What Is the Rent Increase Limit in Santa Clara?

In Santa Clara, the rent increase limit for most tenants is set by the California Tenant Protection Act: your landlord can raise the rent by 5% plus the annual change in the local Consumer Price Index, up to a hard ceiling of 10% in any 12-month period, whichever is lower. The City of Santa Clara does not have its own separate rent control ordinance, so this state formula is the main protection for covered rentals. Some properties are exempt, and every increase requires written notice before it takes effect.

How the 5% Plus CPI Formula Works

California Civil Code Section 1947.12 sets the math. A landlord cannot raise the gross rent by more than 5% plus the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for the applicable metropolitan area, or 10%, whichever is lower.¹ If local inflation runs at 3%, the maximum increase that year is 8%. If inflation runs at 7%, the increase is still capped at 10%, because that ceiling always controls.

The percentage is applied to the lowest gross rent charged at any point during the 12 months before the new rate takes effect. Temporary discounts and concessions don’t lower that figure for calculation purposes, so a landlord cannot offer a one-month discount and then treat the regular rate as the “lowest” charged.¹ Discounts and the actual gross rent have to be listed separately in the lease.

Which CPI Figure Applies in Santa Clara

The statute assigns CPI regions by county. The San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward index covers Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties. Santa Clara County is not on that list.² Under subdivision (g)(1)(C), when the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a CPI-U for a metropolitan area not originally listed in the statute, that index applies to properties in the area starting with rent increases effective on or after August 1 of the year the 12-month change is first published. The BLS does publish CPI data for the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metropolitan area, which covers Santa Clara County. If no local metro-area index were available, the fallback would be the statewide California Consumer Price Index published by the Department of Industrial Relations.

You can check the current figure through the California Department of Industrial Relations CPI page or directly through the BLS.³ For reference, for the 12 months ending April 2026, the BLS reported that the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area CPI-U rose 3.8%; the San Jose-area figure may differ.⁴

How Often Rent Can Go Up

A landlord may raise the rent no more than twice in any 12-month period, and the two increases combined cannot exceed the annual cap.¹ Splitting an 8% increase into two 4% bumps six months apart is allowed. Two 5% increases in the same year are not, because the combined 10% would exceed the cap whenever the CPI component is below 5%. The annual ceiling governs the total no matter how the landlord structures the timing.

Notice Your Landlord Must Give

California Civil Code Section 827 sets the advance warning. The length depends on the size of the increase.

For any increase of 10% or less, measured against the rent charged at any time during the prior 12 months, the landlord must deliver written notice at least 30 days before the new rate takes effect.⁵
If the increase exceeds 10%, either on its own or combined with other increases in the prior 12 months, the landlord must give at least 90 days’ written notice.⁶

Because the rent cap limits most covered properties to less than 10%, the 30-day window applies to the vast majority of increases in Santa Clara. The 90-day rule mostly comes up for exempt properties where the cap does not apply. A phone call, text, or email is not valid notice. The notice has to be in writing. A well-drafted notice should include the current rent, the new rent, the effective date, and the property address.

Section 827 allows two delivery methods: handing the notice directly to the tenant, or mailing it under the procedures in Code of Civil Procedure Section 1013.⁵ When mailed, extra days are added to the notice period to account for delivery time.

Rentals That Are Not Covered

Several categories of housing fall outside the state rent cap. Section 1947.12 subdivision (d) lists the exemptions:¹

Housing that received its certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years. This is a rolling window, so a building becomes covered once it crosses the 15-year mark.
Single-family homes and condominiums that can be sold separately from other units, but only if the owner is not a corporation, a real estate investment trust, or an LLC with a corporate member, and only if the owner delivers a specific written notice to the tenant.
Deed-restricted affordable housing already regulated for low- or moderate-income residents through a government agreement.
Dormitories owned and operated by schools or institutions of higher education.
Units already subject to a local rent ordinance that limits increases to less than the state formula allows.

The Disclosure Catch for Single-Family Rentals

The single-family and condo exemption has a condition that trips up many owners. The landlord must give the tenant a specific written notice using language set out word-for-word in the statute, stating that the property is not subject to the rent limits of Section 1947.12 or the just cause eviction requirements of Section 1946.2, and confirming the owner is not a corporation, REIT, or LLC with a corporate member.¹ For tenancies starting on or after July 1, 2020, this notice has to appear in the rental agreement itself. Without the disclosure, the property loses its exempt status and the cap applies as if the exemption never existed.

If You Have a Section 8 Voucher

Units occupied by Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) tenants carry an additional layer of oversight. Even when the property is not otherwise exempt as deed-restricted affordable housing, the local Housing Authority has to review and approve any proposed rent increase for a voucher-holder’s unit. The authority compares the proposed rent against market-comparable levels in the area and can reject an increase that exceeds what similar unassisted units charge.⁷ The state rent cap still applies as an outer boundary for covered properties, but Housing Authority approval often produces a tighter practical limit.

If the Increase Looks Too High

If a landlord raises the rent beyond the allowable limit, the excess portion is not enforceable. Start by documenting the increase: save the written notice, note the dates, and run the numbers against 5% plus the applicable CPI, or against the 10% ceiling. Then raise the issue with the landlord in writing, citing Civil Code Section 1947.12.

If the landlord doesn’t correct the overcharge, you have options. The California Attorney General’s tenant rights guide recommends consulting an attorney when a landlord fails to comply with notice or rent cap requirements.⁶ Small claims court is another route for recovering excess rent already paid, since California small claims courts handle disputes up to $10,000.

Local Help in Santa Clara

The City of Santa Clara partners with Project Sentinel, a nonprofit, to provide free and confidential mediation and counseling for tenant-landlord disputes. Project Sentinel counselors answer questions about rent increases, explain the applicable law, and arrange formal mediation when needed. The phone number is 800-339-6043.⁷

The Legal Aid Society of Santa Clara County also assists renters, particularly in cases involving discrimination or subsidized housing rights. Their number is (408) 283-1535.⁸

When the Law Expires

The California Tenant Protection Act is currently set to expire on January 1, 2030. After that date, absent new legislation, the rent cap and the just cause eviction protections would no longer apply. The legislature could extend or modify the law before then, so watch for changes as that date approaches.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 1947.12
2
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1947.12
3
Department of Industrial Relations. California Consumer Price Index
4
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer Price Index, San Francisco Area – April 2026
5
California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 827
6
California Department of Justice. Know Your Rights as a California Tenant
7
City of Santa Clara. Tenant-Landlord Mediation and Counseling Services
8
Tenants Together. Legal Aid Society of Santa Clara County