term requires Tenant’s written consent at renewal”
What this lease said“or change any other term of the Lease”
Landlord-favourable“Landlord may amend any term of this Lease at renewal by notice, without Tenant’s agreement”
2

“at least 60 days before the end of the Term”

Sixty days is exactly what California asks of a landlord ending a tenancy under Civ. Code § 1946.1, dropping to 30 days where occupancy is under one year. A lease that matches the statute is not the same as a lease that satisfies it: after 12 months of continuous occupancy, Civ. Code § 1946.2 adds a second question the notice period does not answer - whether a listed just cause exists at all.

See the example
Where the ground is no-fault, money follows the notice. A no-fault just-cause termination requires relocation assistance equal to one month's rent, or a waiver of the final month's rent. That is an entitlement rather than a favour, and it is easy to miss when the letter is framed as a simple decision not to renew.
Tenant-favourable“Landlord shall state the just cause relied on and the relocation payment due, in the notice”
What this lease said“at least 60 days before the end of the Term”
Landlord-favourable“Landlord may elect not to renew for any reason and no relocation payment shall be due”
3

“60 days prior to the end of the current lease ending date”

Your own cut-off, mirroring the landlord's. The 60-day and 30-day figures belong to the landlord's side of the arrangement, and no deadline on the tenant appears anywhere in our California record, which leaves this paragraph as the thing that fixes yours. Count it back from the term's last day rather than from the day the landlord's letter arrived, because those are two different dates and only one of them is in the clause.

Tenant-favourable“Tenant may reject renewal terms at any time before the term ends”
What this lease said“60 days prior to the end of the current lease ending date”
Landlord-favourable“Tenant’s rejection is void unless delivered ninety days before the ending date”
4

“in Landlord's renewal notice”

Doing nothing hands the landlord the pen: whatever the notice said becomes the deal. That is the reason a formatting rule like Civ. Code § 1945.5 exists - a term that takes effect by default has to be visible before it operates. Los Angeles then puts a second check on the same moment: if what the landlord actually wants is for you to go, the RSO and LAMC 165 ask for a listed cause and, where it is no-fault, a relocation payment.

See the example
Keep the notice itself, with its envelope and date. It is the document that fixes the renewal terms, and later arguments about what the rent became are almost always arguments about what that page said.
Tenant-favourable“Renewal terms take effect only if Tenant signs and returns the renewal notice”
What this lease said“in Landlord's renewal notice”
Landlord-favourable“Tenant’s failure to respond constitutes acceptance of all terms in Landlord’s notice”
What the court did with it

The clause was enforced exactly as written, and it came back on the landlord who wrote it. The underlying dispute was not about renewal at all - it was a claim under Philadelphia's lead-disclosure ordinance, and the landlord's answer was that the Coopers were former tenants with no right to bring it. The Superior Court disagreed. Because paragraph 24 renewed the lease automatically unless a party gave 60 days' written notice, and this landlord gave none, brought no eviction and filed no suit, the lease was still alive and the Coopers were still tenants - even though they had stopped paying rent. The landlord, the court held, “had a duty to take specific action against Appellants in order to end the lease,” and a tenant's own breach does not quietly turn them into a former tenant. Two things to keep in view. This is a standing holding that construes an automatic-renewal clause, not a renewal dispute, and it should not be read as one. And the same paragraph priced the renewal it created: subsection (b) raised the rent for each renewal term to market rent, as determined by Landlord, with a minimum increase of 7% above current rent. Automatic renewal runs in whichever direction the paperwork points, and here the paperwork pointed at the landlord.

How this state's law treats this clause
Los Angeles is where a renewal notice runs into three rules at once. State law gives you 60 days' written notice, or 30 if you have lived there under a year, and after 12 months of continuous occupancy a landlord needs a listed just cause before ending or refusing to renew a tenancy at all. The city goes further: under the RSO (LAMC 151.09) and the citywide Just Cause Ordinance (LAMC 165) a no-fault non-renewal also carries a relocation payment. The base notice period comes from: Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.1

One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.

Section 02

California Law on Lease Renewal Clause

The law in California
  • Civil Code 1946.1 sets 60 days' landlord notice, reduced to 30 days when occupancy is under one year.
  • After 12 months of continuous occupancy, Civil Code 1946.2 bars termination or non-renewal without a listed just cause.
  • No-fault just-cause terminations require relocation assistance equal to one month's rent or a waiver of the final month's rent.
  • Civil Code 1945.5 makes an automatic-renewal clause voidable unless printed in at least eight-point boldface type.

Sources include Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.1 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.

Count it for your dates

60 days before: the last day to act

Last day to give the notice

What it means: Your landlord's written notice to end your tenancy must be given at least 60 days before that day, or 30 days if you have lived in the unit under one year. Applies to a California landlord ending or not renewing a tenancy; 30 days if you have lived in the unit under one year. After 12 months of continuous occupancy, Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 also requires a listed just cause (Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.1). Calendar arithmetic only; check how the section counts days before you rely on a date.

Copy and send: As soon as a non-renewal notice arrives that names no cause

Ask which just cause applies

Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.

Our record of California law on renewal covers three Civil Code sections and one payment rule.

  • § 1946.1, notice. Your landlord must give 60 days' written notice to end your tenancy. If you have lived in the unit under one year, it drops to 30 days.
  • § 1946.2, just cause. After 12 months of continuous occupancy, the landlord cannot end or decline to renew your tenancy without a just cause from the statutory list.
  • No-fault causes. When the cause has nothing to do with anything you did, you are owed relocation assistance equal to one month's rent, or a waiver of your final month's rent.
  • § 1945.5, automatic renewal. A clause that renews your lease on its own is voidable unless it is printed in at least eight-point boldface type.

Statutes change, so check the current text of § 1946.1 and § 1946.2 before you count a day.

Section 03

What's Specific to Los Angeles

Notice required to not renew

Same clause, 25 cities, different rules. Tap any city for its own guide.

New York City, New York
30-90 daysby tenure
Denver, Colorado
90 days
Portland, Oregon
90 daysafter first year
Los Angeles, California
60 days
Miami, Florida
Up to 60 dayslease-set
Seattle, Washington
60 days
Atlanta, Georgia
60 daystenancy at will
Baltimore, Maryland
60 dayslease or month-to-month
Austin, Texas
30 daysmonth-to-month
Chicago, Illinois
30 daysmonth-to-month
Phoenix, Arizona
30 daysmonth-to-month
Nashville, Tennessee
30 daysmonth-to-month
Boston, Massachusetts
30 daystenancy at will
Las Vegas, Nevada
30 daysmonth-to-month
Columbus, Ohio
30 daysmonth-to-month
Detroit, Michigan
1 monthmonth-to-month
Minneapolis, Minnesota
1 monthtenancy at will
Kansas City, Missouri
1 monthmonth-to-month
Indianapolis, Indiana
1 monthmonth-to-month
Louisville, Kentucky
30 daysmonth-to-month
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
28 daysmonth-to-month
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
15 days30 if over 1 yr
Charlotte, North Carolina
7 daysmonth-to-month
Washington, District of Columbia
Cause required to not renew
Newark, New Jersey
Cause required to not renew

Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.

Los Angeles goes further than state law. The Rent Stabilization Ordinance (LAMC 151.09) and the citywide Just Cause Ordinance (LAMC 165) require a listed just cause to not renew, plus relocation payments when the cause is no-fault.

The Los Angeles Housing Department enforces the RSO and just-cause rules, and a free tenant clinic can review a notice before you answer it.

Does the lease state a written renewal notice deadline?

It should. California already requires 60 days' landlord notice, and a written deadline for both sides keeps you from being surprised.

Does auto-renewal appear in small, non-bold print?

Civil Code 1945.5 makes such a clause voidable unless it is printed in at least eight-point boldface type.

Does it waive your just cause protections?

Civil Code 1946.2 protections attach after 12 months. Have a tenant attorney read any waiver clause before you sign.

Are renewal rent terms disclosed before you decide?

A fair clause gives you the new rent while your 60-day window is still open, not after it closes.

Sources

The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.

Section 04

Red Flags to Watch Out For

  • Auto-renewal buried in fine print

    Civil Code 1945.5 makes it voidable unless set in at least eight-point boldface type. If you have to squint at it, it may not bind you.

  • Non-renewal notice shorter than 60 days

    Civil Code 1946.1 requires 60 days' written notice once you have lived there a year. Only under a year does it drop to 30 days.

  • Renewal refusal with no stated cause

    Past 12 months, a landlord declining renewal must name a just cause under Civil Code 1946.2, LAMC 165 or the RSO. "We are not renewing" is not one.

  • Waiver of relocation assistance

    A renewal addendum may ask you to give up relocation money. A no-fault non-renewal owes you one month's rent or your final month waived. Do not sign that away casually.

  • Cash for keys framed as non-renewal

    A buyout offer is not a non-renewal notice. Without a just cause, saying no leaves your tenancy in place, while signing the paper ends it.

Section 05

Your Rights as a Los Angeles Tenant

  • Sixty days of written warning

    Civil Code 1946.1: 60 days' written notice to end your tenancy, or 30 days if you have lived there under a year.

  • Just cause after twelve months

    Civil Code 1946.2: after 12 months of continuous occupancy, non-renewal needs a listed just cause, not just a wish for a new tenant.

  • Relocation money on no-fault exits

    If the cause has nothing to do with you, you are owed one month's rent in relocation assistance, or a waiver of your final month's rent.

  • Void an unbolded auto-renewal

    Civil Code 1945.5 makes an automatic renewal clause voidable when it is not printed in at least eight-point boldface type.

Section 06

What To Do - Step by Step

1

Mark the date early

Count back 60 days from your lease end date and set a reminder there. That is when renewal gets decided.

2

Reread the renewal clause

Does your lease renew on its own, go month to month, or simply end? Check that any automatic renewal wording is in at least eight-point boldface type.

3

Confirm your building's coverage

Find out whether your unit falls under the RSO (LAMC 151.09) or the Just Cause Ordinance (LAMC 165). Either one requires a listed just cause.

4

Get the terms in writing

Email your landlord asking for the renewal terms in writing. A paper trail beats a hallway conversation you have to quote from memory.

5

Answer a bare non-renewal

If you are past 12 months and the notice names no just cause, write back citing Civil Code 1946.2. Keep a copy.

6

Call the Housing Department

The Los Angeles Housing Department enforces the RSO and just-cause rules. A free tenant clinic can review your notice before your 60 days run out.

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Section 07

Frequently Asked Questions

can my landlord refuse to renew my lease in los angeles
Not without a reason once you have been there 12 months. Civil Code 1946.2 and the city's just-cause rules require a listed cause before a landlord can decline to renew, and a no-fault cause brings relocation assistance of one month's rent.
how much notice to not renew a lease in california
60 days in writing from your landlord to end your tenancy, under Civil Code 1946.1. That drops to 30 days if you have lived in the unit less than a year.
what happens if my lease expires and i don't sign a new one
Your just-cause protections do not end with the lease paper. Past 12 months, a Los Angeles landlord still needs a listed cause and 60 days' written notice to end your tenancy.
is an automatic renewal clause legal in california
Yes, if it is printed in at least eight-point boldface type. Civil Code 1945.5 makes an automatic renewal clause voidable otherwise, so check the print in your lease before assuming you are locked in.

Lease Renewal rules near California

The same clause in the nearest states we cover.

OregonPortlandNotice to not renew90 daysRead the guide →ArizonaPhoenixNotice to not renew30 daysRead the guide →NevadaLas VegasNotice to not renew30 daysRead the guide →ColoradoDenverNotice to not renew90 daysRead the guide →

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Legal Disclaimer: This guide is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Information reflects general California and Los Angeles law as of October 2026 but may not reflect recent changes. Consult a licensed attorney in California for advice about your specific situation.