A fridge for every apartment in California, thanks to a new law

Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times on Oct 8, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

LOS ANGELES — Starting next year, you won't have to comb through Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist for a decent used refrigerator because your California apartment doesn't come with one.

That's because on Monday Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 628 into law, requiring landlords to equip their rentals with a refrigerator and a stove that are in good working condition.

Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, D-Hawthorne, whose 61st District covers communities from Inglewood to Marina del Rey, previously told The Times she was inspired to author the bill when she realized refrigerators and stoves were legally labeled as amenities.

A 2022 Times analysis found that California has more apartments on the market without refrigerators than any other state. Existing state law requires landlords to maintain certain "standard characteristics" for a dwelling unit including adequate hot and cold running water, heat, and weather proofing.

McKinnor wanted to include a fridge and stove as necessities for a rental unit to be considered habitable.

Landlords cannot have occupants in a rental "without a refrigerator just like they can't have you in there without hot running water or a heater," McKinnor said.

Under the new law, landlords must provide a stove capable of generating heat for cooking and a refrigerator capable of safely storing food for new leases starting Jan. 1, 2026.

The costs associated with moving into a new apartment — first month's rent and security deposit — can be a burden for renters, especially in the city of Los Angeles, where the average monthly rent is $2,795, about $700 higher than the national average, according to Zillow.

With this law, McKinnor said, renters will have one less payment to think about when moving into their new home.