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California Tenant Right to Have Clothesline or Drying Rack

The California Civil Code, Chapter 2, Section 1940.20 allows tenants to use the following outdoor apparatuses for drying their laundry:

Clothesline or Drying Rack

A tenant may utilize a clothesline or drying rack in the tenant’s private area if all of the following conditions are met:

  • The clothesline or drying rack will not interfere with the maintenance of the rental property.
  • The clothesline or drying rack will not create a health or safety hazard, block doorways, or interfere with walkways or utility service equipment.
  • The tenant seeks the landlord’s consent before affixing a clothesline to a building.
  • Use of the clothesline or drying rack does not violate reasonable time or location restrictions imposed by the landlord.
  • The tenant has received approval of the clothesline or drying rack, or the type of clothesline or drying rack, from the landlord.

Note: A balcony, railing, awning, or other part of a structure or building shall not qualify as a clothesline or drying rack and “Private area” means an outdoor area or an area in the tenant’s premises enclosed by a wall or fence with access from a door of the premises.

Added by Stats. 2015, Ch. 602, Sec. 1. (AB 1448) Effective January 1, 2016.

Return to California Landlord-Tenant Laws.