Cal. Civ. Code § 1945.5
California Civil Code
Operative Text
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any term of a lease executed after the effective date of this section for the hiring of residential real property which provides for the automatic renewal or extension of the lease for all or part of the full term of the lease if the lessee remains in possession after the expiration of the lease or fails to give notice of his intent not to renew or extend before the expiration of the lease shall be voidable by the party who did not prepare the lease unless such renewal or extension provision appears in at least eight-point boldface type, if the contract is printed, in the body of the lease agreement and a recital of the fact that such provision is contained in the body of the agreement appears in at least eight-point boldface type, if the contract is printed, immediately prior to the place where the lessee executes the agreement. In such case, the presumption in Section 1945 of this code shall apply. Any waiver of the provisions of this section is void as against public policy.
California Civil Code § 1945.5 governs automatic renewal and extension clauses in residential leases signed after the section's effective date. When a lease includes a provision that automatically renews or extends the tenancy if the tenant stays past the lease end or fails to give advance notice of non-renewal, that clause can be voided by whichever party did not draft the lease — unless the clause is printed in at least eight-point boldface type within the body of the lease and a separate boldface notice of that clause appears immediately before the tenant's signature line. Any attempt by either party to waive these formatting requirements is unenforceable as a matter of public policy.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Property owners and managers who include automatic renewal or extension clauses in residential leases covered by Cal. Civ. Code § 1945.5 generally ensure that such clauses are set in at least eight-point boldface type within the body of the agreement. Compliant operators also place a boldface recital — again in at least eight-point type — directly before the tenant's signature line, calling attention to the existence of that renewal provision. Leases that omit these formatting steps risk having the automatic renewal clause treated as voidable by the tenant, which can affect occupancy planning and turnover timelines.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1945.5, a tenant who did not draft the lease has the right to void an automatic renewal or extension clause if it was not disclosed in the required boldface format both within the lease body and immediately before the signature line. If a landlord attempts to enforce an automatic renewal that may not meet these requirements, a tenant can raise the formatting deficiency as a potential defense in any proceeding where that clause is at issue. Tenant-rights organizations and local rent boards can be useful starting points for understanding how this provision may apply to a particular lease document.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated September 4, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
Effective Timeline
References Out
No outbound references recorded yet for this provision.
References In
Rules and statutes that cite this regulation