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.
Part of my city-by-city series. See every LA County city side by side →
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.
Key takeaways from the video
- California has had statewide rent control since January 1, 2020 under AB 1482, the Tenant Protection Act.
- The cap is 5% plus regional CPI, never more than 10%. In LA and Orange County it is 8.7% for increases from August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027.
- Just cause applies once all tenants have been in place 12 months, or any one tenant 24 months. No-fault terminations owe one month's rent in relocation.
- Single-family homes and condos are exempt only if the owner is not a REIT, corporation, or LLC with a corporate member, and the tenant received written notice of the exemption.
- Pull your lease, confirm the exemption box on the C.A.R. RCJC addendum is checked and signed, and confirm how you hold title.
Chapters
- 0:00 One checked box
- 0:40 A daily series
- 0:54 1. What AB 1482 does
- 1:19 2. The rent cap formula
- 2:20 3. Just cause
- 3:14 4. Who is exempt
- 4:16 5. What's coming
- 5:02 Do this this week
Read the full transcript
You own a single-family house rental in California or a condo. You think you're exempt from rent control. You might be wrong, and it can come down to one checked box on one piece of paper that most owners have never looked at. I'm Tony Self, broker, property manager with more than 30 years in real estate here in the South Bay.
And here's what still surprises me. I meet people who own income property with years of experience, agents who sell income property, and they don't know California has statewide rent control. So big shocker, it does since January 1st, 2020. So what I'm going to do every day is I'm going to go city by city and go with the first law that sits underneath all of them.
And that is our friend AB 1482, the Tenant Protection Act. AB 1482 does two things. One, it caps how much you can raise the rent. Two, it says once a tenant has been there long enough, you need a legal reason to end the tenancy.
Rent cap, just cause. Those are the whole law in really four words. Everything else is details. The details are where owners get hurt.
So here's the formula. 5% plus your region's inflation rate, CPI, Consumer Price Index. Never more than 10% total for the year. So here in Los Angeles and Orange County, for increases that take effect after August 1st, 2026 through July 31st, 2027, that number is 8.7%.
Two more rules. It's measured from the lowest rent you charged in the last 12 months. And you can't exceed more than two increases in 12 months. The rent cap number resets every August 1st, so put that on your calendar.
Now here's the part people get backwards. The cap applies to the tenant who is in the unit. When a unit turns over and a new tenant moves in, you can set the starting rate at market. The cap starts over from there.
So AB 1482 doesn't freeze your rent. It controls how fast they climb while someone's living there. The second rule, just cause. Once every tenant has been in the unit 12 months or any one of them has been there for 24 months, you need a reason to end the tenancy.
And you have to state it in the notice. There are two kinds of reason. At fault, not paying your rent, breaking the lease, or some of its terms. The no fault is where an owner wants to move in, either themselves or one of their family blood members, taking the unit off the market, or doing a substantial remodel where the unit is uninhabitable during major construction.
No fault means you will owe relocation. One month's rent, pay directly, or you waive the last month with 60 days notice to the tenant. And since April 2024, under SB 567, the owner move in and remodel rules got tighter and the penalties got real. So who is exempt?
Buildings with a certificate of occupancy in the last 15 years. That window will roll. An exemption expires as the building ages. A duplex, one structure where the owner lived in one side from the start of the tenancy in the whole time.
And single family homes and condos, but there's a trap. The home or condo is only exempt if two things are true. One, the owner is not a REIT and not a corporation and not an LLC with a corporation as a member. And second or two, the tenant got the written notice of exemption.
In our world, this is a California Association of Realtors form, C.A.R. Form RCJC the rent cap and just cause addendum. This will become part of the lease. And this box right here has to be checked.
And the addendum has to be delivered and signed by the tenant with the lease. You don't check that box, congratulations. Your single family home is under rent control. In January 2026, a bill called AB 1157 tried to cut the cap to 2% plus inflation to a max of 5% and pull single family homes and condos in.
Thankfully, it died in committee. But it took a lot of work from the associations, apartment associations and other associations that were part of to make sure it didn't go forward. But I do bet it will come back. And one more thing.
AB 1482 has an expiration date. Do any laws ever expire? This one does or supposed to. We'll see if it does.
Well, I should take bets on that. January 1st, 2030. So what happens then? That will be the last episode of this series.
So this week, pull your lease. Find the RCJC. Make sure that box is checked. Confirm how you hold title.
Find out if your city has its own rules. AB 1482 is statewide, but your city can enact more aggressive rent control. Stay tuned. So every day, I'm going to go city by city and ask that one question.
Is it just state law here or is there more on top? Tomorrow is Inglewood. I am Tony Self with Harcourts Hunter Mason Realty. I'm a broker, not your attorney.
And I'll see you tomorrow.
Transcript from the video's final-cut captions. Informational only, not legal advice.
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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