Sexual assault on someone else's propertyYou often have 10 years, not two.

Law checked: November 11, 2026 (Code of Civil Procedure section 340.16, as updated January 1, 2026).

This page is for survivors who were 18 or older when the assault happened, whether at a hotel, an apartment, a store, bar, gym or other business, or by a guard or employee working there. If the assault happened before the survivor turned 18, different rules apply (Code of Civil Procedure section 340.1), and our school sexual abuse page explains them.

The filing period

Most California injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the injury (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1). Some claims have more time. For a sexual assault that happened when the survivor was 18 or older, the lawsuit period is the later of 10 years from the last act or three years from when the survivor discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the injury (section 340.16). A child's own injury claim against a private owner generally does not run while the child is under 18 (section 352). The dates in any one case should be calculated by a lawyer.

Our negligent security deadlines guide lists every other deadline in these cases, and the deadline calculator counts the general two years.

The statute's own words

In any civil action for recovery of damages suffered as a result of sexual assault, where the assault occurred on or after the plaintiff's 18th birthday, the time for commencement of the action shall be the later of the following: (1) Within 10 years from the date of the last act, attempted act, or assault with the intent to commit an act, of sexual assault against the plaintiff. (2) Within three years from the date the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered that an injury or illness resulted from an act, attempted act, or assault with the intent to commit an act, of sexual assault against the plaintiff.

Code of Civil Procedure section 340.16(a)

Under section 340.16(a), the 10 years count from "the date of the last act," so where there was more than one act, the clock starts at the last one. The three years count from when the survivor discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, that an injury or illness resulted from the assault. Whichever date is later controls.

Claims against owners and businesses

The longer period in Code of Civil Procedure section 340.16 is not limited to the attacker. Section 340.16(b)(2) says it "does not limit the availability of causes of action permitted under subdivision (a), including causes of action against persons or entities other than the alleged person who committed the crime." So the same period can apply to a claim against a hotel, a landlord, a property manager, a security company or another business whose negligence made the assault possible. "Sexual assault" here means the crimes listed in Penal Code sections 243.4, 261, 264.1, 286, 287 and 289 and two former sections, assault with intent to commit them, and attempts (section 340.16(b)(1)).

No criminal case required

A civil claim for sexual assault under Code of Civil Procedure section 340.16 does not depend on a criminal case. Section 340.16(b)(2) says "it is not necessary that a criminal prosecution or other proceeding have been brought as a result of the sexual assault," and, if one was brought, it does not have to end in a conviction. A survivor whose report led to no charges still has the civil period. The civil deadline does not pause for a pending criminal case. Our guide to the criminal case, CalVCB and your civil claim explains how.

Revival windows with dates

Code of Civil Procedure section 340.16(b)(3) revived claims based on a sexual assault that happened on or after January 1, 2009, when the survivor was an adult, that had been barred only because the time limit ran out. Under the statute, those revived claims "may be commenced until December 31, 2026." A second window, in section 340.16(e), runs from January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2027. It revives adult sexual assault claims that were barred before January 1, 2026 because the time limit ran out, against an entity that "engaged in a cover up or attempted a cover up of a previous instance or allegations of sexual assault" by the same perpetrator, and against the perpetrator. The second window does not revive a claim against a public entity (section 340.16(e)(7)(C)), and a claim against a public entity also requires a written government claim, generally within six months (Government Code section 911.2). These dates were checked against the statute on November 11, 2026; whether a particular claim qualifies is a question for a lawyer.

Status of each window

As of November 11, 2026, the date this page was checked, the window in Code of Civil Procedure section 340.16(b)(3) is open until December 31, 2026. After December 31, 2026, the section 340.16(b)(3) window is closed, and the 10-year and three-year periods in section 340.16(a) still apply. Neither window revives a claim that was litigated to finality or settled in a written agreement before the date the statute names: January 1, 2023 for the first window and January 1, 2026 for the second.

Cover up claims

The second window, in Code of Civil Procedure section 340.16(e), reaches an entity only where the survivor alleges that it took part in a cover up. The statute defines a cover up as "a concerted effort to hide evidence relating to a sexual assault that incentivizes individuals to remain silent or prevents information relating to a sexual assault from becoming public or being disclosed to the plaintiff, including, but not limited to, the use of nondisclosure agreements or confidentiality agreements" (section 340.16(e)(5)(A)). An "entity" there is a business or other private legal entity, "other than a public entity" (section 340.16(e)(5)(B)).

Public property claims

The 10-year period does not remove the claim step for a public entity. If a city, a county, the State, a school district, a transit agency or another public entity may be responsible, a written claim must first be presented to that entity within six months after the claim accrues (Government Code section 911.2). The lawsuit against the entity then has its own deadline: six months after a written rejection notice is delivered or mailed, or two years from the date the claim accrued if no written notice is given (Government Code section 945.6). Government Code section 905(m) exempts childhood sexual assault claims from the claim step, but it has no exemption for an assault on an adult. If the six months pass, a late claim application may be made within one year under Government Code section 911.4, and it is not granted automatically.

Owner and business responsibility

California's jury instruction on crime on property, CACI No. 1005 (2026 edition), says that a landlord or the owner of a business open to the public "must use reasonable care to protect" tenants, guests or patrons "from another person's criminal conduct on" the property "if the [owner/landlord] can reasonably anticipate that conduct." Whether that duty exists is decided by the judge; whether the steps the owner took were "adequate and reasonable under the circumstances" is decided by the jury.

The instruction is in the Judicial Council's 2026 civil jury instructions. In a sexual assault case, the questions are usually who controlled the keys and doors, what the owner knew before the assault, and who it put in a position of trust. Our premises liability page covers general property law, and the negligent security page covers this duty in every setting.

Key control and locks

Key control means who can open a door: hotel room keys and key cards, master keys held by staff, apartment keys and fobs, and the locks on lobby and garage doors. Hotels have traditionally owed their guests protection. In O'Hara v. Western Seven Trees Corp. (1977), the Court of Appeal noted that "an innkeeper was under a duty to protect his guests." For rental housing, Civil Code section 1941.3 requires an operable dead bolt on each main entry door of a unit, working window locks, and locking mechanisms on exterior doors to common areas. A lock the owner knew was broken is strong evidence, though the survivor must still show it mattered. Our guide to hotel and motel assaults goes further.

Earlier incidents and warnings

What the owner knew before the assault usually decides how much it had to do. In Ann M. v. Pacific Plaza Shopping Center (1993), a case about a rape at a shopping center, the California Supreme Court held that the foreseeability needed to require security guards "rarely, if ever, can be proven in the absence of prior similar incidents of violent crime on the landowner's premises." Cheaper steps need less. In Kwaitkowski v. Superior Trading Co. (1981), a tenant raped in a dimly lit lobby with a broken front door lock could go forward with her claim after an earlier attack on another tenant and tenant complaints. The court said "a properly functioning front door lock is a vital first line of defense."

Hidden dangers and false assurances

An owner that knows of a specific danger and hides it can be responsible for that silence. In O'Hara v. Western Seven Trees Corp. (1977), the owners of an apartment complex knew that a man had raped several tenants. They told a new tenant the premises were safe and patrolled by guards, did not warn her, and she was raped by the same man. The Court of Appeal allowed her claims to go forward, explaining that liability for failing to warn rested on the owners' "position of superior knowledge" and "alleged misrepresentations," not only on their control of common areas. Written promises of guards, gates or patrols, and what the owner knew when it made them, are worth keeping.

Employees and security guards

An owner or business can also be responsible for the people it puts in a position of trust. In Hawkins v. Wilton (2006), the Court of Appeal said the employer of a security guard may be liable for the guard's assaults if it negligently hired the guard or negligently placed him in a position to commit foreseeable harmful acts. A security company that undertakes to protect a property can be liable for failing to use reasonable care in doing it, a theory called negligent undertaking (CACI No. 450C). Whether an employer is also responsible simply because it employed the attacker, called vicarious liability, depends on whether the act fell within the scope of the job, and a lawyer must review that question on the facts of each case. Our guide to security guard and security company liability covers guards in detail.

Evidence that fades

Some evidence of what an owner knew can disappear. Private camera systems keep footage only as long as the owner's settings allow, and no California law makes a private owner keep it. Key card, fob and door logs can show whether a door was locked, propped open or failed, and whether a card that should have been turned off still worked; they too are kept only as long as the system is set to keep them. A written request to keep these records goes to the owner, the manager and any vendor early. Our negligent security evidence checklist lists what to ask for. A survivor should not contact the attacker or the property to collect any of it.

A confidential first contact

The form on this page asks for a name you choose, a phone number or an email, and whether and when it is safe to call. Everything else on it is optional, and it has no box for describing what happened. Nothing has to be described to ask a question about dates, privacy or cost. Contacting Wise Law does not start a lawsuit and does not notify the property, the attacker or anyone else; nothing is filed and no one is contacted until the survivor decides.

Using a pseudonym in court

A survivor who files a lawsuit may be able to use a pseudonym such as Jane Doe, but only where a court allows it. In Department of Fair Employment and Housing v. Superior Court (2022), the Court of Appeal held that before a party may use a pseudonym, "the trial court must conduct a hearing and apply the overriding interest test." A participant in the Secretary of State's Safe at Home confidential address program may proceed as Jane Doe or John Doe under Code of Civil Procedure section 367.3. Safe at Home can be reached at (877) 322-5227. A lawyer raises the question before anything is filed, and no one can promise the answer.

Support lines and services

Help from a crisis line does not depend on a lawyer or a lawsuit. The National Sexual Assault Hotline, 800-656-4673, answers 24 hours a day, as listed by the Los Angeles County Office of Violence Prevention. Peace Over Violence runs a 24/7 rape and battering hotline for Los Angeles in English, Spanish and American Sign Language, at 213-626-3393, 310-392-8381 or 626-793-3385. The California Victim Compensation Board can pay some costs after a crime, including mental health treatment or counseling, and it must be repaid from a later recovery for the same expenses. None of these services is part of Wise Law.

Sources cited

• Code of Civil Procedure section 340.16 (updated January 1, 2026): california.public.law
• Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1: california.public.law
• Code of Civil Procedure section 352: california.public.law
• Code of Civil Procedure section 340.1: california.public.law
• Government Code section 911.2: california.public.law
• Government Code section 945.6: california.public.law
• Government Code section 905: california.public.law
• Government Code section 911.4: california.public.law
• Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI), 2026 edition, Nos. 450C and 1005: courts.ca.gov
• Civil Code section 1941.3: california.public.law
• Ann M. v. Pacific Plaza Shopping Center (1993) 6 Cal.4th 666: CourtListener
• Kwaitkowski v. Superior Trading Co. (1981) 123 Cal.App.3d 324: CourtListener
• O'Hara v. Western Seven Trees Corp. (1977) 75 Cal.App.3d 798: CourtListener
• Hawkins v. Wilton (2006) 144 Cal.App.4th 936: CourtListener
• Department of Fair Employment and Housing v. Superior Court (Cal. Ct. App., Sixth Dist., Aug. 5, 2022, No. H048962): CourtListener
• Code of Civil Procedure section 367.3: california.public.law
• California Secretary of State, Safe at Home: sos.ca.gov
• Los Angeles County Office of Violence Prevention, 24 hour crisis hotlines: publichealth.lacounty.gov
• Peace Over Violence: peaceoverviolence.org
• California Victim Compensation Board, what is covered: victims.ca.gov
• California Victim Compensation Board, responsibility for repayment: victims.ca.gov