Cal. Civ. Code § 1951.4

California Civil Code

In Force
Verified 6/11/2026 · Next check 7/11/2026
CaliforniaSublet Rights

Operative Text

Cal. Civ. Code § 1951.4
(a) The remedy described in this section is available only if the lease provides for this remedy. In addition to any other type of provision used in a lease to provide for the remedy described in this section, a provision in the lease in substantially the following form satisfies this subdivision:
“The lessor has the remedy described in California Civil Code Section 1951.4 (lessor may continue lease in effect after lessee’s breach and abandonment and recover rent as it becomes due, if lessee has right to sublet or assign, subject only to
reasonable limitations).”
(b) Even though a lessee of real property has breached the lease and abandoned the property, the lease continues in effect for so long as the lessor does not terminate the lessee’s right to possession, and the lessor may enforce all the lessor’s rights and remedies under the lease, including the right to recover the rent as it becomes due under the lease, if any of the following conditions is satisfied:
(1) The lease permits the lessee, or does not prohibit or otherwise restrict the right of the lessee, to sublet the property, assign the lessee’s interest in the lease, or both.
(2) The lease permits the lessee to sublet the property, assign the lessee’s interest in the lease, or both, subject to express standards or conditions, provided the standards and conditions are reasonable at the
time the lease is executed and the lessor does not require compliance with any standard or condition that has become unreasonable at the time the lessee seeks to sublet or assign. For purposes of this paragraph, an express standard or condition is presumed to be reasonable; this presumption is a presumption affecting the burden of proof.
(3) The lease permits the lessee to sublet the property, assign the lessee’s interest in the lease, or both, with the consent of the lessor, and the lease provides that the consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or the lease includes a standard implied by law that consent shall not be unreasonably withheld.
(c) For the purposes of subdivision (b), the following do not constitute a termination of the lessee’s right to possession:
(1) Acts of maintenance or preservation or
efforts to relet the property.
(2) The appointment of a receiver upon initiative of the lessor to protect the lessor’s interest under the lease.
(3) Withholding consent to a subletting or assignment, or terminating a subletting or assignment, if the withholding or termination does not violate the rights of the lessee specified in subdivision (b).
Source: Legislative text reproduced verbatim
Plain English

Cal. Civ. Code § 1951.4 establishes a specific remedy that allows a landlord to keep a lease alive after a tenant has breached it and walked away from the property, continuing to collect rent as it comes due rather than being forced to immediately re-let the unit and sue for damages. This remedy is only available when the lease itself expressly provides for it and when the lease also grants the tenant some meaningful right to sublet or assign — whether freely, subject to reasonable conditions, or with consent that cannot be unreasonably withheld. Certain landlord actions, such as maintaining the property, attempting to find a new tenant, or appointing a receiver, do not count as ending the tenancy and do not cut off this remedy.

Written by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6 · Reviewed on September 3, 2026

Plain English — not legal advice.

For Property Managers

Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1951.4, operators who wish to preserve the option of holding a departing tenant liable for ongoing rent — rather than being limited to a damages-based mitigation claim — generally include both the statutory notice language and a qualifying subletting or assignment provision in their lease forms at the time of execution. Compliant operators also take care that any consent standards written into the lease remain reasonable in practice, since applying an unreasonable condition at the time a tenant seeks to sublet or assign can undermine the availability of this remedy. Routine acts like property maintenance, reletting efforts, or appointing a receiver to protect the landlord's interest do not, on their own, constitute a termination of the tenant's right to possession under this section.

General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.

For Tenants

Cal. Civ. Code § 1951.4 is relevant to tenants who have left a rental unit before the lease term ended, because it governs whether a landlord can pursue the full stream of future rent rather than being required to mitigate damages by finding a replacement tenant. If a landlord invokes this section, tenants may want to examine whether the lease actually contains the required remedy language and whether the subletting or assignment rights in the lease meet the statutory conditions — gaps in either area can affect whether the remedy is properly available. Tenants facing a rent claim under this provision may find it useful to review their situation with a tenant-rights organization or legal aid office familiar with California landlord-tenant law.

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 3, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.

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References Out

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References In

Rules and statutes that cite this regulation

Cal. Civ. Code § 827
Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.13
Cal. Civ. Code § 1954.50

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