California Civil Code 1942.5 creates a legal presumption of retaliation when a landlord serves an eviction notice or raises rent within 180 days of a protected tenant activity. Your landlord must prove it wasn’t retaliation — not the other way around.
Protected Activities
- Requesting repairs or reporting habitability conditions
- Contacting a government agency (building department, health department)
- Organizing or joining a tenant union
- Exercising any legal right as a tenant
The Presumption
Eviction notice or rent increase within 180 days of a protected activity = retaliation presumed by law. The burden shifts to your landlord to disprove it.
Retaliation is also an independent damages claim under Civil Code 1942.5(h) — actual damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees.
Section 12 covers the full retaliation defense with the Claude AI prompt to build your timeline.
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