Raising Rent in Torrance: A Six-Step Checklist for 2026

The City of Torrance has no local rent control, so AB 1482 governs. Here's a six-step checklist for raising rent correctly in Torrance, including the lowest-rent rule and the 2026 appliance trigger.

Part of my city-by-city series. See every LA County city side by side →

The City of Torrance has no local rent control, no local just cause ordinance, and no rent registry. The state's Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482) governs.

That makes Torrance a good place to walk through a rent increase step by step, because this is where careful owners make small mistakes that turn into big problems.

First: which Torrance?

As we covered in Episode 3, a Torrance mailing address can be in the City of Torrance, in unincorporated LA County, or in the City of Los Angeles along the Harbor Gateway "Shoestring." Each has different rules. Check the parcel on LA County Planning's Z-Net (and ZIMAS if it might be LA City) before you do anything else.

Everything below applies to the City of Torrance.

Step 1: Is the unit covered?

Generally exempt from AB 1482's rent cap:

• Housing with a certificate of occupancy issued within the last 15 years (a rolling window).

• An owner-occupied duplex, where the owner lived in one unit from the start of the tenancy and throughout it.

• A single-family home or condo owned by an individual (not a REIT, corporation, or LLC with a corporate member), where the tenant received the written exemption notice, typically the C.A.R. RCJC addendum.

Most other rentals are covered.

Step 2: Find the lowest rent in the last 12 months

The cap is measured from the lowest gross rent charged at any time in the prior 12 months, not necessarily the current rent. If you gave a tenant a discounted month, that discounted month may be your starting point.

Step 3: Do the math

For increases effective August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027, the maximum in LA County is 8.7% (5% plus 3.7% regional CPI).

Example: lowest rent in the last 12 months was $2,400. Maximum increase: $208.80. New rent: $2,608.80.

You can split the increase into no more than two increases in 12 months, and together they can't exceed the cap.

Step 4: Check the lease

If the tenant is in a fixed-term lease, you generally can't raise the rent until the term ends unless the lease itself allows it. On a month-to-month tenancy, you can serve notice now.

Step 5: Serve the right notice

• Increase of 10% or less in 12 months: 30 days' written notice.

• Increase of more than 10% in 12 months (which only happens on an exempt property): 90 days' written notice.

Serve it properly and keep proof of service.

Step 6: Check the stove and refrigerator

Since January 1, 2026, a working stove and refrigerator are a habitability requirement under AB 628, and a change in terms, including a rent increase, triggers it for existing tenancies. Before you serve the increase, confirm both appliances are in the unit and working.

Your Torrance checklist

• Confirm the parcel is in the City of Torrance.

• Confirm the unit is covered or properly exempt.

• Find the lowest rent charged in the last 12 months.

• Stay at or under 8.7% through July 31, 2027, and no more than two increases in 12 months.

• Check whether a fixed-term lease blocks the increase.

• 30 days' notice for 10% or less, 90 days for more than 10%.

• Stove and refrigerator in place and working.

Next up

Next: Redondo Beach, where duplexes, ADUs, and the owner next door make the exemptions interesting.

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. Consult a qualified California landlord-tenant attorney about your specific property.

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

• LA County DCBA, rent increases (notice periods, 8.7% for 8/1/2026): https://dcba.lacounty.gov/portfolio/rent-increases/

• AB 628 bill text (stove and refrigerator): https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB628