Raising the rent on a California rental sounds simple. In practice, it is one of the easiest places for an owner to make an expensive mistake. The Tenant Protection Act of 2019, better known as AB 1482, caps how much you can raise rent on most properties statewide, and a notice that exceeds the cap is not just reduced to the legal amount. It can be challenged outright, expose you to penalties, and hand a tenant leverage you did not intend to give.
This guide walks through who AB 1482 applies to, exactly how the rent cap is calculated, how to serve a notice that holds up, and the mistakes that quietly void an increase. It covers the statewide law. If your property sits inside a stricter local ordinance such as the Los Angeles RSO, those rules take priority, and we cover that interaction at the end.
AB 1482 does two main things for covered properties. First, it limits annual rent increases. Second, it requires just cause to end a tenancy once a tenant has lived in the unit for 12 months. This article focuses on the rent cap, but the two provisions travel together, so it is worth knowing both apply to the same pool of properties.
The law is currently set to remain in effect through January 1, 2030. Until then, if your property is covered, every rent increase you serve has to fit inside the cap.
Most multifamily housing in California is covered. The cap applies unless your property fits a specific exemption. The common exemptions are:
The single-family exemption is the one owners get wrong most often. It only works if the correct written notice was delivered to the tenant. Without that notice, the home is treated as covered, and the cap applies in full.
For covered properties, the annual increase is limited to the lower of two numbers:
In plain terms: take 5%, add your regional CPI change, and if that total comes out above 10%, you are capped at 10%. The 10% ceiling is a hard limit no matter how high inflation runs.
Here is how the math plays out at different CPI levels. The CPI figures below are illustrative examples, not the current published numbers for any region.
| Regional CPI change (example) | 5% + CPI | Legal cap (lower of that or 10%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2.0% | 7.0% | 7.0% |
| 3.5% | 8.5% | 8.5% |
| 4.9% | 9.9% | 9.9% |
| 5.5% | 10.5% | 10.0% |
| 7.0% | 12.0% | 10.0% |
On a unit renting for $2,400, an 8.5% cap means the most you could raise rent that year is about $204, taking it to roughly $2,604. The same unit under a 10% ceiling could go up by $240. The difference between calculating this correctly and guessing is real money, and it is also the difference between a clean increase and one a tenant can contest.
The CPI figure is not a single statewide number. It is tied to the metropolitan area your property sits in, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes separate indexes for areas such as Los Angeles, Riverside, the San Francisco Bay Area, and San Diego. Properties in regions without their own published index use the California statewide figure instead.
Two practical points matter here. The applicable CPI is the figure published for a specific month each year, and increases that take effect in a given window use that year's number. Because the figure updates annually, you should confirm the current regional CPI before serving any notice rather than relying on last year's percentage. When in doubt, use the lower, more conservative number, or have your property manager confirm the exact figure that applies on your effective date.
You are allowed to raise rent more than once in a 12-month period, but the combined total of all increases in that window cannot exceed the annual cap. You cannot raise 8% in spring and another 8% in fall. If you raise 4% now and want to raise again within the same 12 months, the second increase is limited to whatever remains under the cap.
The increase amount is only half the job. The notice itself has to be served correctly:
AB 1482 is a statewide floor of tenant protection, not a ceiling. Where a city has its own rent stabilization ordinance, such as the Los Angeles RSO or other local programs, the stricter rule controls. Many of these local caps are well below 5% plus CPI, and some limit increases to a small fixed percentage each year. If your property is inside one of these jurisdictions, you calculate to the local cap, not the state cap. We cover the major Los Angeles area ordinances in our complete guide to RSO, AB 1482, and LARSO.
Before you serve any increase, the order of operations is simple: confirm whether a local ordinance applies, then apply AB 1482 only if it does not (or only to the extent it is stricter), then verify the current regional CPI, then serve proper written notice.
AB 1482 does not stop you from raising rent. It defines the lane you raise it in. Owners who calculate the cap correctly, track the current CPI, and serve clean notices almost never run into trouble. The owners who get burned are usually the ones who guessed at the number or assumed an exemption they never properly claimed. If you would rather not track regional CPI figures and notice rules every year, that is exactly the kind of thing professional management handles for you.
We handle rent increases, CPI tracking, and compliant notices across California. Start with a free assessment of your property.
Schedule Free AssessmentThis article is general information for California rental owners and is not legal advice. Rules change and local ordinances vary. Confirm the current figures and requirements for your specific property before acting.