When Gov. Gavin Newsom of California signed a new state law requiring this in October When landlords began providing their tenants with a working stove and refrigerator starting January 1, 2026, it marked the end of a bizarre rite of passage for many moving to Los Angeles.
Unlike most of the country or even many other cities in California, tenants in Los Angeles are often responsible for purchasing and installing their own refrigerators—and removing them when they leave.
This has led to a robust network of used appliance stores, Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace ads, undercover barter deals between incoming and outgoing tenants, landlords renting refrigerators by the month, and Reddit queries like “Quick question: Aren't LA apartments equipped with refrigerators?!!” led.
There's a long-standing joke that many Angelenos own their refrigerators but don't own their own homes.
“It's strange,” said Greg Estrada, a sales representative at The Appliance & Mattress Depot in Santa Ana, south of Los Angeles County.
“Shocked” is the word Alex Buckley used. Mr. Buckley, 24, came to Los Angeles from Boston in 2024 to take a job as a production assistant. Then he went shopping with his sister, who helped him move in.
“She was holding a jug of milk,” Mr. Buckley said, “and she said, 'Where's your fridge?' I thought, right? Where’s the fridge?”
With a pile of flesh warming on the floor, He jumped in the car, went to the nearest hardware store and bought the cheapest “real” refrigerator he could find, Mr. Buckley said.
The model he ended up with was only 5 feet tall, but still cost about $200, more than he could afford after depleting his savings while moving. After cramming the refrigerator into his small SUV, he pushed it up the two flights of stairs.
“It was maybe a foot and a half wide inside,” Mr. Buckley said, “and the freezer could fit about two pints of ice cream. If there had been two of us in the apartment, it wouldn't have been big enough.”
Antonio Liranzo, 34, also quickly got to know the appliance shelves at Home Depot after moving into a new apartment in July. Mr. Liranzo, a singer-songwriter, moved from New York City to Los Angeles four years ago, but his first tenant had provided the equipment.
The real estate agent who showed him said, “And it comes with a refrigerator!” said Mr. Liranzo. “It wasn’t registered at the time.”
There was also a refrigerator in his second apartment, but the previous tenant had left it behind. The day after he moved in, it stopped cooling, Mr. Liranzo said.
He didn't want to take a risk and buy another used model, but didn't know how to buy a new one. “As it happens, I went to Amazon first,” Mr. Liranzo said, “then I asked my mother.”
He ended up paying around $900 for the 16.6 cubic foot model after delivery and installation.
“In California, they are considered a luxury, not a necessity,” said Mr. Liranzo, who complained on his social media accounts just months before the law passed.
Larry Gross, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival, a tenants' rights organization, said Mr. Liranzo was among the lucky ones.
Mr. Gross said research has shown that for many people in Los Angeles, rent already accounts for 50 percent of their income and some renters go without refrigerators at all. Others buy very old or broken models, he said, which can cost the renter even more in the long run if they spend more money on takeout, replacing spoiled food or the extra power usage of an inefficient older machine.
Even high-quality, affordable used models cost several hundred dollars. Marsha Stonecipher, whose family has operated Savon Appliance in nearby Burbank for 45 years, said the store specializes in refurbished models of all vintages. She has sold many basic refrigerators with top freezers for around $350.
When Violet Hopkins moved from Brooklyn to the Glendale neighborhood of Los Angeles 25 years ago, she was lucky enough to find a spacious beige refrigerator for free from a woman her brother knew.
Still, it had its price.
The woman held 52-year-old Ms Hopkins for an hour and a half before releasing the fridge. She showed off her art collection, inquired about Ms. Hopkins' religious beliefs, cooed at an old pet rabbit, and even showered after the rabbit urinated on her lap.
It was worth it, Ms. Hopkins said. “I had this fridge for a long time.”