How Much is Your Landlord Allowed to Raise Your Rent?
This page was published on November 22, 2019. The information will be current until May 1, 2020.
This is for information purposes only, consult an attorney. Your situation may be different.
In the 2019 legislative session SF Assemblymember David Chiu passed AB 1482: Statewide rent cap and just cause protections! To learn about Just Cause and whether it applies to you, click here or here. To learn about the rent cap, read below.
Starting January 1, 2020, if you rent in California, and your building is more than 15 years old (built in 2005 or before) you may now be covered by the statewide rent cap, preventing your landlord from raising your rent beyond a specific amount every year. Use the flowchart below to find out whether the rent cap applies to you, and use the calculator to determine the maximum dollar amount your landlord is allowed to raise your rent.
NOTE!
If you live in one of the following cities you may be protected by a local rent control ordinance that is better for you than the state default rent cap:
Berkeley, Beverly Hills, East Palo Alto, Glendale, Hayward, Los Angeles, Los Gatos, Mountain View, Oakland, Palm Springs, Richmond, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Monica, or West Hollywood. If you live in one of these cities, click here.
If you are not covered by a local rent control ordinance, use the flowchart below to determine whether the statewide rent cap applies to you, then use our calculator to calculate the maximum dollar amount your landlord can raise your rent!
The rent cap applies to the rent you were paying on March 15, 2019. Starting on January 1, 2020 your landlord cannot charge you more than your March rent plus the allowed increase, even if your rent was increased more than the allowed amount in the meantime. If you started renting your current home after that date the rent cap applies to your initial rent.
If you live in a Condo or Single Family Home that is exempt from the rent cap your landlord is required to notify you that the unit is exempt in your rental agreement or in writing by August 1st, 2020. If you are not properly notified your unit is subject to the rent cap.
Allowed rental increases for qualifying units are determined by the regional increase in the cost of living plus five percent. The cost of living change is defined as the increase or decrease in regional CPI (Consumer Price Index) as measured by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. For all parts of California not included in this measurement, a statewide CPI maintained by the Department of Industrial Relations is used instead.
