Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: Illegal Alien tenent rights

He has the same rights as a U.S. citizen when it comes to rental housing. The Fair Housing Act and California laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of national origin. A landlord cannot require proof of citizenship nor of a legal right to be in this country.

A separate question is whether a landlord can require an applicant for an apartment to show a valid social security card. The landlord has a legitimate business interest in checking the credit of a prospective tenant. Normally, credit reports are identified by the applicant's social security number. If there is no number, it may be hard to verify creditworthiness.

If someone cannot show a valid social security number, I suggest he try to show creditworthiness some other way. He could have a friend or relative with good credit guarantee the lease. However, many landlords will not accept guarantees because they can be hard to enforce.

In sum, if your friend is already living in an apartment, the landlord cannot discriminate against him. If he is now applying as a prospective tenant, the landlord may be able to require him to show a social security card or produce other evidence of good credit.