Free California DRE Guide vs Hexloom California Landlord Guide
The free California DRE guide is official, updated every year and heavily footnoted, and for a landlord who only needs the rules it may be all you need. We say that first. This page shows what it offers, what ours adds, and when to skip ours.
What the DRE guide is
The California Tenants guide, 2026 Edition (Rev. 1/1/26), is published at dre.ca.gov (the file we read). It runs about 156 pages and is free. It is updated annually, has a section titled “New California Laws for 2026”, and carries 291 footnoted “Civ. Code” citations.
It also covers the deposit cap. The guide says “As of July 1, 2024... no more than one month’s rent”, footnoted to Civ. Code § 1950.5(c)(1). That is a rule landlords commonly need, and you get it, cited, at no cost.
Side by side
| California DRE guide | Hexloom California guide | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Free official guide published at dre.ca.gov, about 156 pages | Landlord-only web guide for self-managing owners of 1-4 units, 2026 edition |
| Price | Free | $29 one-time |
| Formats | A PDF at the linked address | Web guide delivered right after checkout, no account, no PDF promised |
| Covers which states | California | California (each other state is a separate guide) |
| Statute citations | 291 footnoted Civ. Code citations | Every rule cited to the Cal. Civil Code |
| Date or updates statement | 2026 Edition (Rev. 1/1/26); updated annually; a “New California Laws for 2026” section | 2026 edition; states the date it was last checked against the statute text |
| Includes forms | Not stated on the page we read | Ready-to-copy notices and checklists |
| What it will not do | Not stated on the page we read | Does not generate leases or forms-to-sign; not legal advice; no substitute for a landlord-tenant attorney in a dispute or eviction |
Where they are better
- Price. Free beats $29 for a landlord who is happy to read the rules.
- Official source. It is an official publication at dre.ca.gov; ours is a private publication.
- Annual updates. The 2026 Edition is dated Rev. 1/1/26 and has a dedicated section on the new laws for 2026.
- Citation volume. 291 footnotes can be checked by anyone who opens the file. Both guides cite the Civil Code; we do not claim ours cites more.
If you are comfortable reading about 156 pages and picking out the parts that matter to an owner, you may not need to buy anything.
Where we are better
- Landlord-only framing. Ours is written only from the owner’s side, for self-managing owners of 1-4 units.
- Rule-by-rule checklists and notices. Ours is organised as checklists plus ready-to-copy notices, one rule at a time.
- A stated check date. Each guide says when it was last checked against the statute text.
These are differences of framing and format, not of legal authority. Both are informational, and neither is legal advice.
Which should you buy?
- Use the free guide alone if you only need the rules, you are comfortable with a long official document, and you do not need our checklists and notices.
- Buy ours if you would rather have a landlord-only guide with checklists and notices you can copy, with a stated check date.
- Do both if you want the official text open next to a working checklist.
Download the free file first; it costs nothing and shows you how much of what you need is already in it. Our guide does not generate leases or forms-to-sign, and neither it nor the free guide replaces a landlord-tenant attorney in a dispute or an eviction.
Facts about other products were taken from the pages linked above on 5 October 2026; check them before you buy.
Sources
The guides:
Informational only, not legal advice. Hexloom Labs sells one of the products compared on this page; we have tried to be fair and corrections are welcome through the support page.