Campbell rent control laws work in two layers: the city itself does not cap how much a landlord can raise your rent, but it runs a Rent Mediation Program that lets tenants in buildings with four or more units formally challenge increases they consider unreasonable. For most other rentals in Campbell, the California Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482) sets a hard statewide ceiling of 5% plus the regional change in the Consumer Price Index, or 10%, whichever is lower.
The State Cap That Covers Most Campbell Rentals
AB 1482 is the law doing the real limiting work in Campbell. In any 12-month period, your landlord cannot raise rent by more than 5% plus the percentage change in the regional Consumer Price Index, or 10% of the lowest rent charged during the prior 12 months, whichever amount is lower.1California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1947.12 This is a true ceiling, not a starting point for negotiation. Your landlord also cannot stack several smaller increases to climb past the annual limit.
AB 1482 covers most apartments and condos in Campbell by default. The exemptions are listed below, and some of them require your landlord to take specific steps before they apply.
Campbell’s Local Rent Mediation Program
Campbell Municipal Code Chapter 6.09 established a Rent Mediation Program for rental properties on lots with four or more units. If you live in a triplex, duplex, or single-family home, the city’s local process is not available to you, though AB 1482 may still protect you.
The local program does not cap any particular increase. It gives tenants in covered buildings a structured path to challenge an increase through mediation and, if that fails, a fact-finding hearing. Any outcome is non-binding unless both sides agree.
Who Is Exempt From the State Cap
Not every rental is covered by AB 1482. The main exemptions:
- Housing that received its certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years. The window rolls forward each year, so a building completed in 2012 became subject to the cap in 2027.1California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1947.12
- Single-family homes owned by a natural person (not a corporation, REIT, or an LLC with a corporate member), but only if the landlord has given you a written notice stating the property is exempt.1California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1947.12
- Owner-occupied duplexes where the owner lives in one unit and neither unit is an accessory dwelling unit.1California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1947.12
- Deed-restricted affordable housing already subject to government affordability agreements.
The written-notice requirement is where landlords often slip. If a landlord who otherwise qualifies for the single-family-home exemption never actually delivers the required notice to you, the exemption does not apply and the rent cap kicks in by default.1California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1947.12 The notice has to identify the specific code sections that exempt the property. A general line saying the unit is “not rent controlled” does not count.
Notice Your Landlord Must Give You Before Raising Rent
Any rent increase in California requires advance written notice, and the lead time depends on the size of the increase. For an increase of 10% or less over a 12-month period, your landlord must give at least 30 days’ written notice. For an increase over 10%, the notice period is at least 90 days.2California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 827
That percentage is cumulative. If your landlord raised your rent 6% four months ago and now wants another 5%, the combined 11% within 12 months triggers the 90-day requirement for the second increase. An increase delivered without the proper notice is not valid, and you do not owe the higher amount until the correct notice period has run.
How to Dispute a Rent Increase in Campbell
If your building has four or more units and you want to challenge an increase through the city’s program, the process runs in a specific order.
Talk to Your Landlord First
Before filing anything, you have to make a good-faith effort to resolve the dispute directly with your property owner or manager.3City of Campbell. Rent Caps and Rent Increase Dispute Put your objection in writing, explain why you think the increase is unreasonable, and keep copies of everything.
File a Petition Within 15 Days
If direct conversation goes nowhere, file a petition with the Campbell Rent Mediation Program. Forms come from Project Sentinel, which administers the program, and can be requested by emailing fairhousing@housing.org.3City of Campbell. Rent Caps and Rent Increase Dispute You will need the rent increase notice, your current lease, and recent rent payment history.
The deadline is tight. Your petition must be submitted within 15 days of the effective date of the increase.3City of Campbell. Rent Caps and Rent Increase Dispute Miss that window and you lose the local mediation route for that increase, though your AB 1482 rights remain in place either way.
Mediation
Once your petition is received, a copy goes to your landlord and the program administrator reaches out to begin dispute resolution.3City of Campbell. Rent Caps and Rent Increase Dispute The goal is a voluntary agreement on a reasonable rent. The mediator cannot impose a number.
If Mediation Does Not Work
If mediation fails, you can request that the case move to a Fact Finding Committee within 21 days. The committee holds a hearing, reviews evidence from both sides, and issues a written determination on whether the increase is reasonable.
The determination is non-binding. Neither you nor your landlord is legally required to accept it. Its practical weight comes from being a documented, reasoned opinion from an impartial panel. If your unit is also covered by AB 1482, the state cap stays enforceable no matter what the committee concludes.
Eviction Protection if You Push Back
A common worry is that a landlord will simply refuse to renew the lease rather than fight an increase. AB 1482 addresses this. After you have lived in a rental for 12 continuous months, your landlord cannot end your tenancy without a legally recognized reason.4California Legislative Information. AB-1482 Tenant Protection Act of 2019
At-fault reasons include failing to pay rent, violating a material lease term, criminal activity on the property, or refusing lawful landlord access. No-fault reasons include the owner moving in, withdrawing the property from the rental market, or a government order to vacate. For no-fault terminations, the landlord must either pay you one month’s rent in relocation assistance or waive your final month’s rent.4California Legislative Information. AB-1482 Tenant Protection Act of 2019
The AB 1482 exemptions that remove the rent cap also remove the just cause eviction requirement. If your landlord validly exempted the property with proper written notice, the eviction protections do not apply either.
Protection Against Retaliation
California Civil Code Section 1942.5 separately bars landlords from retaliating against tenants who exercise their legal rights. For 180 days after you file a complaint or take part in a tenant organization, your landlord cannot raise your rent, cut services, or try to evict you in response.5California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1942.5 Filing a petition through the Campbell Rent Mediation Program is exactly the kind of protected activity this statute covers.
If a landlord retaliates, you can sue for actual damages plus punitive damages of $100 to $2,000 per retaliatory act where the landlord acted with fraud, oppression, or malice.5California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1942.5 The protection resets with each qualifying event, but you can only invoke it once per 12-month period for the same type of complaint.