In California, a Working Fridge Wasn’t Always Guaranteed—a 2026 Law Changes That

Every city’s rental market has its own unique rite of passage for new residents. When I moved to Boston, it was surviving the dreaded Sept. 1 move-in chaos. When I moved to New York, it was finding an apartment at all. But in California, for many renters, it was lugging a refrigerator into their new digs.

Until this year, landlords in the Golden State weren’t legally required to provide a fridge or stove in rental units. And a cursory search of social media sites will unearth a trove of unsuspecting tenants who moved in only to realize their apartment was sans-fridge after coming home from the grocery store laden with perishables.

In a market defined by steep competition and sky-high costs, it felt like a slap in the face to many renters. Or, in the words of one Reddit user, “LA Living Rule #1: You probably will never own a house, but you will likely own a fridge.”

But all that changed on Jan. 1, 2026. Under a new state law authored by Assembly member Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood), California landlords must now furnish a working refrigerator and stove in any rental under a new or amended lease. The mandate eliminates a major upfront cost for renters and puts California in line with other states where such appliances are considered baseline, not bonus.

Why California's new appliance law matters for renters

California’s rental market is among the most competitive and expensive in the country, accounting for four of the top 30 most competitive rental markets as ranked by RentCafe.

That's translated into sky-high rents for tenants stretching from San Diego—where the median asking rent is $3,165 per month—to San Francisco—where the median asking rent is $4,199 per month—and beyond. Yet until now, many tenants were expected to supply their own essential appliances, even when their rent rivaled a mortgage.

Nowhere was the missing fridge more common than in Los Angeles, where median rent currently stands at $3,231 per month—well above the national median of $1,696, according to data from Realtor.com®.

Factor in first and last month’s rent, a security deposit, and potentially a broker fee, and it’s clear how few renters had an extra $600 to $1,200 to cover the cost of a refrigerator at move-in.

Supporters of the bill say that’s exactly the point: This isn’t about bonus amenities—it’s about basic habitability and affordability.

“A working stove and a working refrigerator are not luxuries—they are a necessary part of modern life,” McKinnor said in a press release about the bill. “By making these necessary appliances standard in rental homes, California can provide all of its residents with a safer, more affordable, and more dignified place to call home.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom also framed the new law as part of a broader push to eliminate hidden costs in housing.

“California is hard at work to help make your life more affordable. While the Trump administration’s policies increase prices and make it more difficult to get by, California is passing laws to help eliminate unnecessary fees and add-ons [that] cost time and money,” he said in a press release that framed the passage of the bill along with several other bills as aimed at reducing costs for families.

Will the new law lower utility bills for renters?

The law is also poised to help reduce utility bills for some renters who may have had to purchase cheaper, less efficient models.

That’s especially meaningful in California, where residents pay some of the highest utility rates in the nation. As of December 2025, California led the country in residential electricity and natural gas rates, as well as gasoline and diesel prices, according to the California Center for Jobs & the Economy.

Appliances are a significant driver of monthly energy bills, accounting for about 9% of electricity usage in a typical household, per Consumer Reports. Renters who were forced to buy their own fridges often ended up with whatever was cheapest—typically older, secondhand, or inefficient models. Those savings at the checkout could quickly evaporate in the form of higher monthly bills.

By contrast, newer Energy Star–certified refrigerators can save up to $150 over the lifetime of the appliance, not to mention the reduction in climate impacts.

Now, with the burden shifted to landlords, supporters say renters can finally expect both a working appliance and one that won’t quietly drain their wallet.

Why some landlords opposed the new law

Not everyone welcomed the new requirement, though. Landlord groups argued that mandating appliances would increase costs and reduce flexibility, especially for smaller, independent property owners already facing financial strain.

“[This] will lead to heavier burdens on the courts and a dramatic reduction in the state’s availability of rental housing supply,” Bernice Creager, a lobbyist for the California Association of Realtors®, said at a state Senate judiciary committee hearing in 2025.

Creager’s concerns echo a broader national trend: Landlords across the country have been sounding alarms about rising operational costs, from property taxes and insurance to maintenance and compliance. They argue that these pressures are eroding profit margins and making it harder to keep units on the market or offer them at competitive rates.

Whether California’s new appliance mandate meaningfully worsens those pressures remains to be seen. But it highlights a growing tension in housing policy: how to improve conditions for renters without pushing more landlords out of the market.