Rent Payment Protections for California Tenants

Most California renters in housing more than 15 years old are covered by the Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482), which limits rent increases over any 12-month period to 5% plus the local change in the cost of living, and never more than 10%. For increases that take effect from August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027, that cap is 8.1% to 8.8% depending on the county, including 8.7% in Los Angeles and Orange counties. State law also requires 30 days' written notice for an increase of 10% or less and 90 days for a larger one, requires the landlord to allow at least one payment method other than cash or electronic transfer, and limits a late fee to a reasonable estimate of the landlord's costs. Older apartments in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and other cities with local rent control have lower caps.

How the statewide rent cap works

Under Civil Code section 1947.12, the total of all increases in any 12-month period cannot exceed the cap, measured against the lowest rent charged for your unit in the 12 months before the new increase takes effect. These rules decide your number:

• Two increases at most. While you stay in the unit, the landlord can raise the rent no more than twice in 12 months, and both count toward the same cap.
• Discounts do not lower the base. Move-in specials and other concessions are left out when finding the lowest rent, so the cap is figured on the full rent. The lease must list the full rent and any discount separately.
• The inflation figure. It is the April-to-April change in the regional Consumer Price Index (March where no April figure is published), rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent. Each year's figure applies to increases taking effect from August 1 through the next July 31.
• New tenants. When every tenant from the prior tenancy has moved out, the landlord can set any starting rent, and the cap applies to later increases.
• End date. The cap expires January 1, 2030, unless the Legislature extends it.

The Attorney General publishes the cap for each area:

Example: you rent in Los Angeles County. Your rent was $2,500 until February 2026, when it rose to $2,600, and your landlord wants to raise it again effective November 1, 2026. The Los Angeles-area index rose from 342.565 in April 2025 to 355.166 in April 2026, a 3.7% change after rounding, so the cap is 5% + 3.7% = 8.7%. The lowest rent in the 12 months before November 1 is $2,500, and $2,500 x 0.087 = $217.50, so the new rent can be no more than $2,717.50. That is only $117.50 above what you pay now, because the February increase already used $100 of the allowance.

Is your unit covered?

The state cap does not apply to:

• Newer housing. A unit with a certificate of occupancy (the city's approval for people to live in a new building) issued within the past 15 years is exempt. The 15 years roll forward, so a building gains coverage as it ages.
• Houses and condos not owned by a corporation. A single-family home, condo, or other unit that can be sold separately is exempt only if the owner is not a corporation, a real estate investment trust, or an LLC with a corporate member, and you received the written exemption notice the law spells out. For tenancies that began or renewed on or after July 1, 2020, that notice must be in the lease.
• Owner-occupied duplexes. A two-unit building qualifies if the owner lived in the other unit when your tenancy began and still lives there, and neither unit is an accessory dwelling unit, such as a backyard cottage.
• Affordable housing and dorms. Housing restricted by deed or government agreement as affordable for lower-income households is exempt, as are school and college dormitories.
• Units under a stricter local law. A unit covered by a local rent control law that limits increases to less than the state cap follows the local law instead.

The Attorney General notes that a Section 8 voucher does not make a market-rate unit exempt. If your landlord claims an exemption, ask in writing which one applies and check your lease for the required notice; California lease disclosure requirements covers other notices your lease must include.

Notice: 30 days or 90 days, in writing

For a month-to-month or other periodic tenancy, Civil Code section 827 requires written notice of a rent increase, either handed to you or mailed to you. The Attorney General notes that a call, text, or email is not enough.

• 30 days' notice if the increase, added to any other increases in the prior 12 months, comes to 10% or less of the lowest rent charged in that period.
• 90 days' notice if the total is more than 10%. Because the state cap never exceeds 10%, an increase that large is lawful only in an exempt unit.
• 5 more days if mailed. The state's tenant guide says a notice mailed from within California must be sent at least 35 days ahead, or 95 days for an increase over 10%.

Example: for an increase starting December 1, the notice must be handed to you by November 1 or mailed by October 27.

During a fixed-term lease, the rent can go up only if the lease allows it. At renewal, the cap still limits the increase for a covered unit. How to handle a rent increase covers negotiating and responding.

Paying rent: methods, receipts, and late fees

Civil Code section 1947.3 sets the payment rules:

• Your landlord must let you pay rent and the security deposit by at least one method that is neither cash nor electronic funds transfer, such as a check or money order. You and the landlord can agree to cash or online payment, as long as another method stays available.
• Since January 1, 2025, the landlord cannot charge you a fee for paying by check.
• After a check bounces or you stop payment on one, the landlord can require cash for up to three months, but only after giving you written notice with a copy of the returned check. If requiring cash changes your rental agreement, the landlord must also give the advance notice required by Civil Code section 827 before the change takes effect.
• The landlord must accept rent paid for you by someone else, such as a relative or a charity, if that person signs a statement that they are not a tenant and that paying does not make them one.

You are entitled to a written receipt whenever you pay rent. The state's tenant guide advises asking for a signed, dated receipt when you pay in cash or by money order and keeping canceled checks as proof. Rent payment rules for tenants compares due dates and receipt rules in other states.

California has no statewide dollar cap on late fees. The state's tenant guide, citing court decisions, says a late fee in a lease holds up only when the landlord's actual cost from late payment would be hard to calculate and the fee is a reasonable estimate of that cost; a fee high enough to work as a penalty is not valid. Some local rent control ordinances limit late fees further. For a bounced check, the landlord can charge a reasonable returned-check fee if the lease allows one, or instead the service charge allowed by the state's bad-check law: up to $25 for the first bounced check and $35 for each one after that.

If rent goes unpaid, the landlord's first step toward eviction is a 3-day notice to pay rent or quit. That notice can demand only the rent you owe, not late fees, utilities, or damages, and its 3 days do not count Saturdays, Sundays, or court holidays. A landlord can refuse a partial payment, or accept it and still serve the notice, so get any agreement to pay the rest later in writing. California eviction protections explains what happens after the notice.

Cities with their own rent caps

The Attorney General's chart lists these current annual adjustments for four of the largest local programs:

The chart lists 35 local programs in all, including Berkeley, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Pasadena, Santa Ana, and unincorporated Los Angeles County.

State law limits what local rent control can cover. A local cap cannot apply to a unit with a certificate of occupancy issued after February 1, 1995, or to most single-family homes and condos, and the landlord can set a new rent when a tenant moves out. Those units can still fall under the statewide cap: a Los Angeles apartment first approved for occupancy in 1990 is outside the city's rent stabilization ordinance but, being more than 15 years old, is covered by the state cap unless another exemption applies. Rent control vs. rent stabilization explains how the two kinds of programs differ.

What to do if an increase is over the limit

1. Check the math. Find the lowest rent charged in the 12 months before the new rent starts, multiply it by your area's cap, and compare the result with the total of all increases in that window.
2. Check for an exemption. Look at the building's age, who owns it, and whether your lease contains the exemption notice.
3. Write to the landlord. Show your math and ask for a corrected notice. Keep paying on time while you dispute it, and get legal advice before you pay less than the amount demanded, since unpaid rent can lead to a 3-day notice.
4. Know the remedy. A court can order a landlord who demands, accepts, or keeps rent above the cap to repay the overcharge and stop, and may award you attorney's fees. If the landlord acted willfully or with oppression, fraud, or malice, damages can reach three times the overcharge. You have three years to sue, and the Attorney General, city attorney, or county counsel can also enforce the cap.
5. Get help. In a city with rent control, contact the local rent program. The Attorney General points tenants to LawHelpCA.org for free or low-cost legal aid.

State law also bars a landlord from retaliating against you, for example by trying to evict you, because you pointed out that a rent increase is unlawful.