Cash for Keys in California: Tenant Buyouts and Your Rights

Cash for keys in California is a private deal: a landlord pays a tenant to move out by an agreed date, and the tenant gives up the tenancy in return. State law does not set a buyout procedure, but it shapes the bargaining position through the just cause and relocation rules in Civil Code 1946.2, explained in the just cause eviction guide. Several cities go further and regulate buyouts directly, with required disclosures and a window for the tenant to back out.

How cash for keys works in California

A buyout is different from an eviction. In an eviction, the landlord ends the tenancy with a notice and, if the tenant stays, goes to court. In a buyout, the tenant agrees to leave in exchange for money or something else of value, such as forgiven rent. Because it is voluntary, the terms are negotiated: the amount, the move-out date, what happens to the security deposit, and what each side gives up.

Landlords offer buyouts for many reasons: to sell a building vacant, to renovate, to re-rent at a new starting rent, or to avoid the cost and delay of an eviction case. The reason matters less than the tenant’s alternatives, which depend on which laws cover the unit.

What state law does — and does not — say about cash for keys

State law does not set a buyout procedure, require a disclosure form or set a minimum payment. What it does set is the tenant’s baseline if there is no deal:

• Just cause after 12 months. Once a tenant has continuously and lawfully occupied a covered unit for 12 months, the landlord can end the tenancy only for a just cause stated in the written notice (1946.2(a)). Exempt units are listed in 1946.2(e).
• Relocation for no-fault endings. If the landlord ends a covered tenancy for a no-fault reason — owner move-in, withdrawal from the rental market, a government order, or demolition or substantial remodel — the landlord must pay one month’s rent as relocation within 15 calendar days of serving the notice, or waive the final month’s rent in writing (1946.2(d)). That payment is credited against any other relocation assistance required by law.
• No waivers of the statute. Any waiver of rights under 1946.2 is void (1946.2(j)), and the same is true of the rent cap rights in 1947.12(l).
• Tenants without just cause protection. A month-to-month tenant who is not covered by 1946.2 can be given a termination notice of 60 days, or 30 days if they have lived there less than a year (Civil Code 1946.1).

The practical effect: a tenant with just cause protection can be required to leave only for one of the listed causes, following that cause’s notice and payment rules, and that is the backdrop against which many buyouts are offered. A tenant without that protection starts from a different position. The details are in the relocation assistance guide.

Cash for keys California rules by city

Where a city has a buyout ordinance, its rules add to the state baseline. The four below are confirmed from city documents; other cities may have their own rules.

San Francisco

The city’s buyout agreement page describes the disclosure form, the 45-day rescission period and the Rent Board filing. A Superior Court injunction issued December 11, 2020 (case CPF-20-517087) blocks parts of the 2020 amendments to the section, specifically subdivisions (c) and (i). Check the page for which requirements are currently enforced. More in the San Francisco tenant rights guide.

Los Angeles

For units under the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, the landlord must give the tenant the city’s RSO buyout disclosure notice before making any offer. The tenant may cancel within 30 days, and the landlord files with the Los Angeles Housing Department within 60 days. See the Los Angeles RSO guide.

Oakland

Oakland’s Tenant Move-Out Agreement Ordinance gives tenants 25 days to rescind, and an agreement for less than what the city’s Relocation Ordinance would require is voidable, according to the city’s information sheet. Oakland’s relocation amounts are several times the state’s one month; the Oakland guide covers them.

Santa Monica

Santa Monica requires a disclosure before any offer, a 30-day rescission right, and a minimum buyout of at least the permanent relocation fee, according to the city’s buyout packet. See the Santa Monica guide.

A worked example: weighing an offer

Say you pay $2,200 a month for a covered unit you have lived in for three years, and your landlord offers $5,000 if you move out in 45 days. Some numbers to set next to that offer:

• The state no-fault baseline. If the landlord instead ended the tenancy for a qualifying no-fault reason, state law would require $2,200 — one month — within 15 calendar days of the notice, plus the notice periods and conditions for that reason. Local law can require far more.
• Your deposit. A $2,200 security deposit is your money, returned under Civil Code 1950.5 within 21 days of move-out less lawful deductions. An agreement should say whether it is returned in full, returned under the normal rules, or handled another way.
• The back-out window. If the unit is under the Los Angeles RSO and everyone signs on October 1, you can cancel through October 31 (30 days). In Oakland, an agreement fully executed October 1 can be rescinded through October 26 (25 days).

What to get in writing

These are the terms buyout agreements typically cover. Listing them is not a recommendation about whether to accept any offer.

• Amount and timing of payment. The total, how it is paid, and when — for example, part at signing and the rest when keys are returned.
• Move-out date. The exact date, and what happens if either side needs to change it.
• The security deposit. Whether it is refunded in full, handled under 1950.5, or applied to anything.
• Condition of the unit. What state the unit must be left in, and whether any cleaning or repair charges are waived.
• Rent until move-out. Whether rent is still owed for the remaining weeks.
• The release. Exactly which claims each side gives up. A broad release can reach claims the tenant has not yet thought about, such as past overcharges or habitability problems.
• Local requirements. In a regulated city, the required disclosure, rescission language and filing.
• Everyone on the lease. Whether every tenant has signed.

Tenants and landlords with questions about a specific agreement can contact the local rent board, where one exists, or a lawyer.

Questions people ask

Is cash for keys legal in California?

Yes. A voluntary agreement to move out for payment is lawful. In San Francisco, Los Angeles RSO units, Oakland and Santa Monica, the landlord must follow the local buyout rules.

How much is cash for keys in California?

State law sets no amount. Santa Monica requires at least the permanent relocation fee, and in Oakland an agreement below the relocation amounts is voidable. Elsewhere the amount is negotiated.

Can I back out of a buyout agreement after signing?

In San Francisco within 45 days, in Los Angeles RSO units and Santa Monica within 30 days, and in Oakland within 25 days. State law does not set a general rescission period.

Do I still get my security deposit back if I take a buyout?

Civil Code 1950.5 still governs the deposit, including the 21-day deadline for returning it with an itemized statement, so the agreement should say how the deposit is handled.

Related California renter guides

• Just cause eviction rules in California
• When a landlord must pay you to leave: relocation assistance
• Owner move-in evictions: the rules
• The Ellis Act explained for tenants
• How to get your security deposit back
• San Francisco tenant rights and the Rent Board

This page explains what the cited California law says. It is not legal advice. Last verified September 28, 2026.