California's statewide rent cap is 8.7% in LA and Orange Counties through July 2027. Here's what AB 1482 covers, who's exempt, and the notice mistake that costs income property owners their exemption.
Here's something that still surprises me after more than 30 years in real estate. I regularly meet people who own income property, sell income property, or manage rentals for a living, and they don't know California has statewide rent control.
It does. It has since January 1, 2020. It's called AB 1482, the Tenant Protection Act. If you own a rental in California, either it covers you or you're exempt for a specific reason. There's no third option.
And the most expensive mistake I see isn't about the rent cap. It's about the exemption.
What AB 1482 actually does
The law does two things.
1. It caps rent increases. Once a tenancy is in place, you can raise rent by 5% plus your region's inflation rate (CPI), up to a hard ceiling of 10%, in any 12-month period. The increase is measured from the lowest rent charged in the prior 12 months, and you can't split it into more than two increases in that window.
2. It requires just cause to end a tenancy. Once every tenant has lived in the unit for 12 months, or any one of them for 24 months, you need a legal reason to end the tenancy, and you have to state it in the notice. Some reasons are the tenant's fault: not paying rent, breaking the lease, creating a nuisance. Others are "no fault": the owner moving in, taking the unit off the rental market, or demolishing or substantially remodeling it. A no-fault termination requires relocation help equal to one month's rent, either paid directly or waived from the final month.
The rent cap right now
In Los Angeles and Orange Counties, the maximum increase for rent increases that take effect between August 1, 2026 and July 31, 2027 is 8.7% (5% plus April 2026 regional CPI of 3.7%). Last year it was 8.0%.
On a $3,000 unit, that's a maximum of $261, taking rent to $3,261.
The number resets every August 1 as new CPI data comes out. If you manage income property, put that date on your calendar.
New tenant, new rent
The cap applies to the tenant who is in the unit. When a unit turns over and a new tenant moves in, you set the starting rent at market, and the cap starts over from there. AB 1482 doesn't freeze your rents. It controls how fast they climb while someone is living there.
Who's exempt
AB 1482 doesn't reach every rental. The main exemptions:
• Housing that got its certificate of occupancy within the last 15 years. This is a rolling window, so the exemption expires as the building ages.
• A duplex in a single structure where the owner lived in one unit from the start of the tenancy and the whole time. ADUs and junior ADUs don't count as the second unit.
• A single-family home or condo owned by an individual (details below).
• Units already covered by a stricter local rent control ordinance.
• Deed-restricted affordable housing, dorms, hotels, and a few other special categories.
The exemption most owners miss
This is the one that catches people.
A single-family home or condo is exempt only if two things are both true:
1. The owner is not a real estate investment trust, a corporation, or an LLC with a corporate member.
2. The tenant received the written Notice of Exemption. For tenancies that started or renewed on or after July 1, 2020, it has to be part of the lease. Most of us handle it with the C.A.R. Rent Cap and Just Cause Addendum (form RCJC): the exemption box is checked, and the addendum is signed and delivered with the lease.
Miss the notice and, in my experience, you've missed the exemption. The owner believes they have a market-rate rental with no restrictions. In reality, the rent cap and just cause rules may apply the whole time. That usually comes out at the worst possible moment: when they try to raise the rent or get the property back to sell it.
How that plays out in a particular case is a question for your attorney. The fix, though, is easy: pull your leases, find the RCJC, and look for the box.
What's changed since 2020
• SB 567 (effective April 1, 2024) tightened the rules for owner move-in and substantial remodel terminations and added penalties for getting them wrong.
• AB 1157, which would have cut the cap to 2% plus CPI (max 5%) and extended it to single-family homes and condos, died in committee in January 2026. Expect a version of it to come back.
• The law has an expiration date: January 1, 2030. What happens next is the finale of this series.
What to do this week
• Pull every lease and check for the RCJC with the exemption box checked.
• Confirm how title is held. An LLC with a corporate member changes the answer.
• Find out whether your city has its own ordinance. Local rules can be stricter.
• Calendar August 1 for the yearly CPI update.
Next up: city by city
AB 1482 is the floor. Every day I'm taking one South Bay city and asking the same question: is it just the state law here, or is there more on top? First up: Inglewood.
This article and video are for general educational purposes only and are not legal, tax, or financial advice. Tony Self is a licensed California real estate broker (DRE #01906720) with Harcourts Hunter Mason Realty, not an attorney, and reading this does not create a client relationship. Rent control and eviction laws change often and vary by city and county. Figures are current as of September 2026. Before raising rent, serving a notice, or claiming an exemption, consult a qualified California landlord-tenant attorney.
Sources
• AB 1482 bill text: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB1482
• CA Attorney General: Tenant Protection Act guide for landlords: https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/media/Tenant-Protection-Act-Landlords-and-Property-Managers-English.pdf
• CAA: AB 1157 fails to advance: https://caanet.org/calif-rent-control-bill-fails-to-advance-in-assembly/
• AOA 2026-2027 AB 1482 max increase sheet (5/14/2026)
• C.A.R. Form RCJC, Revised 6/23
Questions about how this affects your rental?
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