Pasadena Renters Rights: Rent Caps, Evictions, and Relocation Pay

Pasadena renters’ rights come from two layers of law working together: the city’s Fair and Equitable Housing Charter Amendment (Measure H), passed by voters in 2022, and a set of California statutes that apply everywhere in the state. The local rules cap annual rent increases, require a specific legal reason for every eviction, and force landlords to pay relocation money when they displace a tenant through no fault of their own. State law fills in the rest, from security deposit limits to habitability standards to protection against discrimination and retaliation. Knowing which layer covers which issue is the difference between a rent hike you have to accept and one you can roll back.

How Much Your Rent Can Go Up

For units covered by Measure H, annual rent increases are tied to a formula, not the landlord’s discretion. Each unit has a Base Rent, defined as the rent in effect on May 17, 2021, or the initial rent for anyone who moved in after that date.¹ All future increases build from that number, so a landlord can’t reset to market rate between tenants on a covered unit.

The Pasadena Rental Housing Board sets the Annual General Adjustment (AGA) each year at 75% of the year-over-year change in the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County CPI, rounded to the nearest quarter percent. The Board publishes it by September 1 and it takes effect October 1.¹ For October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, the AGA is 2.25%.²

Any rent increase must be preceded by at least 30 days’ written notice. That notice has to mention the charter amendment and your right to petition the Board if the increase looks too high.¹ Miss either disclosure and the increase doesn’t take effect. If a landlord wants to charge more than the AGA, they have to petition the Board for a fair-rate-of-return adjustment and win approval before raising your rent.³

Which Units Are Covered

The state Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act blocks cities from applying local rent caps to three categories: units with a certificate of occupancy issued after February 1, 1995; separately titled single-family homes; and condominiums that have been individually sold.⁴ So a newer building or a single-family rental sits outside Measure H’s rent cap.

Those units usually still fall under the California Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482), which caps yearly increases at 5% plus local CPI or 10%, whichever is lower, and runs through January 1, 2030.⁵ AB 1482 has its own exceptions, including single-family homes where the owner has served a specific written exemption notice and duplexes where the owner lives on-site. Where a local ordinance is more protective, it controls, so Measure H governs most Pasadena multi-unit buildings.

When You Can Be Evicted

On covered units, Section 1806 of the city charter bars no-cause evictions. Every termination notice must cite one of eleven legal grounds, and the notice itself has to identify which one.⁶

At-Fault Reasons

Seven grounds turn on the tenant’s own conduct: nonpayment of rent after a three-day pay-or-quit notice; continuing to violate a material lease term after written notice; continuing a nuisance or deliberate damage after written notice; using the unit for an illegal purpose; refusing to sign a renewal on essentially the same terms; refusing lawful entry after proper notice; and having an unapproved subtenant as the sole occupant at the end of the lease.⁶ At-fault evictions generally do not trigger relocation payments.

No-Fault Reasons

Four grounds allow eviction even when you’ve done nothing wrong: substantial repairs that can’t be done while the unit is occupied and for which permits have already been pulled; owner or qualified relative move-in (the owner must hold at least a 50% recorded interest and no comparable vacant unit exists on the property); permanent withdrawal of every unit in the building from the rental market (an Ellis Act eviction); and a government order to vacate or demolish.⁶

Owner move-in evictions come with two conditions landlords often miss. The owner or relative has to actually move in within 60 days and stay at least 36 consecutive months. If that doesn’t happen, you have the right to return at your old rent, and the landlord owes your moving costs. And if you’ve been in the unit five or more years and you’re 60 or older, disabled, or terminally ill, the landlord generally cannot use owner move-in against you unless the person moving in is also in one of those protected categories.⁶

Relocation Payments When You’re Displaced

Pasadena Municipal Code Chapter 9.75 requires landlords to pay relocation assistance any time a tenant is displaced through no fault of their own. That covers demolition, owner or family move-in, Ellis Act withdrawal, government-ordered vacancy, and any rent increase exceeding 5% plus CPI within a 12-month window. It also applies when a property changes hands and the new owner terminates the tenancy or imposes a rent hike over that threshold within 18 months.⁷

Payment amounts scale with unit size and length of tenancy. For the year running October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, a one-bedroom relocation allowance ranges from $7,525 for tenancies of three years or less up to $12,542 for tenancies over ten years, with a separate moving expense payment of $1,620 on top. Households with a member who is 60 or older, disabled, terminally ill, or with a dependent child aged 19 or younger receive a moving expense payment of $4,890 and an additional relocation allowance equal to the base amount for their unit size.⁷

Timing matters. Half the total is due within ten days of the eviction notice, and the other half when you actually move out. A landlord’s failure to pay on schedule is a defense in an unlawful detainer action, meaning the eviction stalls until the money arrives.

Security Deposits

Since July 1, 2024, California caps most security deposits at one month’s rent. A narrow exception lets small landlords who are natural persons, own no more than two rental properties, and have four or fewer total units charge up to two months’ rent.⁸

After you move out, the landlord has 21 calendar days to return whatever’s left of the deposit with an itemized statement listing every deduction. Deductions are only allowed for unpaid rent, cleaning to restore move-in condition, and damage beyond normal wear and tear. Faded paint, minor scuffs, and worn carpet from ordinary use don’t qualify. The itemized statement must include receipts, invoices, or a description of the work with time and hourly rates.⁸ A bad-faith withholding exposes the landlord to statutory damages of up to twice the deposit amount plus your actual losses. You also have the right to a pre-move-out inspection so you can fix problems before deductions are taken. Dated photos at move-in and move-out are the single most useful piece of evidence in a small claims fight.

Repairs and Habitability

Every California residential lease carries an implied warranty of habitability. Civil Code Section 1941.1 sets the minimums: working plumbing, heating, and electrical systems; weatherproof roof and windows; sanitary conditions; and freedom from vermin and health-affecting mold.⁹ These duties cannot be waived, whatever the lease says.

Put every repair request in writing and give the landlord a reasonable window to act. If they don’t, the “repair and deduct” remedy lets you hire a licensed contractor, pay for the repair, and subtract the cost from your next rent. The repair can’t exceed one month’s rent, and you can use the remedy no more than twice in any 12-month period.¹⁰ For conditions severe enough to drive you out, constructive eviction can end your rent obligation, but that argument has to hold up in court, so document conditions heavily before you leave.

When Your Landlord Can Enter

Civil Code Section 1954 limits landlord entry to emergencies, necessary repairs, showings to prospective buyers or tenants, court orders, and inspections tied to your security deposit. Outside emergencies, the landlord must give reasonable written notice stating the date, approximate time, and purpose. Twenty-four hours is presumed reasonable, and entry has to be during normal business hours unless you agree otherwise at the door. Notice is not required for a genuine emergency, when you’re present and consent, or when the unit is abandoned. The statute also forbids using the right of entry to harass a tenant.¹¹

Discrimination Protections

Federal law under 42 U.S.C. § 3604 bars landlords from refusing to rent, imposing different terms, or making discriminatory statements based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability.¹²

California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act adds many more protected classes: ancestry, citizenship, immigration status, primary language, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, source of income (including Section 8 vouchers), military or veteran status, and age. State law also protects tenants with certain criminal histories during the application process and those running licensed family childcare in their homes.¹³ The source-of-income rule matters in Pasadena: a landlord cannot reject an applicant just because part of the rent would come from a Housing Choice Voucher.

Service animals and emotional support animals are not pets under fair housing law. Landlords must grant reasonable accommodations for a tenant with a disability who needs one, and they cannot charge pet deposits, pet rent, or apply breed restrictions to them. A landlord may ask for documentation of the disability-related need but cannot demand the underlying diagnosis. Complaints go to the California Civil Rights Department or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Retaliation and Harassment

Civil Code Section 1942.5 prohibits landlords from retaliating against a tenant who uses a legal remedy, complains to a government agency about habitability, or joins a tenant organization. If a landlord raises rent, cuts services, or moves to evict within 180 days of that protected activity, the law presumes retaliation and puts the burden on the landlord to prove a legitimate reason. A retaliating landlord can be liable for actual damages plus punitive damages of $100 to $2,000 for each act involving fraud, oppression, or malice.¹⁴

Harassment covers deliberate conduct meant to push a tenant out: shutting off utilities, changing locks without a court order, removing belongings, verbal threats, and threats to report a tenant to immigration authorities. Measure H reinforces these protections locally, and both state and local law protect tenants who organize or join a tenant association from interference or penalties.

Where to File a Complaint

The Pasadena Rental Housing Board is the first stop for disputes over rent increases, eviction procedures, and habitability on covered units. If a landlord has raised rent above the AGA, you can submit a Rent Rollback Form asking for a reduction and refund of overpayment. If the landlord refuses, you can file a Notice of Rent Withholding to withhold the excess amount going forward.³ General questions and tenancy-termination notices go to the Rent Stabilization Department at rentalboard@cityofpasadena.net, which also offers housing counselors who can walk you through your options before a dispute reaches court. Many of these rights carry short deadlines, so acting early tends to preserve claims that would otherwise weaken.

1
City of Pasadena. Pasadena Fair and Equitable Housing Charter Amendment
2
City of Pasadena. Rent Stabilization Overview
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City of Pasadena. FAQs – Landlords
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California Legislative Information. Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act
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California Legislative Information. California Code AB-1482 Tenant Protection Act of 2019
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City of Pasadena. Just Cause for Eviction Overview
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City of Pasadena. Tenant Protection Ordinance Fact Sheet
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California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1950-5
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California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1941.1 – Untenantable Dwelling
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California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1942 – Repairs by Tenant
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California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1954
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing
13
California Civil Rights Department. Housing
14
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1942.5 – Retaliation Against Lessee