Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

1. No. A certificate of occupancy is only issued at the time a building is completed and establishes that all permits for construction have been signed off and the building is ready for occupancy. After that it is irrelevant. 2. You can ask for anything you want. Unless the current owner built the building, however, they probably don't even have it, and in any case they certainly are not obligated to give it to you. If a prospective tenant asked me for the certificate of occupancy on one of my rentals, I'd immediately flag them as a litigious lawyer wannabe and trouble maker, who doesn't even understand basic legal principles but is sure they do, and I most certainly would not rent to them.