California Real Estate Law Upheld: Rent Cap and Just Cause Evictions

AB 1482, California’s Tenant Protection Act of 2019, limits how fast your rent can rise and forces landlords to give a legally recognized reason before ending most tenancies that have lasted a year or longer. Annual rent increases on covered units are capped at 5 percent plus the local rate of inflation, with a hard ceiling of 10 percent.¹ The protections live in California Civil Code Sections 1946.2 and 1947.12, apply statewide, and are currently scheduled to remain in effect through January 1, 2030.

How Much Rent Can Go Up in a Year

On a covered unit, the maximum increase over any 12-month period is 5 percent plus the percentage change in the regional Consumer Price Index, or 10 percent total, whichever figure is lower.¹ The baseline is the lowest rent charged for the unit at any point in the prior 12 months. Temporary discounts, concessions, or credits do not raise that baseline, so a landlord cannot use a promotional rate as a springboard for a larger hike later.

A landlord also cannot raise rent more than twice in any 12-month window, even if both increases stay under the cap.¹ The CPI figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and most California landlords use the April-to-April change for the region covering the property. If that figure is 3.2 percent, the cap works out to 8.2 percent. If inflation runs hot and the CPI change is 7 percent, the formula produces 12 percent but the 10 percent ceiling applies instead.

The notice itself has to follow California Civil Code Section 827. Increases of 10 percent or less require at least 30 days’ written notice. Anything above 10 percent requires 90 days, though under AB 1482 that higher tier rarely comes up on covered units.²

When a Landlord Needs a Reason to Evict You

Once you have lived in a covered unit continuously for 12 months, your landlord cannot end the tenancy without stating a legally recognized reason in the written termination notice. AB 1482 sorts those reasons into at-fault and no-fault categories.³

At-Fault Grounds

At-fault grounds cover tenant conduct that justifies removal. The common ones are failing to pay rent, violating a material lease term, creating or allowing a nuisance, committing waste, criminal activity on the premises, and unauthorized subletting. A landlord can also act when a tenant refuses to sign a lease renewal on substantially similar terms after the prior lease expires, or refuses lawful entry after proper notice.³ Because the cause lies with the tenant, no relocation payment is owed.

No-Fault Grounds

No-fault grounds apply when the landlord has a legitimate business or personal reason to recover the unit even though the tenant has done nothing wrong. The recognized reasons are:

Owner move-in, where the owner or a close family member (spouse, domestic partner, children, grandchildren, parents, or grandparents) will occupy the unit as a primary residence for at least 12 continuous months.
Withdrawal from the rental market, where the owner is taking the property out of the rental business entirely.
Compliance with a government or court order, such as a habitability order, condemnation, or local ordinance requiring the unit be vacated.
Substantial renovation or demolition that makes it unsafe for the tenant to remain.

Every no-fault eviction triggers a relocation assistance obligation.³

Relocation Payment for No-Fault Evictions

If the eviction is no-fault, the landlord must either pay you an amount equal to one month’s rent or waive your final month’s rent in writing before it comes due. The landlord picks which option, but one of the two is mandatory regardless of your income. A direct payment has to arrive within 15 calendar days of the termination notice being served.³ The amount is calculated on the rent in effect when the notice was issued, not on any discounted or promotional rate.

Does AB 1482 Apply to Your Unit

The law reaches most residential rentals in California, but several categories are carved out. Some exemptions kick in automatically; others only apply if the landlord takes an affirmative step.

New construction with a certificate of occupancy issued within the previous 15 years is exempt. The window rolls forward each year, so a building certified in 2011 is exempt in 2026 and becomes covered in 2027.¹
Single-family homes and condominiums are exempt if the owner is a natural person (not a corporation, REIT, or LLC with a corporate member) and the tenant has received the specific written notice of exemption required by the statute.¹
An owner-occupied duplex is exempt if the owner lived in one unit as a primary residence at the start of the tenancy and still does.³
Deed-restricted affordable housing already subject to a government agreement or recorded covenant is exempt.
Dormitories owned and operated by schools or colleges are exempt.
Units already covered by a stricter local rent control ordinance follow the local rule rather than the state formula.⁴

The written notice requirement for single-family homes and condos is not optional. The statute prescribes specific language, including a statement that the property is not subject to the rent limits of Section 1947.12 or the just cause requirements of Section 1946.2. For tenancies that began or renewed on or after July 1, 2020, that notice must appear in the lease itself.³ A landlord who fails to deliver the notice cannot claim the exemption, even on a property that would otherwise qualify. The default in that case is full coverage: the rent cap and the just-cause rules both apply.

How AB 1482 Fits with Local Rent Control

AB 1482 is a statewide floor, not a ceiling. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, and other cities have local ordinances that are often more restrictive. Where a city caps increases at a lower rate or adds eviction protections, the local rules take priority on covered units.⁴ In cities without local rent control, AB 1482 is the only cap in play.

Two older state statutes draw outer boundaries around all of this. The Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act preserves vacancy decontrol, meaning a landlord can reset rent to market rate for a new tenant once a prior tenant moves out, even in rent-controlled cities.⁵ The Ellis Act, at Government Code Section 7060, protects an owner’s right to exit the rental business by withdrawing every unit in a building, subject to strict notice timelines and local procedures.⁶

What Happens if a Landlord Breaks the Rent Cap

A tenant who has been overcharged can sue to recover the full amount of the overcharge and seek injunctive relief. If the court finds the landlord acted willfully or with fraud, oppression, or malice, it can award up to three times the overcharge. The court can also order the landlord to pay the tenant’s reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.¹

Enforcement is not limited to individual tenants. The California Attorney General, city attorneys, and county counsel can all bring actions to enforce the cap and seek injunctive relief. The statute presumes that tenants suffer irreparable harm from rent-cap violations, which makes it easier to secure a court order halting the overcharge. The deadline to file is three years from the violation.¹

Any lease clause asking a tenant to waive these rights is void as a matter of public policy. A landlord cannot contract around the cap, even if the tenant signs an agreement accepting a higher increase.

How Eviction Notices Must Be Served

Delivery method is part of the law, not a detail. California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1162 authorizes three ways to serve a residential eviction notice:⁷

Personal delivery, which means handing the notice directly to the tenant.
Substituted service, which means leaving the notice with another responsible adult at the tenant’s home or workplace and mailing a copy to the home address.
Post and mail, which means posting the notice conspicuously on the property and mailing a copy, used only when no responsible adult can be found after reasonable effort.

The required notice period depends on tenure. Tenancies under one year get 30 days; tenancies of one year or more get 60.⁸

What Happens in 2030

AB 1482 is not permanent. Both the rent cap and the just-cause protections are scheduled to expire on January 1, 2030.³ As of 2026, no legislation has extended that deadline. The law could be extended, strengthened, replaced, or allowed to lapse. Local rent control ordinances would continue to apply in the cities that have them regardless of what Sacramento decides.

1
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1947.12
2
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 827
3
California Legislative Information. AB-1482 Tenant Protection Act of 2019 – Tenancy – Rent Caps
4
State of California – Department of Justice. Landlord-Tenant Issues
5
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1954.50
6
California Legislative Information. California Government Code 7060
7
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1162
8
California Courts. Types of Eviction Notices Tenants