San Mateo County Landlord-Tenant Law

The San Francisco Peninsula — one of the wealthiest counties in the United States, East Palo Alto’s strong local rent control, AB 1482 for most of the county, and a tech-driven rental market where demand rarely wavers

San Mateo County Rental Market Overview

San Mateo County is the narrow strip of the San Francisco Peninsula that connects the city of San Francisco at its northern end to the Silicon Valley tech corridor at its southern end. With roughly 770,000 residents across 20 cities and extensive unincorporated territory, the county is home to some of the wealthiest communities in the United States — Atherton, consistently ranked as the highest-median-income zip code in the country, sits squarely within San Mateo County, as do Hillsborough, Woodside, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. The county is also the home of the San Francisco International Airport, a major regional employer, and an important logistics and hospitality corridor. Its economy is overwhelmingly driven by proximity to Silicon Valley tech companies and the financial and professional services that support them, combined with the physical impossibility of building enough housing on a peninsula bounded by the bay on one side and the Pacific on the other.

For landlords, San Mateo County occupies an interesting middle position in California’s regulatory spectrum. Most of the county — Redwood City, San Mateo, Burlingame, Foster City, San Bruno, Daly City, South San Francisco, Pacifica, Half Moon Bay — is governed by AB 1482 without significant local rent control overlays. The notable exception is East Palo Alto, which has had one of California’s most tenant-protective local rent ordinances since 1988 and covers virtually all rental housing in the city regardless of age. Redwood City enacted its own Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance, adding local just cause protections on top of AB 1482 for properties within city limits. Understanding which city your property is in — and which ordinances apply — is the first compliance step for every San Mateo County landlord.

San Mateo County — State Law & Local Ordinance Highlights

Last verified: March 2026 · Source: California Civil Code §§ 1940–1954.071

California State Law Framework

⚡ Quick Overview

3

Days Notice (Nonpayment)

3

Days Notice (Violation)

45-90

Avg Total Days

$385-435

Filing Fee (Approx)

💰 Nonpayment of Rent

Notice Type 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit

Notice Period 3 days

Tenant Can Cure? Yes

Days to Hearing 20-30 days

Days to Writ 5-15 days

Total Estimated Timeline 45-90 days

Total Estimated Cost $500-$2,500+

⚠️ Watch Out

AB 1482 (Tenant Protection Act) requires just cause for evictions of tenants in place 12+ months. 3-day notice can only include rent - no late fees, utilities, or other charges. AB 2347 (eff. Jan 2025/2026) doubled tenant response time from 5 to 10 business days. Notice excludes weekends and court holidays.

📜 Eviction Laws Main 📊 Compare This State

Underground Landlord

📝 California Eviction Process (Overview)

1. Serve the required notice based on the eviction reason (nonpayment or lease violation).
2. Wait for the notice period to expire. If tenant cures the issue (where allowed), the process stops.
3. File an eviction case with the Superior Court (Unlawful Detainer). Pay the filing fee (~$385-435).
4. Tenant is served with a summons and has the opportunity to respond.
5. Attend the court hearing and present your case.
6. If you prevail, obtain a writ of possession from the court.
7. Law enforcement executes the writ and removes the tenant if necessary.

⚠️ Disclaimer: This page provides general information about California eviction laws and does not constitute legal advice. Eviction procedures can vary by county and may change over time. Local jurisdictions may have additional requirements or tenant protections. For specific legal guidance, consult a qualified California attorney or local legal aid organization.

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Underground Landlord

🔍 Reduce Your Risk Before Signing a Lease: California landlords who screen tenants carefully before signing a lease significantly reduce their risk of ending up in eviction court. Understanding tenant screening in California — including background checks, credit history, income verification, and rental references — is one of the most cost-effective steps you can take to protect your rental property. Before you ever need California's eviction process, proper tenant screening can help you identify red flags early and avoid problem tenancies altogether.

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San Mateo County Landlord-Tenant Law: The Peninsula Between San Francisco and Silicon Valley

San Mateo County is the land bridge between two of the world’s most valuable real estate markets. To the north, San Francisco. To the south, Silicon Valley. Squeezed between San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean on a peninsula that physically cannot expand, San Mateo County has become one of the most expensive places to live on earth — not because it is a destination in itself, though it has genuine appeal, but because it sits at the geographic midpoint of a labor market that attracts some of the highest earners on the planet. The resulting rental market is defined by extraordinary demand, near-zero vacancy for well-maintained properties, and rents that are among the highest in California outside of San Francisco itself. For landlords who own here, the fundamental economics are excellent. The legal framework is manageable for most of the county, with two meaningful exceptions that require specific attention: East Palo Alto and Redwood City.

California state law provides the foundation. AB 1482 applies to most pre-2010 rental housing throughout the county, capping annual rent increases at 5 percent plus the San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward MSA CPI and requiring just cause for eviction of tenants with more than 12 months of continuous occupancy. For properties in cities without additional local ordinances — which is most of the county — understanding AB 1482, knowing your exemption status, and providing the written exemption notice for qualifying SFRs and condos covers the bulk of the compliance work. The San Francisco metro CPI is one of the higher Bay Area indices, which means the AB 1482 allowable increase for San Mateo County properties often lands in the upper portion of the 5-to-10 percent range in years of meaningful inflation.

East Palo Alto: The Peninsula’s Rent Control Holdout

East Palo Alto is geographically surrounded by some of the wealthiest communities in the world — Palo Alto to the west, Menlo Park to the north and south, the Facebook and Stanford campuses nearby — but it has maintained a distinct identity as a working-class, majority-Latino community that has resisted the displacement pressures of Silicon Valley gentrification in part through its rent ordinance. EPA’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, in effect since 1988, covers virtually all residential rental units in the city regardless of age or building type. This is broader coverage than nearly any other California rent ordinance — there is no pre-1979 or pre-1995 cutoff date that exempts newer buildings. If it’s a residential rental unit in East Palo Alto, it is almost certainly covered.

The EPA Rent Stabilization Board sets annual allowable rent increases, mediates disputes, and administers a petition process for both above-guideline increases and challenges to unlawful rent increases. Just cause for eviction is required for all covered tenants, and relocation assistance is required for no-fault terminations. EPA’s tenant community is organized and has maintained consistent political engagement with the city’s housing policies for decades. The Rent Board’s staff is active, and tenant advocacy organizations monitor compliance. This is not a jurisdiction where informal or imprecise landlord practices go unchallenged.

The economic contrast between East Palo Alto and its neighbors is stark. A covered EPA tenant may be paying rent that is far below the market rate of the surrounding peninsula, because EPA’s rent increases have been capped for over three decades while surrounding market rents have increased dramatically. This gap — between the controlled rent and the market rate — creates significant economic value in long-tenured EPA tenancies and is also why tenant protections are so politically durable in the community. Landlords acquiring EPA properties should request complete rent histories from sellers and understand which tenants are long-tenured before making acquisition decisions.

The Tech Economy Screening Challenge

San Mateo County’s dominant tenant profile in its higher-income communities is the technology professional. Meta’s headquarters campus in Menlo Park sits at the county’s southern border with Santa Clara County. Oracle moved its headquarters to Redwood City. Genentech, the pioneering biotech company that essentially created South San Francisco’s identity as a biotech hub, employs thousands of researchers and business professionals in the county. These employers produce applicants whose total annual compensation packages can be extraordinary relative to the monthly base salaries that appear on pay stubs.

A software engineer at Meta earning $200,000 per year in base salary with $150,000 in annual RSU vesting and a $50,000 signing bonus in year one has a total first-year income of $400,000. Their monthly base pay stub shows $16,667. Evaluating this applicant on base salary alone while applying a 3x monthly rent income standard would qualify them for a $5,500/mo apartment. Evaluating their total compensation would qualify them for considerably more. The correct approach is to request both the most recent pay stub and a documentation of total compensation — offer letter, most recent W-2, RSU vesting schedule, and current employment verification confirming active employment at a named employer. For major tech and biotech employers in San Mateo County, this documentation is readily available and is the right basis for an accurate affordability assessment.

The airport corridor and biotech communities around South San Francisco and San Bruno present a different screening scenario. Aviation and hospitality workers at SFO have predictable hourly incomes, strong union protections in many cases, and a reliable payment history driven by career consequences for financial instability. Genentech and Roche researchers and scientists have stable W-2 income from established employers with strong financials. These are less glamorous income profiles than the Meta engineer, but they are equally reliable and considerably less subject to the volatility that comes with startup employment or equity-dependent compensation.

This page is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. San Mateo County landlord-tenant matters are governed by California Civil Code §§ 1940–1954.071, the AB 1482 Tenant Protection Act (Civil Code §§ 1946.2 and 1947.12), the East Palo Alto Rent Stabilization Ordinance, and the Redwood City Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance. The applicable CPI for AB 1482 calculations is the BLS CPI-U for the San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward MSA. Unlawful detainer actions are filed in San Mateo County Superior Court, 400 County Center, Redwood City, CA 94063. Security deposit cap: 1 month’s rent (Civil Code § 1950.5; effective July 1, 2024). Deposit return: 21 calendar days. AB 1482 rent cap: 5%+CPI, max 10%; expires January 1, 2030. East Palo Alto and Redwood City landlords should verify current local ordinance requirements before any action on covered units. Consult a licensed California attorney for specific guidance. Last updated: March 2026.