From securing the right to legal help to fighting for union rights at home, California tenants are standing up every day for safe, affordable homes. Whether we speak Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, or Arabic, tenants and tenants rights advocates and attorneys are committed to a city where everyone has the rights at home to live in peace and safety.
We encourage all tenants, including immigrant tenants, to learn their rights and help others get trusted information. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact the Asian Law Caucus at (415) 896-1701 or using our contact form.
Photo Credit: Joseph Smooke
Protecting Your Tenant Rights
When tenants assert their rights, they are protecting themselves, their families, and other tenants like them. At times, landlords or management corporations may make you feel like you are in trouble for defending your rights, but that’s never true. Organizations like the Asian Law Caucus, Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco, and Eviction Defense Collaborative have your backs.
Always ask for repairs in writing.
- When asking for repairs, always ask in writing. You can email, text, or send a letter. If you send a letter, take a picture of the letter before sending it so that you have a copy.
Keep a file.
- Keep copies of your lease, repair requests, rent receipts, and other documents in a safe place.
Seek help early.
- If you receive papers from your landlord that you do not understand, seek help immediately. In California, the eviction process is very fast. If you do not seek help on time, you could lose your case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Rights Against Evictions
Can a landlord evict me because of my immigration status?
Unless you live in federally subsidized housing, no landlord in California can evict you because of your immigration status.
What are my other rights when it comes to evictions in California?
It is unlawful for landlords to change locks or shut off utilities in order to evict tenants. Landlords can only evict tenants through the legal process. If they try to avoid following the law, they are engaging in illegal "self-help" by taking matters into their own hands. If your landlord threatens to do this, do not move. Seek legal help.
All landlords must provide safe and habitable housing. For example, you are entitled to heat, working plumbing, sufficient weatherproofing, and your home should be free of rats or mice. If you are experiencing any of this, seek legal help by calling the Asian Law Caucus at (415) 896-1701 or other tenant-serving organizations.
Rights Against Retaliation
Can my landlord retaliate against me for standing up for my rights?
It is unlawful for your landlord to retaliate against you for exercising your rights including:
- Asking for repairs
- Filing a complaint to a public agency
- Participating in a tenant association
- Refusing to disclose information about your immigration status
Retaliation can look like:
- Threatening to or trying to evict
- Threatening to or trying to raise rent
- Refusing to do repairs
- Removing/reducing services
- Threatening to disclose immigration status
- Threatening to report your family or friends to immigration authorities
Retaliation is unlawful. If your landlord is retaliating against you, you have rights. Seek legal help.
Interactions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Can ICE enter my home?
ICE may only enter your home if you consent OR they have a warrant signed by a judge.
Usually, ICE agents do not have a warrant signed by a judge but rather have a warrant signed by an ICE officer. You can ask ICE to slide any documents they have under the door. However, it can be hard to tell if ICE has a proper warrant.
Unless you can confirm that ICE has a warrant signed by a judge, the best course of action is to keep the door shut.
It is important that everyone in your household knows not to open the door for ICE. If anyone opens the door, ICE will treat this as having permission to enter.
What if ICE comes to my home?
Do not open the door at all (not even a crack) and do not consent to entry.
Be sure to keep the door shut and call your local rapid response hotline. In San Francisco, that number is (415) 200-1548.
You can ask the ICE agent to slip any document they have under the door. But if this is not an option, just keep the door shut.
You can print out cards to tell ICE that they do not have permission to enter and that you do not wish to speak to them.
Important: Even if you do end up talking to ICE (in your home or elsewhere), you always have the right to remain silent. You can say: “I do not want to answer any questions.”
Can my landlord let ICE inside my home?
No. Your landlord cannot lawfully give ICE access to your home unless you live with your landlord.
Resources
Shareable infographics on California immigrant tenants' rights in English, 中文, Tiếng Việt.
Brochure: Tenant Rights for Undocumented Californians (English, 简体中文, Español, Tagalog, Tiếng Việt)
Brochure: Know Your Rights: Sharing Information about Immigration Status in HUD Housing Programs from National Housing Law Project.
