California Rent Increase Limits and Exemptions: Caps, Notice, and Local Rules

In California, most landlords can raise your rent by no more than 5% plus the regional change in the Consumer Price Index, with an absolute ceiling of 10%, in any 12-month period. These california rent increase limits come from the Tenant Protection Act of 2019, codified at Civil Code Section 1947.12, and they apply to the majority of residential rentals in the state through the end of 2029.¹ The law also controls how often rent can go up, what notice you must receive, and what you can collect if your landlord charges too much.

How the Cap Is Calculated

The formula is 5% plus the percentage change in the regional Consumer Price Index, or 10%, whichever is lower.² The CPI figure comes from Bureau of Labor Statistics data for the metropolitan area where your unit sits, so the maximum varies by region.

For the period running August 2025 through July 2026, the Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim CPI change is 3.0%, which puts the maximum allowable increase in that area at 8.0%. The Riverside–San Bernardino region came in at 2.5%, producing a 7.5% cap. If 5% plus CPI ever climbed past 10%, the hard ceiling would lock in regardless of local inflation.

The increase is calculated against the lowest rent you were charged at any point during the 12 months before the increase takes effect. A detail that catches people off guard: temporary discounts, concessions, and move-in credits don’t count when identifying that lowest gross rent. If your landlord gave you a promotional rate, they can’t treat the discounted figure as the baseline and then claim a larger dollar jump when the promotion ends. Your lease should separately list the gross rent and any owner-offered discounts.²

How Often Rent Can Go Up

Even within the percentage cap, a landlord cannot raise your rent more than twice in any 12-month period.² A 3% bump in February and another 4% in August would both be legal: two increases, 7% combined, under the cap. A third increase in that same 12-month window would violate state law regardless of how small it is.

The 12 months run from the tenant’s perspective, not the calendar year. An increase in March 2026 starts a clock that runs through February 2027.

Notice Your Landlord Must Give

A rent increase isn’t valid unless your landlord serves proper written notice under Civil Code Section 827. The required lead time depends on the size of the increase:³

30 days’ notice when the increase is 10% or less of the rent charged at any point in the prior 12 months, including when combined with any other increases in that period.
90 days’ notice when the increase is greater than 10% of the rent charged at any point in the prior 12 months. In practice, only exempt properties can legally raise rent by more than 10%, but the notice rule applies universally.

The notice has to be delivered in a way that creates proof of service. Personal delivery works. So does certified or registered mail. A landlord can also leave the notice with a responsible adult at the residence and then mail a copy. The notice period starts when the document is properly served, not when the landlord mentions the increase in conversation or sends a text. Emails and text messages generally do not satisfy the requirement.

If the notice is defective, whether because of the wrong delivery method, too little lead time, or missing entirely, the increase is not enforceable. You can continue paying your current rent until a valid notice is properly served.

Which Properties Are Exempt

Not every rental falls under the state cap. Civil Code Section 1947.12(d) carves out several categories:²

Housing that received its certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years. This is a rolling window, so a building completed in 2011 becomes covered in 2026.
Single-family homes and condos, as long as the owner is not a real estate investment trust, a corporation, or an LLC with at least one corporate member. A written notice to the tenant is required to claim this exemption.
Owner-occupied duplexes where the owner lives in one unit as a primary residence at the start of the tenancy and continues to live there, and neither unit is an accessory dwelling unit.
Deed-restricted affordable housing with recorded restrictions limiting it to low- or moderate-income tenants.
Dormitories owned and operated by schools or colleges.
Properties already covered by a stricter local rent control ordinance; the local rules apply instead.

The single-family and condo exemption is the one tenants most often miss. It doesn’t apply automatically. The landlord has to deliver written notice that includes specific language stating the property is exempt from both the rent cap under Section 1947.12 and the just cause eviction requirements under Section 1946.2, and that the owner is not a corporation, REIT, or qualifying LLC. If your landlord never gave you that notice, the exemption may not apply, and you may still be covered by the cap in a single-family home.

Cities With Stricter Local Rules

Several California cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Berkeley, enforce their own rent control ordinances with their own annual percentage limits, often well below the state cap. Where a local ordinance is more restrictive, the local limit controls.

Local ordinances cannot reach every property, though. Under the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, cities cannot apply local rent control to housing that received its certificate of occupancy after February 1, 1995, cannot cover single-family homes and condos, and cannot prevent a landlord from resetting rent to market rate once a tenant moves out.⁴ A building constructed between 1995 and 15 years ago often falls into a gap: too new for local rent control, old enough for the statewide cap. If you rent in a city with its own ordinance, check both sets of rules. Your city’s rent board or housing department can tell you which governs your unit.

What to Do About an Illegal Rent Increase

If your landlord charges rent above the legal maximum, you can sue in civil court and recover the full amount of the overcharge as damages. The court can also order the landlord to stop and, at its discretion, award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.¹

Where the landlord acted willfully or with fraud, the court can award up to three times the overcharge. The California Attorney General, your local city attorney, or county counsel can also step in to enforce these provisions. Courts presume that a tenant suffers irreparable harm from violations of this section, which makes it easier to obtain emergency court orders stopping an illegal increase.¹

You have three years from the overcharge to file. The California Department of Justice recommends seeking legal help promptly if you believe your landlord has raised your rent illegally; free or low-cost assistance may be available through LawHelpCA.org.⁵

You Can’t Be Evicted for Pushing Back

The rent cap works together with just cause eviction protections. Under Civil Code Section 1946.2, once you’ve lived in a covered rental for at least 12 continuous months, your landlord cannot terminate your tenancy without a legally recognized reason.⁶ That matters because without it, a landlord could simply refuse to renew a lease, re-list at market rate, and sidestep the cap entirely.

Just causes split into at-fault reasons, such as nonpayment of rent, material lease violations after written notice, nuisance, criminal activity on the property, or unauthorized subletting, and no-fault reasons, such as the owner or an immediate family member moving in or the landlord withdrawing the property from the rental market. For a no-fault termination, the landlord owes relocation assistance equal to one month’s rent, paid within 15 calendar days of serving notice or waived against the final month’s rent in writing, and the notice itself must inform you of that right. A notice that omits the required just cause, the relocation assistance, or any other Section 1946.2 requirement is void, and a tenant who successfully challenges an improper eviction can recover actual damages, reasonable attorney’s fees, and up to three times actual damages if the landlord acted willfully or with malice.⁶

One boundary worth knowing: the Tenant Protection Act is scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2030, unless the legislature extends it.¹ Until then, the rules above are what your landlord has to follow.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1947.12
2
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1947-12
3
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 827
4
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1954.50 – Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act
5
California Department of Justice. Know Your Rights as a California Tenant
6
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1946-2