California AB 1482: Rent Caps, Just Cause, and Exemptions

California Assembly Bill 1482, known as the Tenant Protection Act of 2019, limits how much a landlord can raise the rent each year and bars evictions of long-term tenants without a legally recognized reason. Signed in 2019 and effective January 1, 2020, the law is codified at California Civil Code Sections 1946.2 and 1947.12 and applies statewide, though several categories of housing are exempt. It is currently set to expire on January 1, 2030.

How Much Rent Can Go Up Each Year

For a covered unit, rent cannot rise by more than 5% plus the percentage change in the regional Consumer Price Index over any 12-month period, and the total increase can never exceed 10%, whichever figure is lower.¹

Two other limits travel with the cap. First, a landlord can raise the rent no more than twice in any 12-month period for the same tenant, and the two increases combined still cannot push past the annual ceiling. Second, the cap is measured against the lowest gross rent charged for the unit during the prior 12 months, so a temporary discount cannot be ignored when the next increase is calculated. Discounts, concessions, and credits have to be listed separately from the base rent in the lease; done that way, they do not drag the baseline down for future cap math.¹

The cap applies to increases during a tenancy. When a unit turns over and no tenant from the prior lease remains, the landlord can set any starting rent for the new tenant. The percentage limit only applies to increases that come after that initial rate is set.¹

Separate from the cap, Civil Code Section 827 sets the advance notice a landlord must give before any rent increase: at least 30 days in writing for increases of 10% or less over the prior 12 months, and at least 90 days for anything above 10%. For AB 1482 tenants the 90-day window rarely comes up, since the cap itself keeps most lawful increases under 10%.²

When Just Cause Is Required to Evict

Once a tenant has lived in a unit continuously and lawfully for at least 12 months, the landlord cannot end the tenancy without stating a legally valid reason in the written termination notice. The statute sorts those reasons into two categories: at-fault, where the tenant did something wrong, and no-fault, where the landlord has a legitimate reason unrelated to the tenant.³

At-fault grounds include failure to pay rent, breach of a material lease term, creating a nuisance or committing waste, criminal activity on the property or criminal threats against the owner or the owner’s agent, unauthorized subletting or assignment, refusing lawful entry for inspections or repairs, refusing to sign a renewal on substantially similar terms after the lease expires, and using the property for an illegal purpose.³

For curable violations like a lease breach, the landlord has to serve a notice first that gives the tenant a chance to fix the problem. Only if the tenant fails to cure can the landlord then serve a three-day notice to quit without a further opportunity to correct the issue.⁴ Skipping that step is one of the most common ways landlords lose eviction cases under this law.

No-fault grounds are narrower. They cover an intent by the owner, the owner’s spouse or domestic partner, children, grandchildren, parents, or grandparents to occupy the unit as a primary residence; permanent withdrawal of the unit from the rental market; a government or court order requiring the tenant to vacate; and substantial renovation that cannot be done safely while the unit is occupied.³

Relocation Payments and Owner Move-In Rules

Any no-fault eviction triggers relocation assistance for the tenant, regardless of income. The landlord must either make a direct payment equal to one month of the tenant’s current rent, provided within 15 calendar days after serving the termination notice, or waive the final month’s rent in writing.³

Owner move-in evictions carry additional strings as of April 1, 2024. The owner or qualifying family member has to actually move into the unit within 90 days after the tenant leaves and live there as a primary residence for at least 12 consecutive months. If that does not happen, the landlord must offer the unit back to the displaced tenant at the same rent and lease terms and reimburse reasonable moving expenses. Substantial-remodel evictions have parallel accountability: the termination notice must describe the planned work and include copies of any required permits, and if the remodel never starts or finishes, the tenant has to be offered the chance to return at the original rent.⁵

Which Properties Are Exempt

Not every California rental is covered. The main exemptions:

Housing that received a certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years. This is a rolling window, so a building that was exempt last year may be covered next year.¹
Single-family homes and condominiums, but only if the owner is not a real estate investment trust, a corporation, or an LLC that has a corporate member, and only if the lot has no more than one dwelling unit. A house with a converted garage apartment does not qualify.
Deed-restricted affordable housing for very low, low, or moderate-income households.
Dormitories owned and operated by a school or college.

The single-family and condo exemption has a trap. It only applies if the owner provides specific written notice to the tenant stating that the property is not subject to the rent limits of Section 1947.12 or the just cause requirements of Section 1946.2, and that the owner is not a REIT, corporation, or qualifying LLC. For tenancies starting or renewed on or after July 1, 2020, that notice has to appear in the lease itself. If the landlord never provides it, the exemption does not apply and the property is treated as covered.¹

How AB 1482 Fits with Local Rent Control

Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and other California cities have rent control ordinances that predate AB 1482. If a local ordinance restricts annual rent increases to a lower amount than the state cap, the local rule governs those properties and the AB 1482 cap does not apply.¹ The practical effect is that AB 1482 acts as a floor: it protects tenants in cities without local rent control, while cities with stronger protections keep their own rules.

Section 8 Tenants Are Covered

A common misunderstanding is that tenants with Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers are outside AB 1482 because they receive a federal subsidy. They are not. The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency has confirmed that market-rate units rented to voucher holders do not meet the statute’s definition of affordable housing. The voucher attaches to the tenancy, not the property, so the underlying unit remains a market-rate rental subject to both the rent cap and the just cause eviction rules.⁶

If a Landlord Breaks the Rules

AB 1482 is enforced through tenant action. No state agency audits landlords for compliance, so the burden is on the tenant to push back on an illegal rent increase or a pretextual eviction. A tenant can refuse to pay the portion of an increase that exceeds the lawful cap, though doing so is a serious step that works best with legal counsel involved. In an unlawful detainer lawsuit, AB 1482 violations can be raised as a defense.

Landlords who fabricate a no-fault reason face real exposure. For owner move-in evictions, if the owner does not actually move in within 90 days or stay for 12 months, the unit has to be offered back to the displaced tenant and the landlord must cover reasonable moving costs.⁵

Local housing departments, where they exist, accept complaints, and legal aid organizations across California handle AB 1482 disputes. The California Attorney General’s office publishes tenant rights guidance but does not usually step into individual cases. If you receive an eviction notice, do not ignore it. Response deadlines in unlawful detainer cases can be as short as five days.

The 2030 Expiration

Both the rent cap and the just cause eviction provisions sunset on January 1, 2030. Unless the legislature extends or replaces the law before then, covered landlords would regain the ability to raise rents without a state cap and to end tenancies without stating a reason, subject only to any local ordinances that independently provide those protections.¹

1
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1947.12
2
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 827
3
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1946.2
4
California Legislative Information. California AB-1482 Tenant Protection Act of 2019
5
California Department of Justice. Landlord-Tenant Issues
6
Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency. Application of California’s Tenant Protection Act to Recipients