How Much Can Rent Increase Per Year in California?

In California, most landlords can raise your rent by no more than 5% plus the local rate of inflation, or 10%, whichever number is smaller. That ceiling comes from the Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482), and it applies to most residential tenants across the state until the law expires on January 1, 2030.¹ How much rent can increase per year in California depends on where your unit is, how old the building is, and whether any local ordinance sets a stricter limit.

How the Annual Cap Is Calculated

The state formula has two parts. Add 5% to the change in the Consumer Price Index for your region, then compare that number to 10%. Whichever is lower is the maximum percentage your landlord can add to your rent in a 12-month period.¹

Because CPI varies by metropolitan area, the actual cap is different depending on where you live. For the period running August 1, 2025 through July 31, 2026, the state cap in San Francisco is 6.3%.² For the Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim area over the same period, the cap is 8.0%. These figures change each year as new CPI data is released.

Your landlord also cannot raise the rent more than twice in any 12-month window, and the combined total of those increases still cannot exceed the annual cap.¹ Splitting one large hike into three or four smaller ones spread across the year is a violation, even if each piece looks harmless on its own.

What Rent the Percentage Is Applied To

The cap is calculated against the lowest monthly rent you were charged at any point during the 12 months before the increase takes effect.¹ If your landlord gave you a promotional discount at any point in that year, the discounted figure is your baseline. The new rent cannot exceed that baseline plus the allowable percentage.

One thing the cap does not do: control what a landlord charges a brand-new tenant. When a unit turns over and no one from the prior lease remains, the landlord can reset the starting rent to whatever the market will pay.¹ Once you move in and your initial rent is set, every increase after that has to stay within the cap.

If you have a fixed-term lease, your landlord generally cannot raise your rent mid-term unless the lease itself allows it. The cap becomes relevant when the lease ends and you renew or roll to month-to-month. Month-to-month tenants can see the full allowable increase with only the required notice.

Whether Your Unit Is Covered

Several categories of housing are exempt from AB 1482:

Units that received a certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years. This is a rolling window, so a building completed in 2012 became subject to the cap in 2027.
Single-family homes and condominiums, but only if the owner is a natural person (not a corporation, REIT, or LLC with a corporate member) and has given the tenant a specific written notice of the exemption.²
Duplexes where the owner has lived in one of the two units as a primary residence continuously since the start of your tenancy.
Deed-restricted affordable housing.
Dormitories owned and operated by schools or colleges.
Units already covered by a local rent control ordinance that caps increases below the state formula.

The single-family home exemption is the one landlords get wrong most often. For any tenancy that began or renewed on or after July 1, 2020, the required written notice must appear in the rental agreement itself, identify the relevant Civil Code sections, and confirm the owner’s entity type. Without that notice, the unit is covered by the state cap regardless of the property type.¹ If your landlord never gave you that disclosure, ask for it before assuming an increase above the cap is legal.

Notice Your Landlord Must Give You

Every rent increase in California has to be in writing. A phone call, a text, or a casual email does not count.³ The notice has to be delivered in person or by mail following the procedures set out in the Code of Civil Procedure.⁴

How much advance notice depends on the cumulative size of the increase over the prior 12 months:

If the cumulative increase is 10% or less, at least 30 days’ written notice before it takes effect.
If it is more than 10%, at least 90 days’ written notice.

The 90-day requirement mostly matters in exempt properties, where there is no 10% ceiling to begin with. It can also apply when two separate increases within a 12-month period add up to more than 10%. A notice that misses the timing rules or uses the wrong delivery method is treated as if it never existed, and the landlord has to start over.⁴

When Local Rent Control Sets a Lower Cap

The state cap is a ceiling, not a floor. When a local rent control ordinance is more protective than AB 1482, the local law controls, and your landlord cannot use the state formula to justify a larger increase.²

Cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Berkeley, and Santa Monica run rent stabilization programs of their own. Local caps often sit well below the state’s 10% ceiling, sometimes in the 3% to 5% range. Local ordinances may also cover different property types, use different base-rent rules, and require landlord registration.

If you believe an increase exceeds the local or state limit, many cities with rent control allow you to file a petition with the local rent board. The process varies by city and typically involves a written petition followed by a hearing officer’s decision. You do not need an attorney to file, though a petition can take several weeks to resolve.

If the Increase Is Illegal

A landlord who collects rent above the cap is liable to you in a civil action for the full amount of the overcharge. A court can award you reasonable attorney’s fees, and if the landlord acted willfully or with fraud, damages of up to three times the overcharge.¹

You cannot waive these protections. Any lease clause or side agreement in which you give up your rights under the rent cap law is void as a matter of public policy. Even if you paid the higher amount for months without objecting, the overcharge is still legally recoverable.⁵

AB 1482 also requires just cause to evict tenants who have lived in a covered unit for at least 12 continuous months, which means a landlord cannot simply push you out for refusing an illegal increase.⁶

The 2030 Sunset

The statewide rent cap is not permanent. AB 1482 is set to be repealed on January 1, 2030.¹ Unless the legislature extends or replaces it, the state cap and just cause requirements will end on that date. Local rent control ordinances would continue, but tenants in cities without one would lose the statewide protection entirely.

1
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1947.12 (2025)
2
SF.gov. The California Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482)
3
California Department of Justice. Know Your Rights as a California Tenant
4
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 827 (2025)
5
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1947.12
6
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1946.2