Cal. Civ. Code § 1952.6
California Civil Code
Operative Text
(a) Sections 1951 to 1952.2, inclusive, shall not apply to any lease or agreement for a lease of real property between any public entity and any nonprofit corporation whose title or interest in the property is subject to reversion to or vesting in a public entity and which issues bonds or other evidences of indebtedness, the interest on which is exempt from federal income taxes for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, or improving the property or a building or other facility thereon, or between any public entity and any other public entity, unless the lease or the agreement shall specifically provide that Sections 1951 to 1952.2, inclusive, or any portions thereof, are applicable to the lease or the agreement. (b) Except as provided in subdivision (a), a public entity lessee in a contract for a capital lease of real property involving the payment of rents of one million dollars ($1,000,000) or more may elect to waive any of the remedies for a breach of the lease provided in Sections 1951 to 1952.2, inclusive, and contract instead for any other remedy permitted by law. As used in this subdivision, “capital lease” refers to a lease entered into for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, or improving the property or a building or other facility thereon. (c) As used in this section, “public entity” includes the state, a county, city and county, city, district, public authority, public agency, or any other political subdivision or public corporation.
Cal. Civ. Code § 1952.6 carves out certain government-related real property leases from the standard landlord-tenant remedy framework established in Sections 1951 through 1952.2. Specifically, leases between public entities and qualifying nonprofit corporations using tax-exempt bond financing, or leases between two public entities, fall outside those default rules unless the lease document itself opts back in. Additionally, when a public entity is the tenant in a qualifying capital lease with rents of at least one million dollars, it may contractually substitute alternative legal remedies in place of those default statutory ones.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1952.6, property owners entering into leases with public entities or qualifying tax-exempt bond-financed nonprofits should be aware that the standard breach-of-lease remedy provisions of Sections 1951–1952.2 do not automatically apply to those agreements. Compliant operators in these arrangements typically review whether the lease document expressly incorporates those statutory remedies if the parties intend them to govern. For high-value capital leases of one million dollars or more where a public entity is the lessee, operators generally account for the possibility that the public entity may negotiate for alternative remedies rather than the statutory defaults.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Cal. Civ. Code § 1952.6 is most relevant to public entities acting as tenants rather than to individual residential renters, as it governs whether the standard remedy provisions of Sections 1951–1952.2 apply to government-related real property leases. A public entity tenant in a capital lease with rents of one million dollars or more has the ability under this section to waive those default statutory remedies and negotiate alternative ones permitted by law. Public entity lessees navigating these arrangements may benefit from reviewing the specific lease language and consulting with a government contracts or real property attorney, or reaching out to relevant public agency legal counsel, to understand which remedies apply.
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 11, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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