Legal Question in Immigration Law in California

Re: Renting to Illegal Immigrants

You would have to check whether California law would consider that a prelude question to discrimination, but I doubt it. What may be illegal is if the legal status of a potential tenant is used against him or her to discriminate in renting. Check with your local housing authority and see if a landlord can do that? Good luck.

Re: Renting to Illegal Immigrants

In some places, it's mandated that tenants hold legal status - in Pennsylvania, but that law has been successfully challenged and I believe on appeal.

You need to contact a landlord tenant attorney, not an immigration lawyer to confirm, but I don't believe there is a statute anywhere in California that requires legal residence to rent to a tenant. That doesn't mean landlords can't use legal means to discriminate certain tenants from others. For that though, whether based on immigration status or otherwise, you need to consult a landlord tenant lawyer.