AB 628 FAQ: What Every California Landlord Needs to Know

AB 628 is California Assembly Bill 628, and it's a game-changer for landlords. Here's the short version: it amended Civil Code §1941.1 to make working stoves and refrigerators official statutory tenantability requirements.

Before AB 628, a broken fridge was a maintenance headache. After AB 628, a recalled stove or refrigerator is a habitability violation.on the same legal footing as a leaking roof or no hot water. And if an appliance in your unit is subject to a federal recall, you have exactly 30 days to repair or replace it.

The bill specifically targets the gap between federal consumer product recalls (published by the CPSC) and landlord obligations under California's habitability doctrine. It closes that gap. Permanently.

January 1, 2026. It's already live. This isn't some future deadline you can plan around.it's the law right now.

If you have rental properties in California with stoves or refrigerators (which is essentially all of them), you are already subject to AB 628's requirements. Every recall that CPSC has published since January 1 has started your 30-day clock.

Almost certainly yes. AB 628 applies to all California residential rental properties that provide stoves and/or refrigerators. Single-family homes, duplexes, apartment complexes, ADUs.if you're renting it out and it came with a stove or fridge, you're covered.

There's really only one exception: if your tenant signed a lease addendum explicitly stating they are providing their own appliance. In that specific scenario, the tenant's appliance is their responsibility, not yours.

But let's be realistic.the vast majority of California rentals include landlord-provided stoves and refrigerators. If that describes any of your units, AB 628 applies to you.

The bill text specifically names stoves and refrigerators. That's the letter of the law.

But here's the thing smart landlords understand: best practice is to monitor ALL appliances in your units. Dishwashers, washers, dryers, microwaves, HVAC systems.all of them.

Why? Because California's broader habitability law under Civil Code §1941.1 covers general livability. A recalled dishwasher that causes a fire or a faulty HVAC system that makes a unit unlivable? Those are habitability issues too, even if AB 628 doesn't specifically name them. Think of AB 628 as the floor, not the ceiling.

This is the heart of AB 628: once a recall is published on CPSC.gov, you have 30 days to repair or replace the recalled appliance in your rental unit.

And here's the part that catches landlords off-guard: the clock starts when CPSC publishes the recall, not when you personally find out about it. This is based on a legal concept called "constructive knowledge" (more on that in the next question).

If day 31 arrives and that recalled appliance is still in your unit.unremediated.you're in violation. Your tenants can take action. And they will.

Constructive knowledge is a legal doctrine that essentially says: if the information was publicly available, the law considers you to have known about it.

In the context of AB 628, this means that the moment CPSC publishes a recall on their website, California law considers every landlord in the state to be "on notice." You cannot claim "I didn't know" as a defense. You can't say you don't check CPSC.gov. You can't say you were on vacation.

This is exactly why proactive monitoring matters. If the law says you knew (whether you actually did or not), the only smart move is to actually know. Automated recall monitoring isn't a nice-to-have.it's your defense against a legal doctrine that assumes you're already watching.

Ideally, yes.but it's not always strictly required. Here's the nuance:

• Brand + model level monitoring covers most recalls. If you know you have a Samsung NE63T8711SS range in Unit 4B, and that model gets recalled, you're covered.
• Serial numbers provide exact matching. Some recalls only affect specific serial number ranges within a model line. With serial numbers, you know for certain whether your specific unit is affected.

The practical reality? Many landlords don't have serial numbers for older appliances, and that's okay. RecallProof works with or without serial numbers.brand + model monitoring catches the vast majority of relevant recalls, and you can add serial numbers over time as you do unit inspections.

If a tenant ever challenges you.or worse, if you end up in court.you'll need to prove four things:

• Active monitoring: Evidence that you were actively tracking the CPSC recall database (not just claiming you "check sometimes")
• Timely notification: Proof that you notified affected tenants promptly after a recall was published
• Remediation actions: Documentation that you took action within the 30-day window.ordered parts, scheduled service, contacted the manufacturer
• Completion: Proof that the repair or replacement was actually completed

This is exactly what RecallCert™ documentation provides. It's a timestamped, auditable record of your entire compliance workflow.from monitoring to remediation to completion. Think of it as your receipt that proves you did the right thing.

The short answer: tenants have a lot of legal remedies, and none of them are good for your wallet or your peace of mind. Here's what you're looking at:

• Rent withholding.tenants can stop paying rent proportional to the habitability issue, and they don't need a court order to do it
• Repair-and-deduct.tenants hire someone to fix or replace the appliance and deduct the cost from rent
• Retaliation damages.if you take adverse action against a tenant who raised a recall issue, you're looking at actual damages plus punitive damages up to $2,000 per act plus attorney's fees
• Constructive eviction.tenants break the lease and move out, and you're on the hook for their relocation costs
• Tort claims.emotional distress, nuisance, negligence. These can add up fast.

And remember: tenant advocacy groups and legal aid organizations are very aware of AB 628. Tenants are being coached on their rights as we speak.

Yes. Absolutely yes.

Under AB 628 combined with California's existing habitability doctrine, a recalled stove or refrigerator is a bona fide habitability violation. That triggers the tenant's right to withhold rent proportional to the diminished value of the unit.

Here's what makes this especially dangerous: they don't need a court order. They don't need to file a complaint first. They don't need your permission. They can simply start paying less.and the legal burden shifts to you to prove the unit was habitable.

By the time you realize a tenant is withholding rent over a recall you didn't know about, you're already behind. That's 30+ days of reduced income, plus the cost of emergency remediation, plus potential legal fees if it escalates.

Let's look at real numbers from actual cases:

• Samsung recall case: $65,000 (settlement + legal fees). One recalled range. One property.
• Camacho v. Schaefer: $50,600 for a single rental unit. $33,100 in damages plus $17,500 in attorney fees.
• San Francisco fire case: $6.75 million settlement for 48 tenants displaced by a fire at a Mission District property. The largest single-case tenant settlement in Northern California history at the time.

The math is brutally simple: the cost of non-compliance is 100x–1,000x the cost of monitoring. Every single time.

Good news: you don't need a lawyer for this. Here's your five-step game plan:

• Step 1: Inventory your appliances. Walk your units (or have your PM do it). Document every stove, fridge, dishwasher, washer, and dryer. Record the brand, model, and ideally the serial number.
• Step 2: Run them against the CPSC recall database. Check every appliance against CPSC.gov/Recalls. This is your baseline.you need to know if anything is already recalled.
• Step 3: Set up ongoing monitoring. You can't check manually every day. Set up a system (automated is better) that watches for new recalls matching your inventory.
• Step 4: Create a remediation workflow. When a recall hits, who does what? Who contacts the tenant? Who schedules the repair? Who follows up? Write it down.
• Step 5: Document everything. Every notification, every work order, every completed repair. This is your compliance trail.

Want the detailed version? Read our complete AB 628 Compliance Guide.it walks you through each step with templates and checklists.

Often, no.and this is the part most landlords don't realize.

When a manufacturer issues a recall, they're typically required by federal law (through the CPSC) to provide a remedy at no cost to the consumer. For appliances, this usually means:

• Free replacement parts shipped to you
• Reimbursement for labor to install the fix
• A full replacement unit in severe cases

Major OEMs like Whirlpool, Samsung, GE, and LG all have recall remediation programs. The key is knowing about the recall early enough to take advantage of these programs before they expire or get overwhelmed with claims.

RecallProof coordinates directly with manufacturers to streamline this process and minimize your out-of-pocket costs. In many cases, the only cost to you is the time to schedule access to the unit.

We love your existing property management software. They're essential tools for managing properties. But here's what they don't do:

• Track appliance serial numbers or model numbers
• Cross-reference your appliances against the CPSC recall database
• Send you alerts when a recall matches your inventory
• Generate AB 628 compliance documentation
• Manage the 30-day remediation timeline

Property management software tracks properties and maintenance. RecallProof tracks appliance recalls and compliance. They solve different problems.

The good news: RecallProof is designed to work alongside your existing PM software, not replace it. Keep using AppFolio for rent collection and maintenance requests. Use RecallProof for recall monitoring and compliance documentation. Together, they cover your full liability surface.

Starting at $2.50 per unit per month on our Starter plan. That's less than a Starbucks coffee per unit.

Here's what you get:

• 24/7 automated monitoring against the CPSC recall database
• Instant alerts when a recall matches your appliance inventory
• 30-day remediation timeline management
• RecallCert™ compliance documentation
• Manufacturer coordination for repairs and replacements

We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.no credit card required. And if you choose annual billing, you save 20%.

Compare that to even the "cheapest" habitability dispute ($10,000+) and the math speaks for itself. For a 10-unit portfolio, you're paying $25/month for peace of mind and legal protection. That's one parking ticket.

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