California Tenant Protection Act of 2019: Rent Caps and Just Cause Evictions

The California Tenant Protection Act of 2019, enacted as Assembly Bill 1482, caps most annual rent increases at 5% plus regional inflation (or 10%, whichever is lower) and bars landlords from ending a tenancy of 12 months or more without a valid reason stated in writing. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the law in 2019, and it is scheduled to expire on January 1, 2030. It reaches a large share of California’s rental housing, but not all of it, so the first question for any tenant or landlord is whether a particular unit is covered.

Which Rentals Are Covered

The law applies to most residential rentals in California, with specific exemptions written into the statute. A unit is not subject to the rent cap if it falls into any of these categories:¹

Housing that received its certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years. The window rolls forward, so a building completed in 2012 became covered in 2027. Mobilehomes are not exempt based on age.
Separately titled single-family homes and condominiums, but only when the owner is not a corporation, a REIT, or an LLC with any corporate member, and only when the owner gives the tenant the written notice described below.
Owner-occupied duplexes, where the owner lives in one of the two units as a principal residence from the start of the tenancy and continues to live there. Neither unit can be an ADU or junior ADU.²
Deed-restricted affordable housing for low- or moderate-income households.
Dormitories owned and operated by schools or colleges.
Units already covered by a local rent control ordinance that limits increases to less than the state formula. In that case, the local law governs.

The Written Notice That Makes or Breaks the Single-Family Exemption

A separately titled single-family home or condo is not automatically exempt. The owner has to give the tenant a specific written statement that the property is not subject to the rent cap or just cause rules. For any tenancy that started or was renewed on or after July 1, 2020, that language must appear in the lease itself. Leave it out and the exemption disappears, so the full protections of AB 1482 apply.¹

How Much Rent Can Go Up Each Year

For a covered unit, annual rent increases are capped at 5% plus the percentage change in the regional Consumer Price Index, or 10% total, whichever is lower.¹ The CPI figure varies by region of the state and is published annually by the California Department of Industrial Relations, so the actual ceiling depends on where the unit sits.

The cap is measured against the lowest gross rental rate charged for the unit at any point in the previous 12 months. Discounts, incentives, concessions, and credits are excluded from that calculation.¹ So if the lease is $2,500 but the landlord gave a $200 monthly concession in year one, the baseline for the next increase is $2,500, not $2,300. A concession doesn’t permanently reset the rent.

A landlord can raise the rent no more than twice in any 12-month period, and the two increases combined still cannot exceed the annual cap.¹

Notice Required Before an Increase Takes Effect

Separately from the cap, Civil Code section 827 governs how much warning a tenant must get. If the increase is 10% or less of the rent charged at any time in the prior 12 months, the landlord owes at least 30 days’ written notice. If the increase is more than 10%, the notice must be at least 90 days. These notice rules apply to all residential rentals, covered by AB 1482 or not.³ An increase served without the proper notice is not enforceable on the stated date.

When a Landlord Needs a Reason to Evict

Just cause protections kick in once a tenant has continuously and lawfully occupied a covered unit for at least 12 months.² After that, the landlord has to state a valid reason in the written notice of termination. The statute splits reasons into two groups: at-fault, based on something the tenant did, and no-fault, where the landlord needs the unit back for another purpose. The difference matters because no-fault terminations trigger a mandatory relocation payment and at-fault ones do not.

At-Fault Grounds

The at-fault reasons listed in the statute are:²

Failure to pay rent.
Breach of a material term of the lease after written notice to correct.
Nuisance or waste on the property.
Criminal activity on the property or criminal threats against the owner or the owner’s agent.
Unauthorized subletting or assignment in violation of the lease.
Refusing the owner lawful entry.
Using the unit for an unlawful purpose.
Refusing to sign a lease renewal with similar terms after the written lease has expired.

For lease violations that can be fixed, the landlord cannot skip straight to a three-day notice to quit. The law requires written notice of the specific violation and a chance to cure it. Only if the tenant fails to cure within the notice period can the landlord then move to terminate without a further opportunity to fix the problem.² Procedural mistakes at this step are a common reason an eviction fails in court.

No-Fault Grounds

A landlord can terminate for a no-fault reason only in one of four situations:⁴

The owner, or the owner’s spouse, domestic partner, children, grandchildren, parents, or grandparents intends to occupy the unit.
The owner is permanently withdrawing the unit from the rental market under the Ellis Act.
The owner plans to demolish or substantially remodel the unit, with work that requires a permit and cannot safely be done with a tenant inside.
A government agency or court has ordered the unit vacated.

Relocation Payments for No-Fault Terminations

Every no-fault termination requires financial assistance equal to one month of the tenant’s rent at the time the notice is served. The landlord picks one of two methods: pay the tenant directly, or waive the final month’s rent in writing.²

A direct payment has to reach the tenant within 15 calendar days of serving the notice. The notice itself must inform the tenant of the right to the payment or waiver, and if the landlord is waiving rent, the notice must state the dollar amount being waived and confirm no rent is due for that final month. Failing to strictly comply with these requirements voids the termination notice entirely, and the landlord has to start over.²

Tighter Rules on Owner Move-In and Remodel Evictions

SB 567 took effect on April 1, 2024, and sharply tightened the two no-fault categories most prone to abuse.

For an owner or family member move-in, the eviction notice has to name the person moving in and state their relationship to the owner. The tenant can ask for proof that the person qualifies. The named occupant must move in within 90 days after the tenant leaves and live in the unit as a primary residence for at least 12 consecutive months.⁴ If that doesn’t happen, the landlord has to offer the unit back to the former tenant at the same rent and lease terms and reimburse reasonable moving expenses.² The ground is also unavailable if a similar vacant unit on the same property could be used instead.

For a substantial remodel, the planned work has to replace or significantly modify a structural, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical system, require a government permit, and force the tenant out for at least 30 consecutive days. Cosmetic renovations do not count. Since April 2024, the eviction notice must describe the planned work, attach the required permits, and tell the tenant that if the project isn’t actually started or completed, the tenant has the right to re-rent at the same terms.⁵

How the State Law Interacts With Local Rent Control

AB 1482 is a floor, not a ceiling. Cities and counties with their own rent stabilization ordinances that cap increases below the state formula continue to govern the units they cover, and the state law explicitly exempts those units from its rent cap.¹ In cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Oakland, local rules usually govern rent increases, while AB 1482’s just cause rules may still reach units the local ordinance doesn’t cover. In cities with no local rent control, AB 1482 is the only protection in play. Working out which rules apply to a particular unit sometimes means checking both.

What a Tenant Can Recover for a Violation

SB 567 also put real penalties behind the law. A landlord who violates the rent cap or the just cause rules can be liable for actual damages, and a court can add reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. If the landlord acted willfully or with fraud, oppression, or malice, the court can award up to three times actual damages plus punitive damages.²

For a rent cap violation, damages equal the amount charged above the maximum allowed rent, and the treble damages provision reaches that overage. A court can presume the tenant suffers irreparable harm, which makes injunctive relief easier to get. The statute of limitations is three years from the date of the violation.¹ The California Attorney General, city attorneys, and county counsel can also seek injunctive relief, so a pattern of violations can draw government enforcement, not just a single tenant lawsuit.

The 2030 Sunset

The law is scheduled to expire on January 1, 2030. As of 2026, no legislation extending it has been enacted. Unless the legislature acts, the state rent cap and just cause protections will stop applying on that date. Units covered by a local rent control ordinance will continue to be governed by that local law regardless.

1
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code CIV 1947.12
2
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code CIV 1946.2
3
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code CIV 827
4
California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General. The Tenant Protection Act Your Obligations as a Landlord or Property Manager
5
California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General. Landlord-Tenant Issues