Mold complaints produce visits. Inspectors, contractors, the landlord themselves. Most are legitimate. Some are not, and a pattern of unannounced entry after a complaint is a problem in its own right.
California Civil Code section 1954 governs this, and it is more specific than most tenants realize.
When a landlord may enter at all
Section 1954(a) permits entry only in defined situations, including:
- In case of emergency
- To make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements, or to supply necessary or agreed services
- To show the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workers or contractors
- When the tenant has abandoned or surrendered the premises
- Pursuant to a court order
Repairing mold falls squarely within “necessary repairs” — and Civil Code section 1941.7(b) confirms a landlord may enter to deal with mold provided they comply with section 1954. The right to enter is real. It is the manner that is regulated.
What notice is required
Under section 1954(d)(1), except in an emergency or where the tenant has abandoned the unit, the landlord must give reasonable notice in writing of the intent to enter, and enter only during normal business hours.
That notice must state:
- The date
- The approximate time
- The purpose of the entry
The statute provides that 24 hours is presumed to be reasonable notice in the absence of evidence to the contrary. If notice is mailed, mailing at least six days before the intended entry is presumed reasonable.
Notice may be personally delivered, left with someone of suitable age and discretion at the premises, or left on, near or under the usual entry door in a manner a reasonable person would discover.
So a text at 8am saying someone is coming at 9am is not, on the face of the statute, compliant notice — and a notice that omits the purpose is incomplete even if the timing works.
The provision that matters most after a complaint
Section 1954(c) is one sentence: the landlord may not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant.
That is the provision engaged by repeated “inspections” that follow a habitability complaint, visits that achieve nothing, or entries scheduled to be maximally disruptive. A single late notice is a technical breach. A pattern beginning the week after you reported mold is a different matter.
Entry and retaliation often travel together
If unannounced entries started after you complained, look at what else changed. Civil Code section 1942.5 generally protects a tenant who is not in default on rent for 180 days after a good-faith habitability complaint, against the landlord recovering possession, causing the tenant to quit involuntarily, increasing rent or decreasing services.
Section 1942.5 also carries real consequences: subdivision (h) makes a violating lessor liable for the tenant’s actual damages, plus punitive damages of not less than $100 and not more than $2,000 for each retaliatory act where the lessor acted with fraud, oppression or malice. Subdivision (i) provides that in an action for damages for retaliatory eviction the court shall award reasonable attorney’s fees to the prevailing party where either party requests them at the start of the action.
See retaliation after a mold complaint.
What to do
- Log every entry. Date, time, who came, how long they stayed, what they did, and what notice you received or did not.
- Keep the notices. Photograph anything left at the door, including where it was left.
- Put your objection in writing — calmly, once. State that you are not refusing lawful entry for repairs, but that you require notice complying with section 1954 stating date, approximate time and purpose.
- Do not physically obstruct entry. Refusing access can be used against you, including as an argument that you interfered with the landlord’s ability to repair under section 1941.2.
- Note what the visits accomplish. Inspections that never produce a repair are themselves evidence.
If the visits started after you complained
We represent tenants and homeowners in mold and habitability matters across California — tenants only, never landlords. Entry abuse rarely travels alone, and it is usually worth looking at alongside everything else that changed after your complaint. Mold and habitability matters are handled on contingency, so there is no attorney’s fee unless we recover for you, and the consultation is free. Clients are responsible for case costs.
Call (310) 556-9692 or text (805) 429-2304.
This article is general information about California law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation turns on its own facts.
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