Tired of scouring Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace for a decently used refrigerator because your new apartment didn’t come with one?

This headache could become a thing of the past with a new bill in the California Legislature that, if approved, would require landlords to provide refrigerators and stoves in their rentals.

Why are some rentals listed without a refrigerator?

The simple answer is landlords don’t have to provide a refrigerator.

Existing California law requires any building with a dwelling unit to maintain “certain characteristics in order to be tenantable,” which includes maintenance of adequate heating and hot water systems.

Even though cooking and storing food might seem like a necessity in order to live in any kind of housing situation, legally the appliances are categorized as amenities.

The number of Californians who have entered new leases without such luxuries is far greater than any other state, according to a Times analysis in 2022.

Research showed that Los Angeles and Orange counties “offered the fewest number of apartments with refrigerators among nearly two dozen large metropolitan areas nationwide.”

Why is the lack of a fridge such a pain?

It’s the added cost of purchasing the appliance.

The average monthly rent in the city of Los Angeles is $2,347, higher than the national average of $1,995, according to Zillow.

But the highest average rent in the surrounding area is $4,500, in Ladera Heights.

When entering a lease, you’re providing the landlord with the first month’s rent and a security deposit. If a refrigerator isn’t provided, you’re looking at spending on either a new appliance or searching online for a used one.

Product analysts say the average price of a new refrigerator is between $600 and $2,300, the basic one is between $200 and $600 and the high-end one is between $2,300 and $5,000.

If you’re in the market for a used refrigerator, the cheapest listing The Times found on Facebook Marketplace is $25 for a two-door Whirlpool. The seller described it as not “looking so good on the outside but perfect for a garage or even outside.”

What Assembly Bill 628 would do

When Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Hawthorne), whose 61st District covers communities from Inglewood to Marina del Rey, introduced Assembly Bill 628, she realized refrigerators and stoves were legally labeled as amenities. She decided to make it a necessity with the new bill.

The bill, if passed, would add a stove and refrigerator in good working condition and capable of safely generating heat for cooking and storing food, respectively, as a requirement of landlords starting Jan. 1, 2026.

McKinnor said she has regular town halls with her communities and the main topics of concern she’s heard from constituents are affording rent, rising grocery prices and everyday bills.

“We know that people are really struggling out there with the high cost of food, gas, household goods, and on top of that, lots of people spend more than half their income on rent,” she said.

She wants renters to have one less payment to think about when entering a new lease.

If the bill is approved, a landlord “cannot have you in a rental without a refrigerator just like they can’t have you in there without hot running water or a heater” starting next year, McKinnor said.

There are some rentals that come with the appliance, but McKinnor wants everyone to have the much-needed item.

Who will be in charge of the appliance if it breaks down?

Similar to a heater in need of repair or replacement, McKinnor said the landlord will be in charge of fixing or replacing a refrigerator.

Will making an appliance a requirement up rental prices?

In the city of L.A., landlords can increase the rent once every 12 months by the allowable rent increase percentage required by the Rent Stabilization Ordinance.

Rentals that are not subject to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance include:

• Single family homes
• Affordable housing or luxury housing units exempted by the Los Angeles Housing Department
• A rental built after Oct. 1, 1978
• A converted commercial building that converted to rental units after Oct. 1, 1978

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California teens could be banned from riding in the front seat of a car.

Last week, Assemblymember Lori Wilson’s car seat bill passed its first committee in Sacramento.

It would require all children younger than 10 years old and shorter kids under 13 to sit on a booster seat. Kids under 13 would be prohibited from sitting in the front seat. Teens up to 16 years old would also be banned from riding shotgun unless they meet the height requirements.

Jennifer Rubin, coordinator with Safe Kids Greater Sacramento is a supporter.

“The national recommendations have been updated for awhile, in states like Louisiana, Minnesota, already have a law similar to this,” Rubin said.

Right now, kids in California must stay in the backseat in their car seat or booster seat until they turn 8 years old or are 4 foot 9 inches or taller.

MORE: New 1st-in-the-nation CA legislation aims at phasing out ultra-processed foods in school meals

“Right now just giving the age of 8 misses a lot of kids that are not tall enough, or lanky enough to fit the seat belt just right,” Rubin said.

Benjamin Arias and his wife own Beep Beep Car Seat.

Arias is a certified expert when it comes to car seat inspections and installations. Together, they’ve checked over 30,000 belts throughout the Bay Area. Arias explains why car seats are not so much tied to age, but tied to belt fit.

“The belt is touching the strongest parts of the body that’s through the chest, and upper shoulders and upper hip- not on the neck, not on the tummy,” Arias said.

Through instruction and education he hopes to adults understand why moving to a seat belt too early is dangerous.

“When I was working at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, where a child came up to me and she had her glasses indented into her nose because that airbag deployed in her face and pushed her glasses in,” Arias said.

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Assemblymember Tom Lackey, who is a former CHP officer, expressed concerns about enforcing the bill.

“Having enforced traffic laws determining the age of children is very difficult to do when you have no verifying identification at that age level, so you’re going to have to trust the parents,” Lackey said.

Lackey said the bill is well intended.

Safety advocates say the main goal is to boost safety and reduce injuries in crashes.

“If that child had just been in their $25 or $30 booster seat, they could’ve skipped those lifelong, internal, or spinal cord injuries that will impact them for the rest of their lives,” Rubin said.

The car seat bill passed out of the assembly transportation committee and adjustments are still being made.

SACRAMENTO – A major piece of funding for the California State Library has been terminated, officials say.

The Library Services and Technology Act had awarded the California State Library $15.7 million for the 2024-25 fiscal year. On Thursday, state library officials revealed the Institute of Museum and Library Services informed them that – as of April 1 – the grant had been terminated.

Only about 21 percent of that funding had been received so far, state library officials say.

“We are deeply disappointed by this ill-informed decision, which immediately affects critical programs supported by these funds,” said Rebecca Wendt, California Deputy State Librarian, in a statement.

The funding was set to be used to help run programs and services by local libraries, one of the stated functions of the California State Library.

“The California State Library remains committed to serving all of the people of California and will explore alternative means to ensure continued access to essential library services,” Wendt stated. 

No reason was given for the funding cut. However, the revelation comes just days after the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services was impacted by massive job cuts.

As detailed by the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office, the California State Library is heavily reliant on state and federal funding – with nearly 25 percent of the library’s budget coming from federal funds.

The California State Library’s main building is in downtown Sacramento. A separate law library building is also located in Sacramento, and a smaller branch of the library is located in San Francisco.

While the California State Library’s collection includes more than 4 million titles, 6,000 maps, 250,000 photographs and other documents, most people can’t directly borrow materials from the collection. Instead, interested parties can rent materials through their local public library through an interlibrary loan.