As a landlord attorney serving property owners throughout Riverside County, I need to alert you to a significant change in California eviction law. Assembly Bill 246—the Social Security Tenant Protection Act of 2025—was signed into law on October 6, 2025, and it creates new procedural hurdles for nonpayment evictions that property owners must understand.
Why California Passed This Law
The legislature has once again expanded tenant protections, this time focusing on renters who receive Social Security benefits. The stated rationale is that seniors and disabled individuals shouldn’t lose their housing when federal payment systems experience delays or disruptions. AB 246 joined several other tenant-focused bills signed in 2025, continuing the trend of additional restrictions on landlord remedies.
What AB 246 Does to Your Eviction Rights
This statute adds Section 1946.3 to California’s Civil Code, creating an affirmative defense that tenants can raise in unlawful detainer proceedings. Here’s what landlords need to know:
If a tenant claims their rent default resulted from a Social Security payment interruption caused by federal action or inaction, and they properly assert this defense in their Answer, the court must stay your eviction case. This means your case gets put on hold—you cannot proceed to trial or obtain possession while the stay is in effect.
Critically, the tenant must file this defense in their formal court response. Informal communications to you or your attorney don’t trigger the protection. The tenant bears the burden of providing adequate evidence linking the benefit interruption to their rent default.
The Financial Reality for Landlords
Make no mistake: this law does not forgive rent. Tenants still owe every dollar of back rent. However, once their Social Security payments resume, they get 14 days to either pay in full or convince you to accept a payment plan. If they do either, the court must dismiss or set aside your eviction action.
This creates a practical problem: your property sits in limbo during federal payment delays, you continue to accrue unpaid rent, and you have no certainty about when (or if) you’ll regain possession or receive payment. The law puts the risk of federal administrative failures squarely on property owners.
Compliance Timeline
Property owners should be aware that this law operates until January 20, 2029. California courts have until January 1, 2027, to update their forms and procedures, which means we’ll be dealing with evolving implementation over the next year.
How This Affects Your Operations
From a property management standpoint, AB 246 introduces several complications:
First, you’ll need to screen tenant responses more carefully to identify when this defense is being raised. Second, your timeline for regaining possession becomes unpredictable when Social Security interruptions occur. Third, you may face pressure to negotiate payment plans for rent that’s legitimately owed—plans that could extend for months depending on the arrears amount.
Landlord associations opposed this bill precisely because it adds complexity to an already cumbersome eviction process and creates uncertainty in rental housing operations. While tenant advocates celebrated the legislation, property owners must now navigate another layer of procedural requirements.
Protecting Your Interests
If you’re facing an eviction where the tenant raises an AB 246 defense, here’s what I recommend:
- Verify the defense is properly raised – Ensure the tenant filed it in their formal Answer with supporting documentation, not just mentioned it informally
- Scrutinize the evidence – The tenant must prove the Social Security interruption and its direct connection to the rent default. Inadequate proof should be challenged
- Document everything – Keep detailed records of all rent owed, payment history, and communications about the default
- Prepare for negotiation – If the tenant’s benefits resume and they request a payment plan, have clear terms ready that protect your financial interests
- Don’t accept verbal promises – Any payment arrangement should be in writing with specific dates, amounts, and consequences for default
Looking Ahead
As this law takes effect and cases begin appearing in Riverside County courts, we’ll learn more about how judges interpret and apply these provisions. Property owners should expect tenants’ attorneys to aggressively use this defense, particularly during any periods of federal budget uncertainty or Social Security administrative delays.
The fundamental challenge is that AB 246 makes landlords absorb the risk of federal payment system failures. When the government delays or interrupts benefits, it’s property owners who lose rent, face delayed possession, and must either accept payment plans or risk case dismissal.
If you’re pursuing an unlawful detainer action and encounter this defense—or if you’re planning eviction proceedings against a tenant who receives Social Security benefits—contact our office immediately. Proper handling of AB 246 defenses requires careful attention to procedural requirements and strategic decision-making to protect your property rights.
We’ll continue monitoring how California courts implement this statute and will update our clients as case law develops. In the meantime, update your unlawful detainer procedures to account for this new defense and be prepared for potential delays in nonpayment cases involving Social Security recipients.
