Remodeling a rented kitchen in Newhall

In the 91321 ZIP area a kitchen is more likely to sit in a rented home than anywhere else in the city. A landlord who remodels one works inside state law that a homeowner never meets. This page sets it out before you ask for a price.

Checked September 22, 2026. Civil Code 1946.2 and 1947.12 are written to end January 1, 2030, and several sections here changed on January 1, 2026.

Disclosure: this site makes introductions. It holds no contractor license and sets no prices. How this works

Short answer

For leases entered, amended or extended on or after January 1, 2026, a working stove and refrigerator are on the state's list of what a rented home must have. A contractor's visit is a landlord entry with written notice of the date, time and purpose. A remodel can end a tenancy only under a narrow test: permit work on a building system that keeps the tenant out at least 30 days, with the permit copy in the notice (Civil Code 1941.1, Civil Code 1954, Civil Code 1946.2).

Stage 02 of 06, where this sits

Where the city's rented kitchens are

In the 91321 ZIP code area, about half of occupied homes have two bedrooms or fewer, against under a third citywide, and 3,524 of its 4,261 rented homes do (Census ACS table B25042). ZIP areas do not follow the Newhall name or the city line.

The County's rent ordinance covers "eligible properties in unincorporated Los Angeles County" (LA County rent stabilization program), so the address decides; the city or county page settles it. Inside the city, the municipal code's only rent rule is for mobilehome park spaces, chapter 6.02, and it has no rent limit or eviction rule for apartments or houses (Santa Clarita Municipal Code, Title 6). The rules below are state law.

For any live tenancy question, the City points to the Housing Rights Center, which it contracts for "landlord/tenant counseling": 800.477.5977, "confidential, provided free of charge and available in multiple languages" (City fair housing page).

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A working stove and refrigerator, for leases from 2026

Civil Code 1941.1 lists what a rented home must have. Since 2026 it includes "a stove that is maintained in good working order and capable of safely generating heat for cooking purposes," and a refrigerator "maintained in good working order and capable of safely storing food" (Civil Code 1941.1).

Both carry the same condition: "This paragraph shall only apply to a lease entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2026." A tenant may agree at signing to supply the refrigerator, only with a lease statement in the form the statute sets, and can end that arrangement on 30 days' written notice (Civil Code 1941.1).

A recalled stove or refrigerator does not count, and the landlord repairs or replaces one within 30 days of notice of the recall. Units with shared or communal kitchens, single room occupancy units and a few other types are outside these two items (Civil Code 1941.1).

Separately, the state's substandard building list names "Lack of, or improper kitchen sink," where it endangers the occupants (Health and Safety Code 17920.3).

Render of a hand turning the front knob of a white gas range, one burner lit under an empty grate. — **Render** · A burner that lights and holds a flame.

Kitchen items on the state's list of what a rented home must have, Civil Code 1941.1(a), read in September 2026. Each is required only as the statute words it.
Item	As the statute puts it	Applies to
Plumbing or gas	Conformed to law when installed, in good working order	Every covered rental
Water	Hot and cold running water, connected to an approved sewer	Every covered rental
Wiring and lighting	Conformed to law when installed, in good working order	Every covered rental
Stove	Good working order, safely generating heat for cooking	Leases from January 1, 2026
Refrigerator	Good working order, safely storing food	Leases from January 1, 2026

How the contractor gets in

A landlord may enter "To make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements" or to show the unit to "workers, or contractors" (Civil Code 1954). A contractor's measuring visit for a kitchen quote falls within that wording.

The landlord gives the tenant reasonable written notice of the intent to enter, and may "enter only during normal business hours. The notice shall include the date, approximate time, and purpose of the entry." The statute adds: "Twenty-four hours shall be presumed to be reasonable notice in absence of evidence to the contrary." (Civil Code 1954)

The two may instead agree orally to an entry for agreed repairs, set within one week of the agreement, and "The landlord may not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant." (Civil Code 1954)

The hours work may run, and the noise and dust rules neighbors live with, are on the page on living through a remodel.

Render of a hand pressing tape onto a blank lined sheet of paper fixed to a painted door beside a lever handle. — **Render** · A written notice, left at the door.

The narrow test before a remodel can end a tenancy

After a tenant has "continuously and lawfully occupied" a home for 12 months, the Tenant Protection Act allows ending the tenancy only for a stated just cause. One is "Intent to demolish or to substantially remodel the residential real property" (Civil Code 1946.2).

"Substantially remodel" means permit work that replaces or substantially modifies a structural, electrical, plumbing or mechanical system, or hazardous material abatement, that cannot be done safely with the tenant there and "requires the tenant to vacate the residential real property for at least 30 consecutive days." (Civil Code 1946.2)

The statute adds that "Cosmetic improvements alone, including painting, decorating, and minor repairs, or other work that can be performed safely without having the residential real property vacated, do not qualify as substantial remodel." It does not say whether any particular kitchen job qualifies (Civil Code 1946.2).

The notice has to include a description of the work and its expected length, and "A copy of the permit or permits required to undertake the substantial remodel or demolition." So the permit exists first; what a kitchen permit covers is on the permit page (Civil Code 1946.2).

Render of a sheet with a grid of empty squares on a wooden table, a run of squares crossed out in pencil, and a pencil beside it. — **Render** · Consecutive days, counted one by one.

One month's rent, and the rent cap

For a no fault ending of a tenancy the section covers, the owner either pays relocation assistance or gives a written waiver of the final month's rent. The payment "shall be equal to one month of the tenant's rent that was in effect when the owner issued the notice to terminate the tenancy," within 15 calendar days of the notice (Civil Code 1946.2).

The state rent cap limits increases over any 12 months to "5 percent plus the percentage change in the cost of living, or 10 percent, whichever is lower" (Civil Code 1947.12). Its text has no clause for an extra increase after a remodel; it also lets an owner set the first rent for a new tenancy.

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Rentals the tenant protection rules leave out

Both sections list exemptions. Among them: housing with a certificate of occupancy issued within the past 15 years, unless it is a mobilehome; a home where the tenant shares the kitchen or bathroom with an owner who lives there; and an owner occupied house renting out no more than two units or bedrooms (Civil Code 1946.2).

A single family house or condo is exempt only when two things are both true: the owner is not a real estate investment trust, a corporation, or a limited liability company with a corporate member, and the tenants were given the statute's exemption notice, which for tenancies from July 1, 2020 goes in the rental agreement (Civil Code 1946.2, Civil Code 1947.12).

The section does not reach a mobilehome owner; kitchen work on a manufactured home goes to the state, as the Canyon Country page sets out (Civil Code 1946.2).

Render of two house keys on a ring, a stapled folded document with blank ruled pages and a pen on a counter. — **Render** · Keys and a lease, the terms inside it.

The efficiency kitchen in a junior unit

A junior accessory dwelling unit is "no more than 500 square feet of interior livable space in size and contained entirely within a single-family residence" (Government Code 66313).

Where a local agency has a junior unit ordinance, state law has it require an efficiency kitchen with "(1) A cooking facility with appliances. (2) A food preparation counter and storage cabinets that are of reasonable size in relation to the size of the junior accessory dwelling unit" (Government Code 66333). It names no full size range, dishwasher or particular sink.

Several of these sections changed on January 1, 2026, and City handouts predate that, so confirm current City requirements with Planning before a junior unit kitchen is drawn (Government Code 66333).

Elsewhere in the valley: Valencia and the 1994 fixture line, Saugus and its newer houses and Canyon Country and homes in parks.

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Asked by Newhall landlords and tenants

Does a Newhall landlord have to supply a stove and refrigerator?

Under Civil Code 1941.1, for a lease entered into, amended or extended on or after January 1, 2026, with a few kinds of housing excluded. A tenant may agree in the lease to supply the refrigerator, on the statute's terms (Civil Code 1941.1).

How much notice before a contractor comes to measure?

Written notice with the date, approximate time and purpose, entry during normal business hours, and 24 hours is presumed reasonable unless shown otherwise (Civil Code 1954).

Can a kitchen remodel end a tenancy?

Only if the work meets the statute's substantial remodel test and the notice follows its terms. The statute does not say whether a given kitchen job meets it; the Housing Rights Center the City lists counsels both sides for free (Civil Code 1946.2, City fair housing page).

Does Newhall have its own rent limit?

The County's rent ordinance covers unincorporated addresses only (LA County rent stabilization program). Inside the city, the municipal code's only rent rule is for mobilehome park spaces (Santa Clarita Municipal Code, Title 6), so the state cap applies to covered rentals.

Sources

Every rule and count on this page was read in the statute, agency page or Census table that states it, in September 2026. The page describes the law with its conditions; it is not advice about any tenancy.