Agreed, my experience is CA-specific (though it also appears to be true in some other metros like Boston). The thing I was surprised about is that it's pretty normal for specifics in leases to not be legally enforceable, if not outright illegal.

Normally I'd have had a cordial discussion with my landlord, but in this case the landlord was a giant corporate REIT whose boilerplate lease was largely unenforceable (no doubt they know this, and have figured out that people assume leases are legally binding regardless of the terms).