Yes. Starting January 1, 2026, California law requires every covered rental unit to include a working stove and refrigerator, and a unit missing either one is no longer considered legally habitable. Assembly Bill 628 added both appliances to the state's habitability standard, putting them in the same legal category as running water, heat, and plumbing under Civil Code Section 1941.1. The law applies to any lease entered into, renewed, or amended on or after that date, so the obligation already reaches well beyond brand new tenancies.
AB 628 doesn't set a minimum price point or brand requirement, but it does say a covered stove must safely generate heat for cooking and a covered refrigerator must safely store food. If either one breaks and stays broken, the unit can be treated as untenantable, opening the door to rent withholding or repair and deduct claims. There's also a recall clause: if a stove or refrigerator is subject to a manufacturer or public recall, the landlord has 30 days from notice to repair or replace it.
Which Leases Does AB 628 Cover?
More than just new ones. AB 628 doesn't require landlords to rip out appliances mid lease, but the trigger is broad: any renewal, extension, or amendment dated January 1, 2026 or later brings the unit into scope, and month to month tenancies are treated as ongoing, so the requirement effectively applies to them already. A landlord who hasn't touched a unit's kitchen appliances in years could owe a working stove and fridge the moment a lease quietly rolls over. A handful of housing types are exempt, including single room occupancy units with shared kitchens and certain supportive housing, but the exemptions are narrow.
Can a Tenant Bring Their Own Fridge Instead?
Only with a written agreement signed at lease signing. That option applies solely to the refrigerator, not the stove, and it has to be documented as the tenant's choice rather than a landlord workaround. Left undocumented, that arrangement can turn into a habitability dispute later, which puts the burden right back on the landlord's records.
For property owners across Ventura County and the greater Sacramento region, AB 628 turns appliance condition into a routine maintenance task rather than an occasional fix: inspecting stoves and refrigerators at every turnover, tracking recalls the way smoke detectors get tracked, and building appliance checks into the walkthrough before a new tenant gets a key. Nest Nomads, which dispatches background checked techs for appliance repair alongside plumbing, electrical, and HVAC work across both regions, treats a broken stove or fridge the same as any other ticket: priced before the work starts, often handled the same day, and closed out with before and after photos.
The appliances that used to be a nice to have are now part of what makes a California rental legally livable, and landlords who build appliance checks into their existing maintenance routine will avoid nearly all of the exposure. Waiting for a tenant to file a complaint means doing the same repair on a much shorter clock, with far less room to negotiate the outcome.
