How Do I Know If My Property Is Under AB 1482?

To know if your property is covered by AB 1482, work through a short list of exemptions: if none of them applies to your unit, the law covers you. California’s Tenant Protection Act of 2019 reaches most residential rentals in the state, capping annual rent increases and requiring a legally recognized reason to end most tenancies.¹ Coverage turns on three things: the age of the building, the type of unit, and who owns it. A fourth factor, whether the landlord gave you a specific written notice, can pull an otherwise exempt property back under the law.

Start With the Age of the Building

The most common exemption is age. AB 1482 does not cover any residential property that received its certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years.¹ The window rolls forward each year, so a building that is exempt today can become covered once it crosses the 15-year mark. In 2026, a building with a certificate of occupancy dated 2012 or later is generally exempt from the state law. A building from 2011 or earlier is old enough to be covered, assuming no other exemption applies.²

To find your building’s age, check your lease first. Some include the year. Otherwise, search the county assessor-recorder’s website for the property; most counties offer free online lookups by address. What matters is the certificate of occupancy date or the year built, not when the current owner bought it. If the building is old enough to be covered, keep going.

Single-Family Homes and Condominiums

A single-family home or condominium can be exempt, but only if two conditions are both met. First, the property cannot be owned by a corporation, a real estate investment trust, or an LLC that has at least one corporate member.¹ Second, the landlord must have delivered the specific written notice described below. Both conditions are mandatory. If either one fails, the property is covered.

The ownership test does real work. If you rent a house from an individual, a married couple, or a family trust, the ownership side of the exemption is satisfied. If that same house is held by an LLC and one of the LLC members is a corporation, the property is covered by AB 1482 regardless of whether a notice was sent.² Large corporate landlords cannot claim this exemption at all.

Not sure how your landlord is organized? Your lease should identify the legal name of the owner or property management entity. You can then look that name up on the California Secretary of State’s bizfile Online tool, which covers corporations, LLCs, and limited partnerships registered in California.³ The entity record will show whether an LLC has corporate members.

Owner-Occupied Duplexes

A duplex has its own exemption, and it is narrow. The owner must live in one of the two units for the entire duration of your tenancy.¹ If both units are rented out and the owner lives elsewhere, both units are covered by AB 1482 (assuming the building also meets the age threshold). An owner who moves out partway through your tenancy cannot claim the exemption retroactively. The occupancy has to be continuous from the start of the tenancy.

Other Exempt Property Types

Several categories of housing are exempt outright because they fall outside a traditional landlord-tenant relationship or already sit under their own regulatory framework:²

Dormitories owned and operated by schools or universities.
Hotels, motels, and other transient lodging as defined by Civil Code Section 1940(b).
Units provided by a nonprofit hospital, church, extended care facility, or adult residential facility.
Deed-restricted affordable housing, meaning properties limited by recorded documents to low- or moderate-income households.

If you live in one of these settings, the rules that govern your tenancy come from whatever regulatory scheme already applies, not from AB 1482.

The Written Notice Requirement

Here is where many exemptions collapse in the tenant’s favor. Even when a single-family home or condo legitimately qualifies based on ownership, the landlord must deliver a specific written notice to the tenant. Without that notice, the exemption does not apply, and the property is automatically covered by both the rent cap and the just cause eviction rules.¹

The notice must use prescribed language. The full required text reads: “This property is not subject to the rent limits imposed by Section 1947.12 of the Civil Code and is not subject to the just cause requirements of Section 1946.2 of the Civil Code. This property meets the requirements of Sections 1947.12(d)(5) and 1946.2(e)(8) of the Civil Code and the owner is not any of the following: (1) a real estate investment trust, as defined by Section 856 of the Internal Revenue Code; (2) a corporation; or (3) a limited liability company in which at least one member is a corporation.”²

For any tenancy that began or was renewed on or after July 1, 2020, this notice must appear in the rental agreement itself or be delivered as a signed written notice with a copy to the tenant.¹ Look through your lease and every addendum. If that language is nowhere to be found, the exemption has likely not been properly claimed, and you may be covered even if the property would otherwise qualify.

Check Local Rent Control Even If You Are Exempt

Exemption from AB 1482 is not always the end of the analysis. If you live in a city with its own rent control ordinance, the local law controls whenever it provides stronger protections than the state law, and AB 1482 does not weaken any existing local ordinance.¹ A unit can be exempt from the state rent cap and still sit under a stricter local cap.

Cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Berkeley, Oakland, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood have their own rent stabilization rules that predate AB 1482 and generally impose tighter limits. If you live in one of these places, contact your local rent board or housing department to find out how the local ordinance treats your unit. In some cases, local rules reach units that the state law exempts.

What Coverage Gets You

If you have worked through the list and nothing exempts your unit, AB 1482 gives you two protections. Annual rent increases are capped at 5 percent plus the local Consumer Price Index change, or 10 percent, whichever is lower, with the specific cap varying by region and resetting each August. And once all tenants have lived in the unit for at least 12 months, or at least one tenant has been there for 24 months or more, the landlord needs a legally recognized just cause to end the tenancy.¹ If the landlord ends the tenancy for a no-fault reason such as an owner move-in or substantial remodel, they must pay relocation assistance equal to one month’s rent or waive the final month, delivered within 15 calendar days of the termination notice.⁴

1
SF.gov. The California Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482)
2
Berkeley Rent Board. AB 1482: The California Tenant Protection Act of 2019
3
California Secretary of State. bizfile Online Search
4
Association of Bay Area Governments. Tenant Relocation Assistance