AB 1482: Rent Caps, Notice Rules, and Exemptions

AB 1482, the California Tenant Protection Act of 2019, caps how much your landlord can raise the rent each year and requires a valid, stated reason before ending a tenancy once you have lived in the unit at least 12 months. It took effect January 1, 2020, and applies to most residential rentals in the state, though several categories of housing are exempt. Since April 1, 2024, SB 567 has added real penalties when landlords break these rules.¹

How Much Your Rent Can Go Up in a Year

Under Civil Code Section 1947.12, your landlord cannot raise the rent by more than the lower of two figures in any 12-month period: 5% plus the local change in the Consumer Price Index, or 10% of the lowest rent charged during the prior 12 months.¹ “Whichever is lower” matters. If local CPI grew 3%, your rent can go up 8%. When inflation runs hotter, the 10% ceiling kicks in.

The baseline is the lowest gross monthly rent you were charged at any point in the prior 12 months. Move-in discounts, concessions, and credits are excluded, so a temporary special does not shrink the number your landlord must use. Your lease has to list gross rent and any owner-offered discounts separately.¹

Two increases in a 12-month window are the maximum, and the combined total still has to fit under the annual cap.¹

The CPI the law uses is the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, measured April 1 to April 1. California has regional figures for the Riverside, San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco metro areas. Outside those regions, landlords use the statewide California CPI from the Department of Industrial Relations.¹

One caveat catches long-time tenants off guard. The cap only limits increases during an existing tenancy. When a unit fully turns over, the landlord can set the next tenant’s starting rent at market. Subsequent increases on that new tenancy are then capped normally.¹

Notice You Must Receive Before an Increase

A phone call, text, or email is not enough. Your landlord has to serve formal written notice before any increase takes effect.² Under Civil Code Section 827, the lead time depends on the size of the increase:

10% or less: at least 30 days’ written notice.
More than 10%: at least 90 days’ written notice.

The 10% figure is cumulative over the past 12 months, not a single-increase test. If your rent went up 6% four months ago and the landlord now proposes another 5%, the combined 11% means the 90-day notice applies.³

When Your Landlord Needs a Reason to Evict You

Once you have lived in the unit continuously for 12 months, Civil Code Section 1946.2 forbids your landlord from ending the tenancy without a valid reason, and that reason has to be stated in the written termination notice. The law splits valid reasons into at-fault causes (tenant did something wrong) and no-fault causes (landlord has a legitimate need unrelated to your behavior).⁴

If you added a new adult to your lease before you had lived in the unit for 24 months, just cause protection kicks in once either all tenants have been there at least 12 months or at least one tenant has been there 24 months.⁴

At-Fault Reasons

Nonpayment of rent after it becomes due.
Breaching a material lease term after written notice to correct it.
Nuisance or waste (ongoing disturbances or damage to the property).
Criminal activity on the property, or criminal threats directed at the landlord or their agents.
Assigning or subletting in violation of the lease.
Refusing lawful entry when the landlord has a legal right to access the unit.
Declining to sign a new lease on similar terms after a written request, when the existing lease has expired.
Using the property for illegal purposes.

For most at-fault grounds, the landlord has to give you written notice and a chance to fix the problem before moving toward eviction.⁴

No-Fault Reasons

Owner or immediate family member intends to occupy the unit as a primary residence.
Landlord plans to permanently withdraw the unit from the rental market.
A government agency or court has ordered the unit vacated for health and safety reasons.
The landlord intends to demolish the building or undertake a substantial remodel that requires you out for at least 30 consecutive days.

Every no-fault eviction triggers a mandatory relocation payment, described below.⁴

What Actually Counts as a Substantial Remodel

The definition is deliberately narrow. A substantial remodel means either replacing or significantly modifying a structural, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical system in a way that requires a government permit, or abating hazardous materials such as lead paint, mold, or asbestos, with the work making it unsafe for you to remain for at least 30 consecutive days. Cosmetic work like painting, decorating, or minor repairs does not qualify, whatever the landlord calls it.⁴

Since SB 567 took effect on April 1, 2024, a landlord using this ground has to pull all required permits before serving the termination notice and give you copies. The notice also has to describe the planned work, its expected duration, and your right to re-rent at your prior rate if the remodel is never started or completed.⁴

Relocation Money and Return Rights for No-Fault Evictions

When the reason is no-fault, your landlord has to help with the cost of moving. The landlord picks one of two options:

A lump-sum payment equal to one month of the rent in effect when the notice was served, paid within 15 calendar days.
A written waiver of the entire final month’s rent before that rent is due, with the waived amount stated in the notice.

The obligation does not depend on your income, and the termination notice itself must inform you of this right.⁴

If the landlord fails to strictly comply with any part of this requirement, the termination notice is void and you do not have to leave.⁴ “Strictly” is doing real work there. A payment that arrives a day late, or a notice that omits the relocation information, is legally defective. If you receive a no-fault notice that leaves this out or arrives with no payment, do not assume you have to move.

SB 567 also added return rights. If a landlord evicts you for an owner or family move-in and then fails to move in within 90 days, or does not stay for at least 36 months, the landlord has to offer you the unit back at your previous rent and reimburse reasonable moving costs beyond any relocation assistance already paid. If a landlord withdraws a unit from the market but puts it back within five years, you have a right of first refusal to return on your prior terms.⁵

Rentals That Aren’t Covered

Several categories of housing sit outside AB 1482’s rent cap and just cause rules.

Buildings Under 15 Years Old

Housing that received its certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years is exempt. This is a rolling window: a building completed in 2010 became covered in 2025, and one completed in 2011 becomes covered in 2026.¹ The exemption does not extend to mobilehomes regardless of age.

Deed-Restricted Affordable Housing and Dormitories

Units restricted by deed or regulatory agreement to remain affordable for low- or moderate-income households are exempt, along with housing tied to government subsidy agreements with affordability requirements. Dormitories owned and operated by schools or higher-education institutions are also excluded.¹

Single-Family Homes and Condos (Only If Both Conditions Are Met)

A single-family home or condo that can be sold separately may qualify for exemption, but two conditions both have to be satisfied. First, the property cannot be owned by a real estate investment trust, a corporation, or an LLC that has a corporation as a member. An individual owner or an LLC made up only of individuals can qualify; a corporate landlord cannot.¹

Second, the owner has to give you a specific written notice stating that the property is not subject to AB 1482’s rent caps or eviction protections, citing the applicable code sections and confirming the ownership type. For any tenancy that began or was renewed on or after July 1, 2020, that notice has to appear in the rental agreement itself. For tenancies that existed before that date, the notice had to be delivered in writing by August 1, 2020.⁶ If the owner skipped the notice, the property is not exempt no matter what the ownership structure is. This is the most common way landlords lose their exemption by accident.

Owner-Occupied Duplexes

A two-unit property is exempt if the owner lives in one unit as their principal residence at the time the tenant’s tenancy begins and continues to live there. Timing matters. An owner who moves in while an existing tenant already occupies the other unit does not get the exemption for that tenancy. If the tenant later leaves and a new tenant moves in with the owner already in residence, the new tenancy does qualify.⁴

Units Under Stricter Local Rent Control

If your unit sits under a local rent control ordinance that limits annual increases to less than AB 1482’s cap, the state cap does not apply because the local rule is already more protective. The same is true for local just cause ordinances that go further than state law. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley all have such ordinances that predate AB 1482 and generally offer stronger protections. Where you live under one of those rules, the local ordinance governs. AB 1482 is a floor, not a ceiling.⁷

What You Can Do If Your Landlord Breaks the Rules

Before SB 567, the Tenant Protection Act told landlords what they could not do but gave tenants few statutory tools to push back. That gap is now largely closed.

If your landlord charges more than the maximum rent allowed under Section 1947.12, you can sue to recover the full amount by which your rent exceeded the legal limit, plus attorney fees and costs at the court’s discretion, plus an injunction against the illegal charges with a presumption of irreparable harm. If the landlord acted willfully or with fraud or malice, damages can be tripled. The statute of limitations for rent overcharge claims is three years from the violation. The California Attorney General and local city attorneys or county counsel also have independent authority to enforce the cap.¹

A landlord who tries to recover possession in material violation of Section 1946.2 faces a parallel set of consequences. You can sue for actual damages, and the court may award reasonable attorney fees. Willful conduct or fraud or malice can trigger triple damages, and the court may award punitive damages on top of that.⁴ Actual damages in wrongful eviction cases often include moving expenses, the difference between your old rent and your new housing, time spent finding replacement housing, and lost wages.

The fee-shifting piece changes the practical picture. A prevailing tenant can recover legal costs, which gives attorneys reason to take these cases and makes enforcement real rather than theoretical.⁵

1
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1947.12
2
State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Know Your Rights – Tenants
3
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 827
4
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1946.2
5
California State Senate. SB 567 (Durazo) Analysis
6
Berkeley Rent Board. AB 1482 – The California Tenant Protection Act of 2019
7
SF.gov. The California Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482)