Most fair housing trouble starts before anyone fills out an application, on the first call, text or email. Here is what California law lets you ask at each stage, from the landlord’s side.

What can you ask a prospect on the first call or message?

Ask about the home and the tenancy, not about the person. Questions tied to the unit and to your written screening criteria are safe when you ask every prospect the same way.

Questions that are fine on first contact:

  • When do you want to move in, and for how long?
  • How many people will live in the unit? Federal law allows reasonable occupancy limits (42 U.S.C. 3607).
  • Do you have pets? An assistance animal is not a pet, and refusing a reasonable accommodation for a person with a disability is unlawful (24 CFR 100.204).
  • What rent range works for you, and have you seen our screening criteria?

Keep income questions neutral. Source of income is a protected characteristic in California, and it includes Section 8 and other housing vouchers (Gov. Code 12955), so treat voucher income like any other income.

What should you never ask?

California makes it unlawful to make any written or oral inquiry about most protected characteristics of a person seeking to rent (Gov. Code 12955(b)). The federal Fair Housing Act covers race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status and national origin (42 U.S.C. 3604). California adds gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry, source of income, veteran or military status and genetic information.

Questions to keep off every call, text and form:

  • “Where are you from?” or “Is English your first language?” The Civil Rights Department notes that most housing providers are also covered by the Unruh Act, which reaches primary language, citizenship and immigration status (CRD FAQ).
  • “Are you married?” or “How are you related to the other adult?”
  • “Do you have kids?” or “Are you expecting?” Familial status protection covers anyone who is pregnant (42 U.S.C. 3602(k)).
  • “Do you have a disability?” or “What is that medication for?” Federal rules ban asking whether an applicant has a disability or how severe it is. You may ask all applicants whether they can meet the requirements of the tenancy (24 CFR 100.202(c)).
  • “Are you a citizen?” or “What is your immigration status?” A landlord or its agent may not ask (Civ. Code 1940.3).
  • “Have you ever been arrested?” Arrests without a conviction are off limits (see below). In Oakland and Berkeley, most criminal history questions are banned outright.

What can the rental application ask for?

The application can ask for what you need to confirm identity and ability to pay: contact details, rental history and references, employment and income, and consent to a credit check. Civil Code 1940.3 lets you request information or documents needed to verify a prospective tenant’s identity or financial qualifications, even though you cannot ask about immigration status.

When a government rent subsidy is involved, you must measure financial qualification against the tenant’s portion of the rent only. The applicant may also choose to offer lawful, verifiable alternative evidence of ability to pay, such as benefit records or bank statements, instead of credit history (Gov. Code 12955(o)).

If you run a first-come screening process to justify a fee, your screening criteria must be given in writing together with the application form (Civ. Code 1950.6).

Can you run credit and background checks, and when?

Yes, once the applicant has applied and authorized it. Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, a report used in a denial, a co-signer requirement, a larger deposit or higher rent triggers an adverse action notice (FTC). The notice names the reporting company, says it did not make the decision, and explains the right to a free report within 60 days and to dispute; if you used a credit score, include the score and its key factors.

If the applicant paid a screening fee, you must send them a copy of their credit report within seven days of receiving it (Civ. Code 1950.6(f)).

Criminal history is governed by Civil Rights Department regulations (2 CCR 12264 to 12271). According to the CRD:

  • You may not seek or consider arrests without a conviction, infractions, diversion, convictions that were sealed, dismissed or expunged, or juvenile records, unless the applicant offers them as mitigating information.
  • A denial must rest on a “directly-related conviction”, weighing the nature of the crime and the time since it happened.
  • Blanket bans such as “No Felons” are unlawful in ads, policies and statements.
  • Your policy should delay any third-party criminal report until financial and other qualifications are verified, and give written notice that applicants can present mitigating information.

Two cities go further. Oakland generally prohibits screening criminal history, with exceptions that include owner-occupied properties and a sex offender registry check after a conditional offer. Berkeley bars asking about or using criminal history, with exemptions that include owner-occupied buildings of one to three units.

Are application or screening fees capped?

Yes. The fee may not exceed your actual out-of-pocket costs, including a screening service and the reasonable value of your time, and never more than $30 per applicant, adjusted annually for the Consumer Price Index since January 1, 1998 (Civ. Code 1950.6(b)). No state agency publishes the adjusted figure; the Berkeley Rent Board, a city agency, lists $68.96 as the 2026 maximum.

The same section adds conditions:

  • No fee when you know, or should know, that no unit is available now or within a reasonable time.
  • An itemized receipt for every fee, and a refund of any part you did not use.
  • When you collect the fee, you must offer one of two processes. Either you consider completed applications in the order received, approve the first applicant who meets your written criteria, and charge only applications you actually consider. Or you refund the full fee to every applicant not selected, within 7 days of choosing a tenant or 30 days after the application, whichever comes first.

Accepting a reusable tenant screening report, prepared within the previous 30 days, is optional. If you accept one, you may not charge a screening fee or a fee to access the report (Civ. Code 1950.1).

What about security deposits?

Most landlords may collect no more than one month’s rent as security, on top of the first month’s rent (Civ. Code 1950.5(c)). The limit does not apply to security collected before July 1, 2024.

A smaller landlord may collect up to two months’ rent if it is a natural person, or an LLC whose members are all natural persons, and owns no more than two residential rental properties with no more than four units offered for rent in total. That exception does not apply when the prospective tenant is a service member, and you cannot refuse a service member because of it.

At a glance

Rule California
Screening fee cap Actual cost, up to $30 adjusted for CPI since 1998 (Berkeley Rent Board lists $68.96 for 2026)
Security deposit cap One month’s rent; two months for qualifying small landlords, never for service members
Source-of-income protection Yes, including housing vouchers; income test on the tenant’s share of rent
Criminal history No arrests, sealed, expunged or juvenile records; directly related convictions only; CRD says check after other qualifications; Oakland and Berkeley restrict further
Immigration status Landlords may not ask
Key statutes Gov. Code 12955; Civ. Code 1940.3, 1950.1, 1950.5, 1950.6