{ "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "description": "Verified local rent-regulation records: city and county rent stabilization ordinances, state frameworks under which localities regulate rents, and localities widely but wrongly claimed to regulate rents (recorded so the absence is a stated, cited fact). Each record attaches to the state whose verified preemption posture permits local regulation, carries statute citations and its own verification date, and states every time-limited figure with the period it applies to and the official source that published it.", "locality_count": 44, "localities": [ "Berkeley, CA", "Beverly Hills, CA", "Culver City, CA", "Hayward, CA", "Inglewood, CA", "Los Angeles, CA", "Los Angeles County (unincorporated), CA", "Mountain View, CA", "Oakland, CA", "Pasadena, CA", "Pomona, CA", "Richmond, CA", "Sacramento, CA", "San Francisco, CA", "San Jose, CA", "Santa Ana, CA", "Santa Monica, CA", "West Hollywood, CA", "Connecticut municipalities, CT", "Stamford, CT", "Chicago, IL", "Boston, MA", "Montgomery County, MD", "Prince George's County, MD", "Takoma Park, MD", "Portland, ME", "South Portland, ME", "Minneapolis, MN", "St. Paul, MN", "Atlantic City, NJ", "Bayonne, NJ", "East Orange, NJ", "Elizabeth, NJ", "Fort Lee, NJ", "Hoboken, NJ", "Jersey City, NJ", "Newark, NJ", "Passaic, NJ", "Paterson, NJ", "New York City, NY", "New York municipalities outside NYC, NY", "New Shoreham (Block Island), RI", "Providence, RI", "Seattle, WA" ] }, "localities": [ { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Berkeley", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/california/berkeley/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Berkeley", "locality_slug": "berkeley", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Stabilization and Eviction for Just Cause Ordinance", "page_title": "Berkeley Rent Stabilization Ordinance", "topic_verified": "2026-08-16", "status_plain": "In force today. Berkeley voters adopted the Rent Stabilization and Eviction for Good Cause Ordinance in 1980 (Berkeley Municipal Code Chapter 13.76), and an elected Rent Stabilization Board administers it. Voters last rewrote it through Measure BB (Ordinance 7,950-N.S.), approved November 5, 2024 and in effect December 20, 2024, which renamed the law the Rent Stabilization and Eviction for Just Cause Ordinance, lowered the yearly increase ceiling from 7% to 5%, brought government-subsidized units under the ordinance, tightened the eviction grounds, added tenant-notice and tenant-organizing rules, and limited utility charges.", "cap_plain": "The Rent Board sets one Annual General Adjustment each year, effective January 1. It equals 65% of the change in the Bay Area consumer price index over the 12 months ending the previous June 30, rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent, with a floor of 0% and a ceiling of 5%. The Board must publish the figure by about October 31, and landlords must give at least 30 days' written notice before applying it. A unit whose rent was set in the prior calendar year is not eligible until the following year. Unused adjustments may be saved and applied later, so a single increase to the lawful rent ceiling can exceed 5%. Increases beyond the rent ceiling require a Rent Board petition, and a landlord who has not registered, paid fees, returned deposit interest, or fixed cited habitability problems may not take the adjustment.", "coverage_plain": "The ordinance sorts rentals into three groups. Fully covered units — most multi-unit buildings first occupied on or before June 30, 1980, plus single-family homes whose tenancy began before January 1, 1996 — have a rent ceiling and every other protection. Partially covered units — buildings first occupied after June 30, 1980, most separately owned single-family homes and condominiums, and government-owned or subsidized units to the extent federal or state law bars local rent limits — have no rent ceiling but keep the just-cause eviction, security-deposit interest, and registration rules. Fully exempt units include hotel stays under 14 days, nonprofit co-ops, hospitals and care facilities, units sharing a kitchen or bath with an owner who lived there when the tenancy began, recognized fraternity and sorority houses, one permitted accessory dwelling unit on an owner-occupied single-family lot for tenancies after November 7, 2018, nonprofit shelters and transitional housing, a single owner-occupied home rented for up to 24 months while the owner is away, and two-unit properties owner-occupied on December 31, 1979 and still owner-occupied.", "vacancy_plain": "When a tenancy ends, state law lets the landlord set a new starting rent, and that rent becomes the unit's new rent ceiling; the landlord must file a vacancy registration with the Rent Board within 15 days of the new tenancy. The Rent Board treats a new tenancy as starting only when all original occupants have left. A new rent may not be set after a landlord-initiated no-fault termination, and after an owner files an Ellis Act withdrawal notice no vacancy increase may be taken on the affected units for five years.", "eviction_limits_plain": "A landlord may end a tenancy in a fully or partially covered unit only on one of ten listed grounds: nonpayment (only when the unpaid rent is at least one month of the federal fair market rent for the unit size), an uncured breach of an agreed material lease term that caused the landlord substantial actual harm, substantial damage, disturbing other occupants, refusing lawful access, substantial repairs that require the unit to be vacant, demolition under permit, move-in by an owner of at least a 50% interest or the owner's spouse, child, or parent for at least 36 months, an owner returning to a temporarily leased home as the lease allows, or failure to leave temporary replacement housing after repairs. Owner move-in evictions carry relocation payments to households of one year or more, with a larger payment for low-income, elderly, disabled, minor-child, and pre-1999 households; the amounts adjust each January and must be deposited with the Rent Board within 10 days of the notice. Every termination notice must include the Rent Board's contact information, and copies of notices and eviction complaints must be filed with the Board within three business days of service.", "registration_plain": "Every unit that is not fully exempt must be registered with the Rent Board, with a per-unit fee due each July 1 and a 100% penalty for late payment. Landlords must re-register within 15 days of each new tenancy, give each new tenant a written Notice of Tenant Rights within 15 days, and may not pass registration fees through to tenants without the Board's express prior approval. Fully covered and partially covered units pay different fee amounts, set by the Board each spring.", "extras_plain": "Landlords of fully and partially covered units must pay tenants interest on security deposits every December at a rate the Rent Board publishes each fall. For leases signed after February 6, 2024, tenants may be charged for utilities only if the charge is built into the base rent or the service is separately metered in the tenant's name. Tenants at larger properties have an enforceable right to form tenant associations that the landlord must meet with in good faith, and a separate city ordinance sets the procedure and the same relocation payments for Ellis Act withdrawals.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Annual General Adjustment (fully covered units)", "value": "1.0%", "period": "January 1, 2026 – December 31, 2026", "source_url": "https://rentboard.berkeleyca.gov/rights-responsibilities/rent-levels/annual-general-adjustment", "official": true }, { "label": "Owner move-in / Ellis relocation payment (standard; additional for qualifying households)", "value": "$19,413; additional $6,471", "period": "January 1, 2026 – December 31, 2026", "source_url": "https://rentboard.berkeleyca.gov/elected-rent-board/news/2026-adjustments-relocation-assistance-payments", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "Berkeley Mun. Code § 13.76.050 (applicability; partially covered and fully exempt units)", "url": "https://berkeley.municipal.codes/BMC/13.76.050", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Berkeley Mun. Code § 13.76.080 (rent registration)", "url": "https://berkeley.municipal.codes/BMC/13.76.080", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Berkeley Mun. Code § 13.76.100 (base rent ceiling; vacancy; utilities)", "url": "https://berkeley.municipal.codes/BMC/13.76.100", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Berkeley Mun. Code § 13.76.110 (annual general adjustment)", "url": "https://berkeley.municipal.codes/BMC/13.76.110", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Berkeley Mun. Code § 13.76.130 (just cause required for eviction; relocation)", "url": "https://berkeley.municipal.codes/BMC/13.76.130", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Ordinance No. 7,950-N.S. (Measure BB, 2024) — full amended text of Chapter 13.76", "url": "https://rentboard.berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Rent%20Stabilization%20Ordinance_BMC%20Chapter%2013.76.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Berkeley Rent Board Regulation 1148 (2026 Annual General Adjustment Order)", "url": "https://rentboard.berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/documents/AGA%20Order.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Berkeley Rent Board — Annual General Adjustment (current figure)", "url": "https://rentboard.berkeleyca.gov/rights-responsibilities/rent-levels/annual-general-adjustment", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (statewide rent cap and its local-ordinance exemption)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1947.12&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (d)(3)–(d)(5), (o)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 (statewide just cause; deference to local ordinances)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1946.2&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(i)(1), (n)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535 (Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.52&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 1954.52(a), 1954.53(a)" } ], "summary_plain": "Berkeley limits rent increases for most apartments first occupied on or before June 30, 1980 to one Annual General Adjustment each year — 1.0% for January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026 — set by the elected Rent Stabilization Board at 65% of Bay Area inflation, never below 0% or above 5%. Newer buildings and most separately owned houses and condominiums have no local rent ceiling, but California's statewide limit of 5% plus inflation (10% maximum) reaches most of them once they are more than 15 years old. Nearly every Berkeley rental, capped or not, is under the ordinance's just-cause eviction rules, security-deposit interest rule, and annual registration with the Rent Board, and owner move-in evictions require relocation payments that adjust each January.", "notes": [ { "label": "How the city cap and the state cap fit together", "text": "fully covered Berkeley units are exempt from California's statewide rent cap because the local limit is stricter. Buildings first occupied after June 30, 1980 fall under the statewide cap of 5% plus inflation (at most 10%) once their certificate of occupancy is more than 15 years old. Buildings newer than 15 years, and most individually owned single-family homes and condominiums, sit outside both caps — but Berkeley's just-cause, deposit-interest, and registration rules still apply to them as partially covered units." }, { "label": "State law fixes the coverage line", "text": "the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act guarantees landlords a market-rate reset between tenancies, keeps most separately owned single-family homes and condominiums outside local rent caps, and bars the city from extending rent ceilings to buildings its rules exempted as new construction. Berkeley's ordinance says its single-family exemption lasts only as long as state law requires it, and it names a fallback rule for new construction if state law changes." }, { "label": "Renamed by Measure BB", "text": "the ordinance was titled the Rent Stabilization and Eviction for Good Cause Ordinance from 1980 until Measure BB took effect on December 20, 2024; some Rent Board materials still use the older name." }, { "label": "Government-subsidized units", "text": "since December 20, 2024, Section 8, Shelter Plus Care, and similar subsidized units must be registered and are fully or partially covered depending on unit type and on whether federal or state rules bar local rent limits; for newly covered units the contract rent on that date became the rent ceiling." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Beverly Hills", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/california/beverly-hills/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Beverly Hills", "locality_slug": "beverly-hills", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Stabilization Ordinance (Chapter 5 and Chapter 6)", "page_title": "Beverly Hills Rent Stabilization", "topic_verified": "2026-08-17", "status_plain": "In force today. Beverly Hills has capped rent increases since the City Council adopted its first rent regulations on September 19, 1978. The rules sit in two chapters of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code that work differently: Chapter 5 covers the oldest, lowest-rent buildings, and Chapter 6 covers everything else the ordinance reaches. Both were rewritten in 2017 and 2018. The most recent changes took effect January 3, 2025: one ordinance moved disruptive-tenant cases to a hearing officer, and a second closed the Rent Stabilization Commission. The program is now run by the Rent Stabilization and Housing Division of the Community Development Department, with hearing officers deciding petitions and applications. Neither chapter expires.", "cap_plain": "Rent may be raised once every 12 months, on at least 30 days' written notice, and 12 months must have passed since the last increase. The two chapters use opposite formulas. For Chapter 6 units, the limit is the greater of 3% or the change in the Los Angeles/Riverside/Orange County consumer price index from May 1 of the prior year to May 1 of the current year — so 3% is a floor, not a ceiling, and there is no upper limit. For Chapter 5 units, the limit is 8% or the consumer price index figure as of the date of the increase notice, whichever is lower — so 8% is a ceiling. The city calculates the Chapter 6 figure once a year in June and recalculates the Chapter 5 figure every month, and posts both on its Rent Stabilization Ordinance page. A skipped increase is lost: the city states that an owner may not catch up by applying two years' worth of increases in one year. A landlord who is not in substantial compliance with the registration rules may not demand, accept, or keep the annual increase. Water and refuse surcharges may be added on top of the cap, and Chapter 5 units may also carry a capital improvement surcharge spread over 60 months and limited to 4% of the base rent. A landlord seeking more than the allowed percentage may apply for a rent adjustment to reach a just and reasonable return based on net operating income, decided by a hearing officer after notice to the tenants.", "coverage_plain": "The ordinance reaches most residential rentals in Beverly Hills. Outside it are single-family residences, most condominiums, units in buildings issued a certificate of occupancy after February 1, 1995, hotel, motel, inn, and rooming-house stays of no more than 30 consecutive days, non-profit cooperatives owned and controlled by a majority of the residents, and units owned or operated by a government agency. Covered units fall into one of two groups. Chapter 5 units are in buildings constructed before September 20, 1978 whose original rent was $600 a month or less; that chapter also excludes units the tenant does not occupy as a primary residence. Every other covered unit is a Chapter 6 unit, and Chapter 6 reaches buildings of two or more units. Because the primary-residence exclusion belongs to Chapter 5 alone, a unit that is not the tenant's main home can still be a Chapter 6 unit.", "vacancy_plain": "When every tenant moves out voluntarily, or when tenants are evicted for nonpayment of rent, a lease violation, nuisance, illegal use, refusing the landlord access, or an unapproved subtenant, the landlord and the next tenant may agree on any starting rent. That agreed amount becomes the new base rent and the yearly cap applies from there. A move-out does not count as voluntary if the landlord caused it, if the landlord ended the tenancy by notice, or if it followed a change in the terms of the tenancy other than a lawful change in rent or fees. There is no reset after the no-fault grounds — an owner or manager move-in, a demolition or condominium conversion, a withdrawal from the rental market, or a refusal to sign a renewal lease — and none after a disruptive-tenant eviction, where the ordinance says the rent charged to the next tenant may not exceed what the departing tenant paid. A unit emptied for demolition or conversion stays under the ordinance if it is rented again, and the landlord must tell the new tenant in writing what the controlled rent is. At least 24 hours before a lease is signed, the landlord must give the new tenant written notice of the ordinance, including the allowed annual increase, and keep the tenant's signed acknowledgment for the whole tenancy; skipping that notice carries a $500 penalty.", "eviction_limits_plain": "A landlord may end a tenancy in a covered unit only on one of twelve grounds. Seven are tenant-fault grounds: nonpayment of rent, violating an obligation of the tenancy after written notice and a chance to fix it, nuisance or damage, illegal use, refusing reasonable access, an unapproved subtenant in possession at the end of a lease, and a hearing officer's finding that the tenant is disruptive. The rest are no-fault grounds that require a relocation payment: refusing to sign a renewal on the same terms, a move-in by the owner or the owner's spouse, children, or parents, a change of building manager, demolition or condominium conversion, and withdrawal of the property from the rental market. An owner move-in needs 90 days' written notice naming the person moving in, filed with the city before it is served, no comparable vacant unit in the building during those 90 days, and the unit taken must be the one held by the most recent tenant among comparable units; tenants who are 65 or older or handicapped may not be displaced if another comparable unit exists. Only one unit per property may be recovered this way, and bad faith is presumed if the occupant does not move in within 30 days and stay 12 months. Demolition and conversion need 90 days' notice approved by the city, all permits already issued, and the relocation payment made or placed in escrow. A withdrawal from the rental market must cover every unit on the property, needs 120 days' notice filed with the city and recorded with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder, and stretches to a full year for tenants who are 62 or older or disabled and have lived there at least a year. A disruptive-tenant case requires a written warning with 10 days to stop, a written offer of mediation with 30 days to respond, and then a hearing where the landlord carries the burden of proof. Relocation payments rise every July 1 with inflation; as of July 1, 2026 they are $8,636.20 for a studio, $12,756.96 for a one-bedroom, and $17,283.53 for two or more bedrooms, with $2,000 more where a tenant is 62 or older, disabled, or a minor. The payment is due when the tenant moves out, is owed even if the landlord never uses the unit as the notice said, and a landlord may instead move the tenant into a comparable unit and cover the actual cost up to the same limits.", "registration_plain": "Owners of covered rentals must register every unit with the city and report the rent for each one, and must register again each year — the deadline for 2026 is August 31, 2026. A unit must be registered within 30 days of the city's notice that registration is required, within 30 days after an exemption ends, within 30 days of being rented again after a vacancy, and within 30 days of a change in ownership, management, or contact details. Registration counts as complete only when all information is in and all outstanding fees and penalties are paid. Owners must also give their Beverly Hills business tax registration number and upload a current business tax certificate. Rent may not be raised, accepted, or kept while a unit is out of compliance. After each yearly cycle the city mails tenants a notice of the rent their landlord reported, and a tenant who thinks the figure is wrong may file a rent appeal using the identification number in that notice. The city charges a rent control enforcement and administration fee of $74.00 per unit per year for the 2026-27 fiscal year.", "extras_plain": "Landlords and tenants may not agree to waive the ordinance or to a larger increase than it allows. A new tenant must receive the Beverly Hills Tenant Landlord Handbook at least 24 hours before signing, with both sides signing to confirm it was given. For Chapter 5 units, a security deposit may be raised by the same percentage as the rent at the time the rent is recalculated. Landlords who file must pay city fees set each fiscal year: for 2026-27, $1,024.00 to request a disruptive-tenant hearing, $1,139.00 per unit to petition for a rent adjustment or a capital improvement, $1,139.00 to file eviction notices for a building of ten units or less when withdrawing from the rental market plus $143.00 for each unit above ten, and $100.00 per building to file tenancy-termination notices for a demolition or conversion plus $10.00 for each unit above ten. The city also runs a construction plan review for work affecting occupied rent-stabilized buildings, a replacement unit determination for new multi-family projects, and points tenants to a free legal clinic.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Chapter 6 units - maximum annual rent increase", "value": "3.6%", "period": "Set in June 2026; in effect until the city's next annual recalculation in June 2027", "source_url": "https://www.beverlyhills.org/1098/Rent-Stabilization-Ordinance", "official": true }, { "label": "Chapter 5 units - maximum annual rent increase", "value": "3.35%", "period": "Posted August 12, 2026; the city recalculates this figure monthly through 2026 and after", "source_url": "https://www.beverlyhills.org/1098/Rent-Stabilization-Ordinance", "official": true }, { "label": "Relocation payment - studio", "value": "$8,636.20 ($10,636.20 where a tenant is 62 or older, disabled, or a minor)", "period": "July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.beverlyhills.org/1094/Tenant-Eviction-Protections", "official": true }, { "label": "Relocation payment - one bedroom", "value": "$12,756.96 ($14,756.96 where a tenant is 62 or older, disabled, or a minor)", "period": "July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.beverlyhills.org/1094/Tenant-Eviction-Protections", "official": true }, { "label": "Relocation payment - two or more bedrooms", "value": "$17,283.53 ($19,283.53 where a tenant is 62 or older, disabled, or a minor)", "period": "July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.beverlyhills.org/1094/Tenant-Eviction-Protections", "official": true }, { "label": "Rent control enforcement and administration fee", "value": "$74.00 per unit per year", "period": "Fiscal year July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.beverlyhills.org/DocumentCenter/View/16358/FY-2026-2027-Taxes-Fees-and-Charges-PDF", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "Beverly Hills Municipal Code § 4-6-1 (Chapter 6 application and coverage)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/beverlyhillsca/latest/beverlyhills_ca/0-0-0-4665", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Beverly Hills Municipal Code § 4-6-2 (base rent)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/beverlyhillsca/latest/beverlyhills_ca/0-0-0-4667", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Beverly Hills Municipal Code § 4-6-3 (Chapter 6 rental increases)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/beverlyhillsca/latest/beverlyhills_ca/0-0-0-4669", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A)-(D)" }, { "statute": "Beverly Hills Municipal Code § 4-6-5 (vacancies; new-tenancy notice)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/beverlyhillsca/latest/beverlyhills_ca/0-0-0-4678", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A)-(C)" }, { "statute": "Beverly Hills Municipal Code § 4-6-6 (grounds for eviction)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/beverlyhillsca/latest/beverlyhills_ca/0-0-0-4682", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A)-(M)" }, { "statute": "Beverly Hills Municipal Code § 4-6-9 (relocation fee)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/beverlyhillsca/latest/beverlyhills_ca/0-0-0-4810", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A)-(G)" }, { "statute": "Beverly Hills Municipal Code § 4-6-10 (registration of rental units)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/beverlyhillsca/latest/beverlyhills_ca/0-0-0-4827", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A)-(D)" }, { "statute": "Beverly Hills Municipal Code § 4-5-101 (Chapter 5 application)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/beverlyhillsca/latest/beverlyhills_ca/0-0-0-4344", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Beverly Hills Municipal Code § 4-5-102 (Chapter 5 exemptions)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/beverlyhillsca/latest/beverlyhills_ca/0-0-0-4346", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A)-(H)" }, { "statute": "Beverly Hills Municipal Code § 4-5-303 (Chapter 5 annual increases; security deposits)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/beverlyhillsca/latest/beverlyhills_ca/0-0-0-4384", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A), (C), (D), (E)" }, { "statute": "Beverly Hills Municipal Code § 4-5-605 (Chapter 5 relocation fee amounts)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/beverlyhillsca/latest/beverlyhills_ca/0-0-0-4600", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Beverly Hills Municipal Code § 4-5-801 (Chapter 5 registration of rental units)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/beverlyhillsca/latest/beverlyhills_ca/0-0-0-4631", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A)-(D)" }, { "statute": "Beverly Hills Municipal Code Title 2, Ch. 2, Art. 5 (Rent Stabilization Commission, repealed by Ord. 24-O-2906, eff. January 3, 2025)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/beverlyhillsca/latest/beverlyhills_ca/0-0-0-773", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Beverly Hills - Rent Stabilization Ordinance (current maximum increases for both chapters)", "url": "https://www.beverlyhills.org/1098/Rent-Stabilization-Ordinance", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Beverly Hills - Tenant Eviction Protections (grounds table; relocation payments effective July 1, 2026)", "url": "https://www.beverlyhills.org/1094/Tenant-Eviction-Protections", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Beverly Hills - Rental Unit Registration and Appeals", "url": "https://www.beverlyhills.org/1505/Rental-Unit-Registration-Appeals", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Beverly Hills Finance Department - Schedule of Taxes, Fees and Charges, fiscal year 2026-27", "url": "https://www.beverlyhills.org/DocumentCenter/View/16358/FY-2026-2027-Taxes-Fees-and-Charges-PDF", "official": true, "pinpoint": "Community Development - Rent Stabilization" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (statewide rent cap and its local-ordinance exemption)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1947.12&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)(1), (d)(3)-(d)(5), (o)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 (statewide just cause; deference to local ordinances)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1946.2&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(i)(1), (n)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954.50-1954.535 (Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.52&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 1954.52(a)(1)-(3), 1954.53(a)" } ], "summary_plain": "Beverly Hills limits rent increases to one every 12 months and sets the size of the increase differently for two groups of units. For Chapter 6 units — most covered rentals — the limit is the greater of 3% or Los Angeles-area inflation, which means 3% is a floor rather than a ceiling; the city set that figure at 3.6% in June 2026 and recalculates it each June. For Chapter 5 units, the oldest buildings, put up before September 20, 1978 and first rented at $600 a month or less, the limit is 8% or inflation, whichever is lower; the city recalculates that figure every month and posted 3.35% on August 12, 2026. Single-family homes, most condominiums, and buildings issued a certificate of occupancy after February 1, 1995 sit outside the city's rules, though most of those newer buildings fall under California's statewide limit of 5% plus inflation, capped at 10%, once they are more than 15 years old. A tenancy in a covered unit may be ended only on one of twelve listed grounds, and the no-fault grounds require a relocation payment that rises each July 1 — from $8,636.20 for a studio to $17,283.53 for two or more bedrooms as of July 1, 2026, with $2,000 more where a tenant is 62 or older, disabled, or a minor. Owners must register every covered unit each year, by August 31 in 2026, and pay $74.00 per unit for the year; rent may not be raised while a unit is out of compliance.", "notes": [ { "label": "Two chapters, two opposite formulas", "text": "the split is easy to get backwards. Chapter 6 sets the increase at the greater of 3% or inflation, so 3% is the minimum a landlord may take and there is no upper limit. Chapter 5 sets it at 8% or inflation, whichever is lower, so 8% is a maximum that inflation rarely reaches. A unit is a Chapter 5 unit only if its building went up before September 20, 1978 and its original rent was $600 a month or less; everything else the ordinance covers is a Chapter 6 unit." }, { "label": "How the city cap and the state cap fit together", "text": "units under either Beverly Hills chapter are exempt from California's statewide rent cap, because both local limits come out below the state formula of 5% plus inflation. Buildings issued a certificate of occupancy after February 1, 1995 fall outside the city's rules entirely and under the statewide cap once they are more than 15 years old. Buildings newer than 15 years, and most separately owned single-family homes and condominiums, sit outside both caps. On evictions, California's just-cause law steps aside for local ordinances adopted on or before September 1, 2019, and the Beverly Hills grounds long predate that date, so the city's list governs covered units." }, { "label": "State law fixes the coverage line", "text": "the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act guarantees landlords a market-rate reset between tenancies, keeps most separately owned single-family homes and condominiums outside local rent caps, and bars the city from capping rents in buildings issued a certificate of occupancy after February 1, 1995. Chapter 6 writes that February 1, 1995 date into its own coverage section, and Chapter 5 carries an older construction line of September 20, 1978 that state law preserves." }, { "label": "The city's posted figures move on different clocks", "text": "the Chapter 6 percentage is calculated once a year in June from the change in the Los Angeles-area consumer price index between May 1 and May 1. The Chapter 5 percentage is recalculated every month, because the ordinance ties it to inflation as of the date of the increase notice rather than to a fixed annual date. The city publishes both on one page with the date each was last updated, and does not publish a start-and-end window for either." }, { "label": "No rent board since January 2025", "text": "the Rent Stabilization Commission, created in 2018, was closed by an ordinance effective January 3, 2025. The Rent Stabilization and Housing Division now administers the ordinance, and hearing officers decide rent adjustment petitions, disruptive-tenant applications, and disputes over who is owed a relocation payment." }, { "label": "Relocation amounts in the code are the starting figures", "text": "the ordinance prints $6,193 for a studio, $9,148 for a one-bedroom, and $12,394 for two or more bedrooms, then directs that those amounts rise every July 1 with Los Angeles-area inflation. The figures that apply today are the raised ones the city publishes on its eviction protections page, not the starting amounts in the code." }, { "label": "Two different senior age lines", "text": "a tenant who is 62 or older gets the extra $2,000 relocation payment and, when a property is withdrawn from the rental market, a full year before the withdrawal takes effect. The protection against being displaced by an owner move-in when another comparable unit exists uses a higher line: 65 or older, or handicapped." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Culver City", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/california/culver-city/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Culver City", "locality_slug": "culver-city", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Stabilization Ordinance and Tenant Protections Ordinance", "page_title": "Culver City Rent Stabilization", "topic_verified": "2026-08-17", "status_plain": "In force today. Culver City has capped rent increases and limited evictions since October 30, 2020, when two permanent ordinances the City Council adopted on September 29, 2020 took effect: the Rent Control Ordinance and the Tenant Protections Ordinance, added to Chapter 15.09 of the Culver City Municipal Code. They replaced a temporary measure the Council had adopted on August 12, 2019. On January 12, 2026 the Council amended both, renaming the first one the Rent Stabilization Ordinance; those changes took effect on February 11, 2026 and moved the yearly rent limit from a monthly announcement to a single annual figure. Neither ordinance has an end date. The city's Housing Services Division runs the program.", "cap_plain": "One rent increase is allowed per 12 months for units under the cap, and the landlord must give the written notice California law requires for the size of the increase. The limit tracks the consumer price index for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area, measured as the change in the 12-month average and rounded to the nearest quarter percent, but it can never be less than 2% or more than 5%. The Housing Services Division announces the figure once a year, for a year that runs from July 1. A landlord who says the limit prevents a fair and reasonable return may apply to the Housing Services Division for a larger increase; the unit must be registered first, tenants must be sent a copy of the application, and the decision can be appealed to a hearing officer. Rent collected above the limit must be refunded in a lump sum or credited against rent over no more than six months.", "coverage_plain": "The rent cap reaches apartments and other multi-unit rentals first occupied on or before February 1, 1995. Outside the cap are buildings whose first certificate of occupancy came after that date, single-family homes, condominiums and townhomes that can be sold separately from any other unit, subdivided interests, units receiving federal, state or local housing subsidies including Section 8, licensed residential care facilities for the elderly, and anything state or federal law exempts. Two carve-outs to those exclusions: a mobile home rented out by its own owner, and a rental unit contained wholly within a separately owned house or condominium, both stay under the cap. The eviction rules reach much further than the cap does, covering nearly every rental in the city including houses and condominiums.", "vacancy_plain": "When a tenant moves out voluntarily, or is evicted for a reason the tenant is responsible for, the landlord may set the new starting rent at any amount, and the cap then applies to the new tenancy. The rent may also be reset after a no-fault eviction, except that if the unit was taken back for the landlord or a relative to live in, the landlord or relative must have lived there continuously for three years first. There is no reset where the tenant left because of harassment, constructive eviction or a breach of quiet enjoyment, where the tenant was evicted within the first 12 months of the tenancy, or where the tenant chose to leave under a buyout after the unit became unlivable during construction. A capital improvement charge cannot be carried over to the new tenant.", "eviction_limits_plain": "Once at least one tenant has lived in a unit for more than 12 months, a landlord may end the tenancy only for a listed reason, and the rule reaches nearly every rental in the city, including houses and condominiums. It does not apply to a room without its own bathroom or kitchen where the tenant shares with the landlord or the landlord's family. Tenant-fault reasons are nonpayment after a 3-day demand, a material lease violation left uncured for 10 days, continued refusal of reasonable access, nuisance or illegal use, and the end of employment for a resident manager housed as part of the job. No-fault reasons are demolition or permanent removal from the rental market, occupancy by the landlord or a close relative, compliance with an affordable-housing restriction, and compliance with a government order to vacate. A landlord or relative moving in must take up residence within three months and stay three years, may use the reason only once per person across all their Culver City units, and cannot displace a tenant of 10 or more years whose household includes someone 62 or older or disabled, a terminally ill tenant, a low-income tenant, or a household with a school-aged child during the school term. Every termination notice must state the reason in reasonable detail, carry a plain-language notice of these protections, and be sent to the Housing Services Division by certified mail within 5 calendar days of service; a notice that misses any of these steps is void.", "registration_plain": "Every rental unit in the city must be registered with the Housing Services Division each year by July 31, including units that are outside the rent cap but covered by the eviction rules, unless the division has approved an exemption. Registration must also be updated when ownership changes, when a new tenancy begins, and when housing services change, and it is only complete once ownership, property, year built and certificate of occupancy date, bedroom and bathroom counts, current rent and a description of housing services are all provided. A landlord may not demand or accept rent without first giving the tenant the registration certificate or posting it in plain view, and cannot apply for a larger increase or a capital improvement charge until the units are registered. The registration fee is $177 per unit for the year beginning July 1, 2026, it cannot be passed on to tenants, and it is not refunded. Landlords who miss the deadline get a grace period through August 31, after which a 20% penalty is added on the first of each month up to a maximum of 100%. Landlords must also post a city-issued notice about the ordinance at the building in English and Spanish.", "extras_plain": "A landlord who adds a qualifying capital improvement may recover half its approved cost from tenants, spread over the improvement's useful life, but the charge can never exceed 3% of the rent in place when the application is filed, it must appear as a separate line on the rent statement with its end date, it is not rent, and it stops once the approved total is recovered. Routine maintenance and replacements do not qualify, and interior work needs the tenant's written consent unless the law requires the work. Buyout offers must follow city disclosure rules: the tenant gets the proposed agreement at least 10 business days before signing, may cancel within 45 days, and the amount can be no less than the relocation payment the ordinance would require; the signed agreement goes to the Housing Services Division within 20 days. When substantial repairs, hazardous-material work, fumigation or a government order make a unit unlivable, the landlord must either keep the tenant safely in place or pay for temporary housing, meals, laundry, pet accommodation and moving costs both ways, give 30 days' notice before construction, and let the tenant return on the old terms; if the disruption is expected to last 30 days or more the tenant may choose to end the tenancy under a buyout instead. A long list of landlord conduct counts as harassment, including bad-faith failure to make repairs, abuse of the right of entry, threats, repeated buyout offers after the tenant says stop, and interference with tenants organizing. Retaliation is barred, and a tenant who exercised rights within the previous six months is presumed to have been retaliated against. Separately, an older city program gives tenants of most multi-unit properties the right to demand mediation of a rent increase within 15 days of the notice, and the increase cannot take effect until the landlord meets with the tenant in good faith.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Maximum permissible annual rent increase", "value": "3.25%", "period": "June 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.culvercity.gov/Services/Housing-Homeless-Human-Services/Rent-Stabilization-Tenant-Protection-Measures", "official": true }, { "label": "Rental unit registration fee", "value": "$177 per unit", "period": "Effective July 1, 2026", "source_url": "https://www.culvercity.gov/Services/Housing-Homeless-Human-Services/Rent-Stabilization-Tenant-Protection-Measures", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "Culver City Municipal Code § 15.09.205 (definitions, including covered rental unit and the price index)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/culvercity/latest/culvercity_ca/0-0-0-16055", "official": true, "pinpoint": "CPI; PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN CPI; COVERED RENTAL UNIT; RENTAL UNIT" }, { "statute": "Culver City Municipal Code § 15.09.210 (general applicability and exemptions)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/culvercity/latest/culvercity_ca/0-0-0-16078", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A), (B)(1)–(5)" }, { "statute": "Culver City Municipal Code § 15.09.215 (permissible rent increases; rent after a vacancy)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/culvercity/latest/culvercity_ca/0-0-0-16085", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A), (B)(1)–(4), (C), (D)(1)–(3)" }, { "statute": "Culver City Municipal Code § 15.09.220 (applications for rent adjustments)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/culvercity/latest/culvercity_ca/0-0-0-16106", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A)–(B), (D)–(G)" }, { "statute": "Culver City Municipal Code § 15.09.225 (capital improvement pass-through cost recovery)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/culvercity/latest/culvercity_ca/0-0-0-16115", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A), (B), (C)(6), (D), (F)(2)–(4)" }, { "statute": "Culver City Municipal Code § 15.09.310 (evictions; notice and filing requirements)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/culvercity/latest/culvercity_ca/0-0-0-16244", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A)(1)–(3), (B)(1)–(6), (C)" }, { "statute": "Culver City Municipal Code § 15.09.315 (for cause termination)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/culvercity/latest/culvercity_ca/0-0-0-16262", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A)–(E)" }, { "statute": "Culver City Municipal Code § 15.09.320 (no fault termination; protected tenants)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/culvercity/latest/culvercity_ca/0-0-0-16276", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A)–(D), (B)(1)–(4)" }, { "statute": "Culver City Municipal Code § 15.09.325 (relocation assistance)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/culvercity/latest/culvercity_ca/0-0-0-16293", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A), (B)(3)–(4), (C), (E), (G)–(H)" }, { "statute": "Culver City Municipal Code § 15.09.330 (protections during temporary unlivable conditions)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/culvercity/latest/culvercity_ca/0-0-0-16309", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A)–(F)" }, { "statute": "Culver City Municipal Code § 15.09.335 (tenant buyout agreements)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/culvercity/latest/culvercity_ca/0-0-0-16355", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A)–(E)" }, { "statute": "Culver City Municipal Code § 15.09.340 (rent registry; registration fee authority)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/culvercity/latest/culvercity_ca/0-0-0-16374", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A), (B)(1)–(4), (C), (D)" }, { "statute": "Culver City Municipal Code § 15.09.345 (retaliatory eviction and anti-harassment)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/culvercity/latest/culvercity_ca/0-0-0-16405", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A)(1)–(3), (B)(1)–(20)" }, { "statute": "Culver City Municipal Code §§ 15.09.015, 15.09.020, 15.09.050 (mandatory mediation of rent increases; notice)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/culvercity/latest/culvercity_ca/0-0-0-16018", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 15.09.015(A); § 15.09.020(A), (D); § 15.09.050(A)–(B)" }, { "statute": "City of Culver City — Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protection Measures (current rent increase limit; registration and fees)", "url": "https://www.culvercity.gov/Services/Housing-Homeless-Human-Services/Rent-Stabilization-Tenant-Protection-Measures", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Culver City Ordinance No. 2026-001 (rent stabilization amendments, adopted January 12, 2026)", "url": "https://www.culvercity.gov/files/content/public/v/163/services/housing-homeless-human-services/rent-stabilization-tenant-protection-measures/2026-01-12__ord-2026-001-rent-stabilization-ordinance.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 1–3" }, { "statute": "Culver City Ordinance No. 2026-002 (tenant protections amendments, adopted January 12, 2026)", "url": "https://www.culvercity.gov/files/content/public/v/163/services/housing-homeless-human-services/rent-stabilization-tenant-protection-measures/2026-01-12__ord-2026-002-tenant-protections-ordinance.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 1–3" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (statewide rent cap and its local-ordinance exemption)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1947.12&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (d)(3)–(d)(5), (o)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 (statewide just cause; deference to local ordinances)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1946.2&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(i)(1)–(3), (n)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535 (Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.52&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 1954.52(a)(1)–(3); § 1954.53(a)" } ], "summary_plain": "Culver City limits rent increases to 3.25% for the year running June 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, for apartments and other multi-unit rentals first occupied on or before February 1, 1995. The limit tracks Los Angeles-area inflation but can never fall below 2% or rise above 5%, only one increase is allowed per 12 months, and the Housing Services Division now announces a single figure once a year rather than a new one each month. Single-family homes, condominiums, townhomes and buildings first occupied after February 1, 1995 sit outside the city limit, though most newer buildings fall under California's statewide limit of 5% plus inflation, capped at 10%, once they are more than 15 years old. Nearly every rental in the city, houses and condominiums included, can be ended only for one of the reasons the ordinance lists, and a no-fault eviction requires a relocation payment of three times the higher of the current rent or the federal small area fair market rent for the ZIP code, plus $1,000. Every rental unit must be registered with the city by July 31 each year, at $177 per unit for the year beginning July 1, 2026, and the fee cannot be passed on to tenants.", "notes": [ { "label": "How the city limit and the state limit fit together", "text": "units under Culver City's limit are outside California's statewide rent cap, because the city's ceiling of 5% is always lower than the state formula. Buildings first occupied after February 1, 1995 fall under the statewide cap of 5% plus inflation, at most 10%, once their certificate of occupancy is more than 15 years old. Buildings newer than 15 years, and most separately owned single-family homes and condominiums, sit outside both limits — but Culver City's eviction rules still reach them. The state cap and the state eviction law are both set to end on January 1, 2030; the city's ordinances have no end date." }, { "label": "State law fixes the coverage line", "text": "the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act guarantees landlords a market-rate reset between tenancies, keeps most separately owned single-family homes and condominiums outside local rent limits, and bars the city from capping rents in buildings first occupied after February 1, 1995. The ordinance writes those limits into its own exemption list, and adds that if state law ever allowed more, the exemptions would narrow to buildings under 15 years old and to owners of no more than two rental units." }, { "label": "The yearly figure moved from monthly to annual", "text": "through May 2026 the city published a new maximum increase every month, about six weeks ahead, and each figure applied only to increases taking effect that month. The January 2026 amendments replaced that with one announcement a year covering a year beginning July 1. The changeover created a longer transitional window, June 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, at 3.25%. Parts of the city's own page still describe the old monthly practice, and one answer there gives the window's end as July 1, 2026 while the rest of the page, the published table and the city's historical list all give June 30, 2027." }, { "label": "Two levels of coverage", "text": "the rent limit applies to multi-unit rentals first occupied on or before February 1, 1995, while the eviction rules, relocation payments, registration, buyout rules and harassment protections apply to nearly every rental in the city, including single-family homes and condominiums. The eviction rules start only after at least one tenant has lived in the unit for more than 12 months." }, { "label": "January 2026 amendments", "text": "on January 12, 2026 the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2026-001 and Ordinance No. 2026-002, effective February 11, 2026. They renamed the Rent Control Ordinance the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, moved to a single annual rent-increase figure, and moved the rental registry from section 15.09.230 to section 15.09.340. The city describes the package as clarifying rather than substantive." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Hayward", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/california/hayward/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Hayward", "locality_slug": "hayward", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Residential Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protection Ordinance", "page_title": "Hayward Rent Stabilization (RRSO)", "topic_verified": "2026-08-17", "status_plain": "In force today. The Hayward City Council adopted the Residential Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protection Ordinance on June 25, 2019, and it took effect July 25, 2019 as Chapter 12, Article 1 of the Hayward Municipal Code. It replaced a rent stabilization ordinance the city had run since September 13, 1983 and an emergency eviction ordinance from March 2019. The Rent Review Office in the city's Housing Division runs the program; Hayward has no rent board. The Council amended the ordinance on July 21, 2020, replaced the companion relocation ordinance on December 17, 2024 with a new version effective January 17, 2025, and most recently amended the ordinance on February 17, 2026 to give arbitrators 30 days instead of 20 to issue a decision and to let the city collect unpaid program fees through the property tax roll. The ordinance has no expiration date.", "cap_plain": "Rent on a covered unit may go up once every 12 months, by up to 5% of the current rent without any city review. The 5% is a threshold written into the ordinance and does not change from year to year — Hayward publishes no annual percentage. A landlord who notices more than 5% must be ready to justify it: the tenant may petition the Rent Review Office, pays only the 5% while the case is pending, and the dispute goes to mediation and then arbitration, where the landlord carries the burden of proof. A landlord who skips an increase may save it and add it later: banked increases expire after 10 years, the earliest year that can be banked is 2018, and the annual increase plus banking together may not exceed 10% of the current rent. Separately, a landlord may pass through half the cost of a capital improvement, but only with city approval, only for work paid for and finished after July 25, 2019, only on a request made within 2 years of finishing the work, and spread over at least 5 years, with the charge dropping off at the end. Utility costs billed under a written lease through a shared allocation system are not rent and are not counted toward the 5%. To charge more than 5% — or more than 10% including banking and capital improvement costs — a landlord must file for a fair return decision, and at the hearing the landlord carries the burden of proof. Fair return compares the property's operating income against calendar year 2018, adjusted for San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward inflation.", "coverage_plain": "The rent limit reaches rentals in buildings whose certificate of occupancy was first issued before July 1, 1979 — a date the city has used since before state law froze such cutoffs in place. Outside the rent limit are single-family homes and other property that can be sold separately from any other dwelling, condominiums sold separately by the developer, anything state law exempts, accessory dwelling units on a property where the owner lives in the main home, units whose rents are already set or subsidized under a government agreement, and rentals in a nonprofit cooperative owned and controlled by a majority of the residents. The ordinance does not reach mobile homes or mobile home spaces (the city handles mobile home space rents separately), hospital and care-facility rooms, dormitories, or hotel and rooming-house stays under 30 days. The city says about half of Hayward's rentals fall under the rent limit. The eviction, harassment, source-of-income, notice and fee rules reach nearly every rental in the city, including houses and condominiums.", "vacancy_plain": "When a tenant leaves by choice or after a lawful eviction, the landlord may set the starting rent for the next tenancy at any amount, and the 5% limit then applies again for the rest of that tenancy. When the vacancy was not voluntary, the rent may go up only 5%, and that increase sets a new anniversary date. The reset is also unavailable where the landlord ended the prior tenancy or changed its terms — a tenant who moves out within 12 months of a one-sided change in terms is presumed to have left because of it — where the unit was cited for serious health, safety, fire or building code violations at least 60 days before the vacancy and left unfixed, where the landlord dropped a government rent-limitation contract within the last three years, or where the tenant left because of the landlord's own conduct. A vacancy caused by severe habitability problems does not count as voluntary, and a single act of harassment can be enough to show a move-out was not by choice.", "eviction_limits_plain": "A landlord may end a tenancy in nearly any Hayward rental, including single-family homes and condominiums, only for one of 15 reasons listed in the ordinance, and state or federal grounds also remain available. The tenant-fault reasons are nonpayment of rent, continuing to break material lease terms or written house rules after notice, willful serious damage with refusal to pay for repairs, refusing a substantially identical new lease, continuing disorderly conduct after notice, refusing access after notice, conviction for illegal use of the unit, drug manufacture or sale, ending employment that was a written condition of the tenancy, and threatening a crime causing death or great bodily harm where a police report was filed. The no-fault reasons are substantial permitted repairs that cannot be done with the tenant in place, demolition, and an owner or close-relative move-in. An owner move-in requires someone holding at least 51% of the property and is barred if a comparable unit on the property is already vacant. Every termination notice must state the reason with specific facts, and failure to do so is a defense to eviction. A copy of every termination notice must go to the Rent Review Office within 30 days.", "registration_plain": "Hayward has no annual rental registry. Instead, for every rental in the city, the landlord must send the Rent Review Office a copy of each rent-increase notice and each termination notice within 30 days of serving it, and the city may issue a citation for each missed notice with no warning first. Landlords also pay a yearly rent stabilization administration fee on every rental unit, set by the City Council in the master fee schedule and payable to the Housing Division by October 31. Up to half the fee for a covered unit may be billed to the tenant, using a notice the ordinance spells out; the other half may not be passed on in any way. A landlord who has not paid the fee may not collect a rent increase, cannot be awarded one by an arbitrator, and faces the unpaid fee as a defense in an eviction — all curable by paying before acting. Unpaid fees can be placed on the property's tax bill. A separate rental inspection program fee also applies.", "extras_plain": "Security deposits follow state law only; Hayward adds no local deposit cap and no deposit interest. The ordinance bars a long list of bad-faith landlord conduct, including cutting off services, letting repairs go undone, abusing the right of entry, refusing lawful rent, threatening to report a tenant to immigration authorities, repeating offers to pay a tenant to move out after being told in writing to stop, and verbal or physical abuse. Damages start at $1,000 or actual losses, whichever is more, are tripled for a knowing violation, and carry up to $5,000 more per violation against a tenant who is a veteran, disabled, or 65 or older. Landlords may not turn down applicants over their source of income, including housing vouchers, and must count every lawful income source and add household members' incomes together; a violation costs three times one month's rent plus fees. Rent disputes go to the Rent Review Office: the tenant files within 30 days, tries a 10-day conversation with the landlord, then mediation and, if that fails, arbitration before an outside arbitrator, with no separate filing fee and the landlord bearing the burden of proof. An arbitrator may cut the rent where services were reduced, and may refuse an increase where code violations or unpaid fees remain. Landlords must give tenants a copy of the ordinance or the city's summary, post a notice in the building, attach a detailed explanation to every rent-increase notice, and get a signed acknowledgment; missing any of it blocks the increase until it is fixed. No lease may take these rights away, and no lease may stop a tenant from speaking to the City Council or city staff.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Rent stabilization administration fee, per covered rental unit", "value": "$66.00", "period": "July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.hayward-ca.gov/sites/default/files/2026-07/Adopted-FY2027-Master-Fee-Schedule-and-Hourly-Rates-Effective-260701.pdf", "official": true }, { "label": "Rent stabilization administration fee, per rental unit not under the rent limit", "value": "$32.00", "period": "July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.hayward-ca.gov/sites/default/files/2026-07/Adopted-FY2027-Master-Fee-Schedule-and-Hourly-Rates-Effective-260701.pdf", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "Hayward Municipal Code § 12-1.04 (definitions, including covered rental unit and initial rent)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/hayward/codes/municipal_code?nodeId=HAYWARD_MUNICIPAL_CODE_CH12HO_ART1RERESTTEPR_S12-1.04DE", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(e)(1)–(7), (l), (v), (bb)" }, { "statute": "Hayward Municipal Code § 12-1.05 (residential rent increase threshold; utility and capital improvement pass-throughs; banking; petitions)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/hayward/codes/municipal_code?nodeId=HAYWARD_MUNICIPAL_CODE_CH12HO_ART1RERESTTEPR_S12-1.05REREINTH", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (c)–(g)" }, { "statute": "Hayward Municipal Code § 12-1.06 (vacancy rent increase)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/hayward/codes/municipal_code?nodeId=HAYWARD_MUNICIPAL_CODE_CH12HO_ART1RERESTTEPR_S12-1.06VAREIN", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)–(c)" }, { "statute": "Hayward Municipal Code §§ 12-1.07, 12-1.09, 12-1.10 (rent dispute resolution; standards of review; tenant's right of refusal)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/hayward/codes/municipal_code?nodeId=HAYWARD_MUNICIPAL_CODE_CH12HO_ART1RERESTTEPR_S12-1.07THREDIREPR", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 12-1.07(b)–(k); § 12-1.09(a)(6), (b), (c)" }, { "statute": "Hayward Municipal Code §§ 12-1.11–12-1.14 (security deposits; harassment and retaliation; just cause for eviction; source of income)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/hayward/codes/municipal_code?nodeId=HAYWARD_MUNICIPAL_CODE_CH12HO_ART1RERESTTEPR_S12-1.13JUCAEV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 12-1.12(a)–(j); § 12-1.13(a)–(d)" }, { "statute": "Hayward Municipal Code §§ 12-1.15–12-1.18 (tenant notices; notices to the city; fees; penalties)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/hayward/codes/municipal_code?nodeId=HAYWARD_MUNICIPAL_CODE_CH12HO_ART1RERESTTEPR_S12-1.17FE", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 12-1.15(c)–(i); § 12-1.16(c)–(d); § 12-1.17(b)–(e)" }, { "statute": "Hayward Municipal Code Ch. 12, Art. 2 (Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordinance)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/hayward/codes/municipal_code?nodeId=HAYWARD_MUNICIPAL_CODE_CH12HO_ART2TEREAS", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 12-2.02(b), 12-2.03, 12-2.04, 12-2.05, 12-2.07" }, { "statute": "City of Hayward Rent Review Office — information for landlords", "url": "https://www.hayward-ca.gov/services/city-services/information-landlords", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Hayward — tenant relocation assistance", "url": "https://www.hayward-ca.gov/residents/housing/tenant-relocation-assistance", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Hayward — adopted master fee schedule, fiscal year 2026-2027", "url": "https://www.hayward-ca.gov/sites/default/files/2026-07/Adopted-FY2027-Master-Fee-Schedule-and-Hourly-Rates-Effective-260701.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": "Housing, rent stabilization administration" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (statewide rent cap and its local-ordinance exemption)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1947.12&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (d)(3)–(d)(5), (o)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 (statewide just cause; deference to local ordinances)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1946.2&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(i)(1)–(2), (n)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535 (Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.52&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 1954.52(a)(1)–(3); § 1954.53(a)" } ], "summary_plain": "Hayward limits rent increases to 5% once every 12 months for rentals in buildings first occupied before July 1, 1979. The figure is fixed in the city's Residential Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protection Ordinance and does not change from year to year, so there is no annual percentage to look up. A landlord who skips an increase may save it for later, but the annual increase plus banking may not exceed 10%, and going above those limits requires a fair return decision from the city's Rent Review Office with the landlord carrying the burden of proof. Single-family homes, condominiums and newer buildings sit outside the city limit, though most newer buildings fall under California's statewide limit of 5% plus inflation, 10% at most, once they are more than 15 years old. Nearly every rental in the city, houses and condominiums included, may be ended only for one of 15 listed reasons, with a payment of one month's rent or a waiver of the last month's rent for a no-fault ending. Landlords must send the city a copy of every rent-increase and termination notice within 30 days and pay a yearly per-unit fee of $66 for a rent-limited unit or $32 otherwise for the year running July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.", "notes": [ { "label": "No yearly percentage to look up", "text": "unlike most California cities with rent regulation, Hayward does not calculate or announce an annual figure. The 5% limit, the 10% ceiling once banking is added, and the 1% utility trigger are written into the ordinance itself and have not changed since it took effect on July 25, 2019. The amounts that do change each year are the per-unit program fee, set in the city's master fee schedule each spring, and the federal Fair Market Rents used to size temporary relocation payments." }, { "label": "How the city cap and the state cap fit together", "text": "rentals under Hayward's 5% limit are outside California's statewide rent cap because the local limit is stricter. Buildings first occupied after July 1, 1979 fall under the statewide cap of 5% plus inflation, at most 10%, once they are more than 15 years old. Buildings newer than 15 years, and most individually owned single-family homes and condominiums, sit outside both caps — but Hayward's eviction, harassment, source-of-income and notice rules still reach them. Because Hayward adopted its eviction rules in June 2019, before the September 1, 2019 line in state law, the city's grounds apply instead of the state's, not alongside them." }, { "label": "State law fixes the coverage line", "text": "the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act guarantees landlords a market-rate reset between tenancies and keeps most separately owned single-family homes and condominiums outside local rent limits. It also locks each city's construction cutoff at whatever date the city was already using before February 1, 1995 — for Hayward that is July 1, 1979, a line the city has carried forward since its 1983 ordinance. The ordinance applies those limits by direct reference." }, { "label": "Going above 5% takes a decision, not just a notice", "text": "an increase above 5% is not simply void. The tenant may ask the Rent Review Office to review it within 30 days, and while that review is pending the tenant pays only the 5% amount. A landlord who wants more must file for a fair return decision or a capital improvement pass-through and win it, and at the hearing the landlord carries the burden of proof whichever side filed. Fair return measures the property's operating income against calendar year 2018, adjusted for San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward inflation." }, { "label": "Payments when a tenancy ends through no fault of the tenant", "text": "for a demolition or an owner or relative move-in, the landlord must either pay one month's rent within 14 days of serving the notice or waive the final month's rent in writing, whichever the landlord chooses, and getting it wrong voids the notice. Where a tenant must move out temporarily for major repairs or a government order to vacate, the payment is three times the federal Fair Market Rent for a unit that size in Alameda County, prorated for stays under 30 days, or the landlord may instead offer a comparable Hayward unit at the same rent and pay the moving costs both ways. The Fair Market Rent figures are reset each year by the federal government." }, { "label": "Two levels of coverage", "text": "the 5% limit applies to pre-July 1979 rentals that are not single-family homes or separately sold condominiums, while the eviction rules, harassment and source-of-income protections, tenant notices, the notice-filing duty and the annual fee apply to nearly every rental in the city." }, { "label": "The city's summary and the ordinance count eviction reasons differently", "text": "the ordinance lists 15 grounds for ending a tenancy and separately preserves any ground state or federal law allows. The city's landlord page and printed summary describe this as 16 reasons, counting the state and federal grounds as the sixteenth. The ordinance is the law; the count is a difference in presentation, not in substance." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Inglewood", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/california/inglewood/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Inglewood", "locality_slug": "inglewood", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Housing Protection Ordinance", "page_title": "Inglewood Housing Protection Ordinance", "topic_verified": "2026-08-17", "status_plain": "In force today. Inglewood first limited rent increases through an urgency measure the City Council adopted on March 5, 2019, which expired after December 15, 2019. The City Council adopted the permanent Housing Protection Ordinance on November 5, 2019 as Articles 9 and 10 of Chapter 8 of the Inglewood Municipal Code, and it took effect on December 5, 2019. On May 10, 2021 the council replaced both articles in full with Ordinance 21-09, which is the text in force. The ordinance has no expiration date. It is run by the city's Housing Protection Department, with a Rental Housing Board that hears appeals and approves certain increases. The published code carries no changes to either article since 2021.", "cap_plain": "Inglewood sets two different limits, and which one applies depends on how many rental units are on the property. On a property with 5 or more rental units, rent may go up by 3% or the change in the cost of living, whichever is greater. On a property with 4 or fewer rental units, rent may go up by 5% plus the change in the cost of living, or 10%, whichever is lower. The cost-of-living change is measured by the consumer price index for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area over the 12 months ending April 30, and the Housing Protection Department publishes the resulting figures in May each year. Rent may be raised only once in any 12 months, and the increase is measured against the lowest rent charged in the previous 12 months. The ordinance does not provide for saving an unused increase for a later year. Three routes allow more: an owner whose rent is below 80% of federal fair market rent for a comparable unit may apply to the program administrator for an additional increase until the rent reaches 81% of that level; an owner who spends more than $5,000 improving a unit or $10,000 improving the property may apply to the Rental Housing Board for a surcharge of up to $100 a month for up to 72 months, recovering at most half the cost; and an owner may petition for a higher rent where one is needed to earn a fair return. An owner may also add up to 10% for each additional adult who joins the household, though not for a family's first child.", "coverage_plain": "The rent cap reaches apartments and other multi-unit rentals in the city, including duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes — Inglewood does not exempt small properties, it just applies a different percentage to them. Outside the cap are buildings first occupied after February 1, 1995, a line state law fixes in place, and any building whose certificate of occupancy is less than 15 years old, which moves forward year by year. Also outside the cap are single-family homes, condominiums and a home where the owner lives and rents out no more than one unit, when every owner is a person rather than a company and the tenant received the written notice the ordinance spells out. Hotel stays, hospital and licensed care housing, dormitories, and deed-restricted affordable housing are outside the ordinance entirely. The eviction protections reach further than the rent cap: they cover buildings built after February 1, 1995 once those buildings are more than 15 years old, and they cover houses and condominiums unless the owner is a person, not a company, and gave the required notice.", "vacancy_plain": "When a tenancy ends, state law lets the landlord set the starting rent for the next tenant at any amount, and the ordinance says plainly that it does not displace that right. The cap then applies to the new tenancy. One local exception: if a landlord ends a tenancy to move in personally or move in a close relative and nobody moves in within 60 days, the landlord must offer the home back to the former tenant at the old rent and cover their moving costs both ways — and if that tenant declines, the next tenant's rent starts at what the former tenant was paying.", "eviction_limits_plain": "Once any tenant has lived in a home for 12 months, a landlord may end the tenancy only for one of fourteen listed reasons. Ten are tenant-fault reasons: not paying rent, breaking a material lease term after written notice to fix it, nuisance, waste, criminal activity at the property or a criminal threat against the owner, unauthorized subletting, refusing reasonable access after written notice, unlawful use of the home, an employee staying on after the job ends, and failing to move out after giving notice. Four are no-fault: the owner or a close relative moving in, complying with a government or court order, withdrawing the property from the rental market under the Ellis Act, and demolition, which needs every permit in hand and Rental Housing Board approval before the notice goes out. There is no ground for a substantial remodel. A move-in eviction requires a genuine intention to move in within 60 days and stay 24 months, and it cannot be used against a tenant of 5 years or more who is 62 or older or disabled, or against a tenant certified terminally ill, unless the person moving in is themselves elderly, disabled or terminally ill. A landlord must give a chance to fix a curable problem first, though late rent does not count as curable. Every notice to fix a problem and every termination notice must be filed with the Housing Protection Department within 3 days of being served, and a notice that does not follow these rules exactly is void. No-fault terminations require relocation money.", "registration_plain": "Owners must register every rental unit with the Housing Protection Department each year by October 1, through the city's online registry, and owners claiming an exemption must file a claim each year by the same date — a missed exemption filing makes the unit covered and the fees due. Certificates expire on September 30 of the following year and must be posted where tenants can see them, in English and Spanish. Until a unit is registered and a copy of the certificate served on the tenant, the landlord may not advertise it, collect rent for it, or evict anyone from it, and no rent increase the city has approved can take effect. Registering also requires a current business tax certificate for the owner and any management company. The City Council sets the fee by resolution; a unit renting below 70% of fair market rent and registered on time pays nothing. A landlord who pays on time may pass half the fee to the tenant, spread over 12 months; a landlord who pays late may not pass on any of it.", "extras_plain": "A landlord may raise a security deposit only alongside a rent increase, must state the change in the same written notice, and may add no more than $30 a month until the deposit reaches the state maximum. A buyout offer must be preceded by a written disclosure of the tenant's rights, may not pay less than the relocation money the tenant would otherwise be owed, and can be cancelled by the tenant within 30 days of signing; the signed agreement goes to the program administrator within 3 days. The ordinance also bans retaliation and lists twelve forms of harassment a landlord may not commit, from cutting off services and letting repairs sit to abusing the right of entry and serving eviction notices on grounds the landlord has no reason to believe. A tenant may sue directly without going through the city first, and can recover actual and punitive damages, attorney's fees, and triple damages where a landlord acted willfully or maliciously. Non-compliance with either article is also a complete defense to an eviction case. Every lease begun or renewed since June 1, 2021 must carry a notice, in at least 12-point type, telling the tenant that rent increases are limited and that just cause is required.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Maximum annual increase — property with 5 or more units", "value": "3.7%", "period": "Rent increases from July 1, 2026 (inflation figure for the 12 months ending April 30, 2026, published May 12, 2026; the city applies each year's figure from July 1)", "source_url": "https://www.cityofinglewood.org/1594/Allowable-Rent-Increases", "official": true }, { "label": "Maximum annual increase — property with 4 or fewer units", "value": "8.7%", "period": "Rent increases from July 1, 2026 (inflation figure for the 12 months ending April 30, 2026, published May 12, 2026; the city applies each year's figure from July 1)", "source_url": "https://www.cityofinglewood.org/1594/Allowable-Rent-Increases", "official": true }, { "label": "Maximum increase with approval where rent is below 80% of fair market rent — 5 or more units", "value": "8.7%", "period": "Rent increases from July 1, 2026 (inflation figure for the 12 months ending April 30, 2026, published May 12, 2026; the city applies each year's figure from July 1)", "source_url": "https://www.cityofinglewood.org/1594/Allowable-Rent-Increases", "official": true }, { "label": "Maximum increase with approval where rent is below 80% of fair market rent — 4 or fewer units", "value": "10%", "period": "Rent increases from July 1, 2026 (inflation figure for the 12 months ending April 30, 2026, published May 12, 2026; the city applies each year's figure from July 1)", "source_url": "https://www.cityofinglewood.org/1594/Allowable-Rent-Increases", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "Inglewood Municipal Code ch. 8, art. 10, § 8-125 (definitions; units the rent rules do not cover)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/43780419", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(k)(1)–(7)" }, { "statute": "Inglewood Municipal Code ch. 8, art. 10, § 8-126 (rental unit registration; fees; pass-through)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/43780419", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)–(d), (f)–(h), (j)–(k)" }, { "statute": "Inglewood Municipal Code ch. 8, art. 10, §§ 8-127–8-129 (rent increases; below market increases; capital improvement increases)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/43780419", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 8-127(a)–(b), (e)–(i); § 8-128(a)–(d); § 8-129(a)–(b)" }, { "statute": "Inglewood Municipal Code ch. 8, art. 10, §§ 8-130–8-135 (security deposit; possession actions; civil remedies; harassment; enforcement; petitions)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/43780419", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 8-130; § 8-131; § 8-132; § 8-133(a)–(b); § 8-135(a)–(p)" }, { "statute": "Inglewood Municipal Code ch. 8, art. 9, §§ 8-120–8-122 (findings and definitions; just cause for eviction; notices)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/43780314", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 8-120(a)–(b); § 8-121(a)(1)–(14), (b)(1)–(5); § 8-122(a)–(c)" }, { "statute": "Inglewood Municipal Code ch. 8, art. 9, §§ 8-123–8-123.1 (relocation assistance; buyout agreements)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/43780314", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 8-123(a)–(h); § 8-123.1(a)–(e)" }, { "statute": "Inglewood Ordinance No. 21-09 (adopted May 10, 2021; replaced Chapter 8, Articles 9 and 10)", "url": "https://www.cityofinglewood.org/DocumentCenter/View/17010/FINAL-HP-ORDINANCE-21-09", "official": true, "pinpoint": "Recitals; Sections 1–2, 5" }, { "statute": "Inglewood Housing Protection Department — allowable rent increases", "url": "https://www.cityofinglewood.org/1594/Allowable-Rent-Increases", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Inglewood Housing Protection Department — annual program fee", "url": "https://www.cityofinglewood.org/1593/Annual-Program-Fee", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Inglewood Housing Protection Department — Inglewood Residential Registry", "url": "https://www.cityofinglewood.org/1479/Inglewood-Residential-Registry", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (statewide rent cap and its local-ordinance exemption)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1947.12&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (d)(3)–(d)(5), (o)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 (statewide just cause; deference to local ordinances)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1946.2&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(i)(1)–(2), (n)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535 (Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.52&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 1954.52(a); § 1954.53(a)" } ], "summary_plain": "Inglewood limits rent increases under its Housing Protection Ordinance, and the limit depends on the size of the property. On a property with 5 or more rental units the increase is capped at 3.7% for increases taking effect between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027; on a property with 4 or fewer units it is capped at 8.7% over the same period. The Housing Protection Department publishes both figures each May, using the change in Los Angeles-area consumer prices over the 12 months ending April 30. Rent may be raised only once a year. Apartments, duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes are all covered, but buildings first occupied after February 1, 1995 sit outside the cap, as do buildings less than 15 years old and most single-family homes and condominiums owned by a person rather than a company. Most newer buildings fall under California's statewide limit of 5% plus inflation, 10% at most, once they are more than 15 years old. Separately, a landlord may end a tenancy of 12 months or longer only for one of fourteen listed reasons, with relocation payments of three times the monthly rent — more for households with children, long-term tenants, seniors and disabled tenants. Owners must register every unit each year by October 1 and may not raise rent, advertise, or evict while a unit is unregistered.", "notes": [ { "label": "How the city cap and the state cap fit together", "text": "on a property with 5 or more units, Inglewood's limit of 3% or inflation is lower than California's statewide limit, so those homes follow the city figure and the state cap does not apply to them. On a property with 4 or fewer units, Inglewood uses the same formula as the state — 5% plus inflation, 10% at most — so both limits point at the same number; the city rule still adds something, because it allows only one increase a year while the state allows two steps. Buildings first occupied after February 1, 1995 sit outside the city cap but fall under the statewide limit once they are more than 15 years old. Buildings newer than 15 years, and most individually owned single-family homes and condominiums, sit outside both — though Inglewood's eviction rules still reach many of them." }, { "label": "State law fixes the coverage line", "text": "the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act guarantees landlords a market-rate starting rent between tenancies, keeps most separately owned single-family homes and condominiums outside local rent caps, and bars the city from capping rents in buildings first occupied after February 1, 1995. Inglewood's ordinance names no cutoff date of its own; it simply excludes units the act exempts, so the February 1, 1995 line is the one that governs." }, { "label": "Two circles of coverage", "text": "the rent cap and the eviction rules do not reach the same homes. The eviction rules exempt only hotels, hospital and care housing, dormitories, buildings less than 15 years old, and owner-occupied, single-family or condominium homes where every owner is a person and the tenant got written notice. They do not carry the Costa-Hawkins exemption, so an apartment building first occupied in 1998 is outside the rent cap but still inside the eviction rules, as is a house owned by a company." }, { "label": "How the yearly figure is set and published", "text": "the ordinance measures inflation by the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim consumer price index over the 12 months ending April 30, and the Housing Protection Department publishes the resulting percentages in May. The figures on the department's page were last updated on May 12, 2026. The heading above them still carries the previous year's fiscal-year label, so read the publication date beside the percentage." }, { "label": "The 10% ceiling", "text": "the ordinance caps increases at 10% for properties with 4 or fewer rental units. For properties with 5 or more units the ordinance sets the limit at 3% or inflation, whichever is greater, and states no upper ceiling, although the department's page describes a 10% maximum for all properties. The difference would only matter in a year when Los Angeles-area inflation ran above 10%." }, { "label": "Relocation payments are set amounts, not indexed", "text": "the ordinance fixes the payments in dollars and has not changed them since 2021: three times the monthly rent, plus $2,000 if a child lives in the home, plus a further payment based on the longest-standing qualifying tenant — $2,000 after 2 years, $3,000 after 5, $5,000 after 11, or $7,500 for a tenant who is 62 or older or disabled. Only the single highest of those additional amounts is owed. Payment is due within 15 days of the termination notice. Separate temporary payments apply when a government order forces a household out; the Rental Housing Board sets those amounts." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Los Angeles", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/california/los-angeles/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Los Angeles", "locality_slug": "los-angeles", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO)", "page_title": "Los Angeles Rent Stabilization (RSO)", "topic_verified": "2026-08-13", "status_plain": "In force today. The City of Los Angeles has limited rent increases under its Rent Stabilization Ordinance, Los Angeles Municipal Code Chapter XV, Article 1, since May 1979. The annual-increase formula was rewritten effective February 2, 2026 (Ordinance 188,795): increases are now set at 90% of local inflation with a 1% floor and a 4% ceiling, and the former utility surcharge was eliminated. A pandemic-era freeze held increases at zero from March 30, 2020 through January 31, 2024.", "cap_plain": "One rent increase is allowed per 12 months. The allowed percentage is 90% of the change in the Los Angeles-area consumer price index measured over the 12 months ending September 30, rounded to the nearest whole number, with a floor of 1% and a ceiling of 4%. The Housing Department publishes the figure by May 30 each year for increases taking effect July 1 through June 30, and unused increases may not be saved for later years. Larger increases require Housing Department approval through programs such as capital improvement passthroughs or a just-and-reasonable adjustment.", "coverage_plain": "Apartments, duplexes, condominiums, mobilehome spaces, and hotel or rooming-house rooms occupied 30 days or more, in buildings first granted a certificate of occupancy on or before October 1, 1978. Single-family homes are covered only when two or more dwellings sit on the same parcel. Buildings first occupied after that 1978 date are outside the ordinance — a line state law fixes in place — as are government-owned housing, hospitals and licensed care facilities, certain covenanted affordable units, and units holding a luxury exemption certificate.", "vacancy_plain": "When a tenant leaves voluntarily or is evicted for a reason the tenant is responsible for, such as nonpayment, state law lets the landlord set a new starting rent at any amount, and the cap then applies to the new tenancy. The rent may not be reset after no-fault terminations such as an owner move-in.", "eviction_limits_plain": "A landlord may end a covered tenancy only on one of fourteen grounds listed in the ordinance, split between tenant-fault grounds (nonpayment, uncured lease violations, nuisance) and no-fault grounds (owner or family move-in, removal from the rental market, government order to vacate). No-fault terminations require a declaration filed with the Housing Department and relocation payments, with amounts that adjust annually, and every termination notice for a covered unit must be filed with the Housing Department within three business days of service. Rentals outside the ordinance are covered by the city's separate Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance.", "registration_plain": "Landlords must register covered units with the Housing Department each year and serve or display the registration statement; rent may not be demanded or accepted without a current one. Registration carries an annual per-unit fee, half of which may be passed through to tenants in monthly installments, and rental properties citywide also pay the systematic code-enforcement inspection fee.", "extras_plain": "Security deposits may rise by the same annual percentage as rent. Tenant buyout offers must follow the city's disclosure and filing program, and properties placed in the city's rent escrow program for uncorrected violations cannot raise rents until they are cleared.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Annual allowable rent increase (RSO units)", "value": "3%", "period": "July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://housing.lacity.gov/renter-protections-2", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "L.A. Mun. Code § 151.02 (definitions, coverage, and exemptions)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/los_angeles/latest/lamc/0-0-0-195228", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "L.A. Mun. Code § 151.05 (registration)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/los_angeles/latest/lamc/0-0-0-195385", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "L.A. Mun. Code § 151.06 (annual rent adjustments)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/los_angeles/latest/lamc/0-0-0-195445", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "L.A. Mun. Code § 151.09 (grounds for eviction; relocation)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/los_angeles/latest/lamc/0-0-0-195761", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "L.A. Mun. Code §§ 165.00–165.12 (Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/los_angeles/latest/lamc/0-0-0-213998", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (statewide rent cap and its local-ordinance exemption)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1947.12&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (d)(3)–(d)(5)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535 (Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.52&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 1954.52(a), 1954.53(a)" }, { "statute": "L.A. Housing Department — current allowable rent increase", "url": "https://housing.lacity.gov/renter-protections-2", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Los Angeles caps rent increases at 3% for the year running July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 for apartments, duplexes, and condominiums first occupied on or before October 1, 1978. The cap comes from the city's Rent Stabilization Ordinance, whose formula — 90% of local inflation with a 1% floor and a 4% ceiling — took effect in February 2026. Newer buildings are outside the city ordinance, though most fall under California's statewide limit of 5% plus inflation (10% maximum) once their certificate of occupancy is more than 15 years old. Covered tenancies may be ended only on fourteen listed grounds, with relocation payments for no-fault evictions, and landlords must register covered units with the Housing Department every year.", "notes": [ { "label": "How the city cap and the state cap fit together", "text": "units under the city ordinance are exempt from California's statewide rent cap because the local limit is stricter. Buildings first occupied after October 1, 1978 fall under the statewide cap of 5% plus inflation (at most 10%) once their certificate of occupancy is more than 15 years old. Buildings newer than 15 years, and most individually owned single-family homes and condominiums, sit outside both caps — though the city's separate just-cause eviction rules still reach most rentals citywide." }, { "label": "State law fixes the coverage line", "text": "the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act guarantees landlords a market-rate reset between tenancies, keeps most separately owned single-family homes and condominiums outside local rent caps, and bars the city from extending the ordinance to buildings its rules exempted as new construction." }, { "label": "Utility surcharge eliminated in 2026", "text": "before February 2, 2026, landlords who paid for gas or electricity could add 1% per utility on top of the annual increase. Ordinance 188,795 eliminated the surcharge; the Housing Department notes one conforming step on how the elimination applies to increases effective on or after that date is awaiting final council action." }, { "label": "City and county are different regimes", "text": "Los Angeles County's rent regulation covers unincorporated areas only and does not apply inside the City of Los Angeles; the city's own ordinance governs here." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Los Angeles County (unincorporated)", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/california/los-angeles-county/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Los Angeles County (unincorporated)", "locality_slug": "los-angeles-county", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protections Ordinance", "page_title": "Unincorporated LA County Rent Rules", "topic_verified": "2026-08-17", "status_plain": "In force today. These rules cover only the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County — not the City of Los Angeles and not any of the county's incorporated cities, each of which has its own rules or none. The Board of Supervisors adopted the Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protections Ordinance on November 26, 2019 as Chapter 8.52 of the Los Angeles County Code, and it took effect April 1, 2020, replacing an interim ordinance the Board had adopted on November 20, 2018. The Department of Consumer and Business Affairs runs the program, and the Rental Housing Oversight Commission hears appeals. The Board reshaped the rent limit on November 26, 2024, tying it to a share of inflation with separate allowances for small landlords and for luxury units. The most recent change came on March 17, 2026, effective April 16, 2026: unpaid rent must now exceed two months of federal Fair Market Rent, rather than one, before a landlord can end a tenancy for nonpayment. The ordinance has no expiration date.", "cap_plain": "One rent increase is allowed per 12 months, on at least 30 days' written notice, and only for units under the rent limit. The Department of Consumer and Business Affairs calculates the figure each year and publishes it in a Rent Stabilization Bulletin, each spring, for the year running July 1 through June 30. The figure is 60% of the change in the average consumer price index over the 12 months ending in September, and it cannot exceed 3%. A landlord who qualifies as a small property landlord may add 1 percentage point, to a maximum of 4%, and must self-certify to the Department each year and say so in the increase notice. A landlord of a luxury unit may add 2 percentage points, to a maximum of 5%, and must say so in the increase notice. A luxury unit is one with two bedrooms or fewer, in a building of 25 or more units, that was renting for at least $4,000 a month as of September 11, 2018. An increase not taken during its July-to-June year is lost and cannot be saved for later. Rent is measured from the rent charged on September 11, 2018, or from the start of a later tenancy, plus increases lawfully taken since. A landlord may not raise rent at all unless the unit is registered and all registration fees are paid. A landlord who believes the limit denies a fair return may apply to the Department for more, and separate applications allow approved costs for capital improvements and renovations to be passed on, though rent plus those costs together cannot exceed the year's 3%, 4% or 5% ceiling.", "coverage_plain": "The rent limit reaches rentals in the unincorporated areas on a property with two or more dwelling units where the certificate of occupancy or equivalent permit was issued on or before February 1, 1995, plus mobilehomes rented out by the mobilehome's owner whatever their permit date. Accessory dwelling units count if they were permitted by that date, or if the tenant can show the unit was occupied by then. Single-family homes, condominiums, stock cooperatives, and any building permitted after February 1, 1995 sit outside the rent limit — a line state law fixes in place — but they keep the eviction protections, the registration duty and the rest of the ordinance. Fully outside the ordinance are hospitals, convents and monasteries, extended medical facilities, nonprofit homes for the aged, licensed care and treatment facilities, group homes, college dormitories and other student housing, fraternity and sorority houses; housing owned or run by the county or another public agency, and housing that state or federal law exempts; hotel, motel, inn, boarding-house, rooming-house and short-term stays on which transient occupancy tax is owed for the whole term; a rental where the landlord or a member of the landlord's family lives in the residence as their main home; and units that are vacant, not offered for rent, or not being used as rentals, which come back under the ordinance once they return to the market.", "vacancy_plain": "When a tenant moves out voluntarily, or is evicted for a reason the tenant is responsible for, the landlord may set the starting rent for the next tenant at any amount, and may not carry over previously approved pass-through costs. Rent may not be reset after a no-fault termination. A tenant displaced so the owner or a family member could move in has a first right to return at the old rent plus allowed increases if that occupancy ends within 3 years, and so does any different tenant offered the unit in that window. A tenant displaced when the property was withdrawn from the rental market may resume the tenancy at the old rent plus allowed increases if the unit returns to the market within 2 years, with notice rights and damages running out to 10 years, and units demolished and rebuilt within 5 years of a withdrawal come back under the rent limit.", "eviction_limits_plain": "A landlord may end a tenancy in nearly any rental in the unincorporated areas, including single-family homes and condominiums, only on one of nine listed grounds. Six are tenant-fault: unpaid rent above a threshold, a continuing substantial breach of a material lease term after written notice and 10 days to cure, nuisance or illegal use, refusing to sign a substantially identical new lease when asked at least 90 days before the old one ends, failing to vacate under a county-approved relocation application, and household income above the limits for a government-regulated unit on one year's notice. Three are no-fault: the landlord or a close family member moving in, withdrawal of the property from the rental market, and a government or court order. For unpaid rent, the amount owed must exceed two months of federal Fair Market Rent for the tenant's unit size — a figure the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sets each year — and the notice must state that amount and the unit's bedroom count. Owner move-ins require a person who owns at least half the unit, occupancy within 60 days for at least 3 years, 60 days' notice, and a filing with the Department naming who will move in; a household that includes someone 62 or older, a person with a disability, someone terminally ill, or that is lower-income may only be displaced for someone in the same situation. Every no-fault termination carries relocation assistance, which the Board of Supervisors sets by unit size from three times the countywide median rent plus moving, storage, utility and application costs, with larger amounts for households that include a senior, a child, a person with a disability or a terminally ill person, or that are lower-income; the Department may raise the amounts each year with inflation. Payment is due at the same time the termination notice is served, the landlord must hire and pay for a relocation specialist, and the security deposit must be refunded. Tenants temporarily displaced by repairs get a daily payment, or comparable housing if the displacement runs past 30 days. Every termination notice must be filed with the Department, with proof of service, within 5 days.", "registration_plain": "Owners must register every rental unit that is not fully exempt — including units covered only by the eviction protections — with the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs by September 30 each year, and update the registry within 30 days of any change. Registration reports the rent and the date of the last increase, the owner's details, the number of units, each tenant's name and mailing address, the services provided, and move-in and move-out dates. For the 2026-27 registration year the fee is $90 per unit under the rent limit, $30 per unit covered only by the eviction protections, and $90 per mobilehome space. Paying late adds a 10% penalty, and rent increases are void while any fee or penalty is unpaid. A landlord who registers on time may pass up to half the fee to a tenant of a rent-limited unit, as a separate line item, on 30 days' notice, spread over 12 equal monthly payments, one at a time; late fees and penalties may never be passed on.", "extras_plain": "A security deposit for a rent-limited unit may not be increased above what was charged at the start of the tenancy. A landlord who offers a tenant money to move out must first give a Department disclosure form in the tenant's own language, hand over the proposed agreement at least 45 days before signing, offer at least what relocation assistance would pay, and file the signed agreement with the Department within 10 days; the tenant may cancel within 45 days of signing, and an agreement that misses these steps cannot be enforced against the tenant. Landlords must attach the Department's notice of tenant rights to every new and renewed lease and to every rent increase notice, provide it in the language the lease was negotiated in, and post it at the property. A long list of landlord conduct counts as harassment, including cutting off services, bad-faith failure to repair, renovation work done to drive a tenant out, abusing the right to enter, threatening to report a tenant to immigration authorities, and repeated offers to buy a tenant out after the tenant has said in writing to stop. A tenant with a permanent mobility disability may ask to move to an available ground-floor or elevator-served unit of similar size on the same property. Violations carry fines and civil penalties up to $1,000 each, each day counting separately, and the ordinance's protections are a defense in an eviction case.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Maximum allowable rent increase (rent-limited units)", "value": "1.919%", "period": "July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://dcba.lacounty.gov/rentstabilizationprogram/", "official": true }, { "label": "Maximum allowable rent increase (qualifying small property landlords)", "value": "2.919%", "period": "July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://dcba.lacounty.gov/rentstabilizationprogram/", "official": true }, { "label": "Maximum allowable rent increase (luxury units)", "value": "3.919%", "period": "July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://dcba.lacounty.gov/rentstabilizationprogram/", "official": true }, { "label": "Annual registration fee (rent-limited unit)", "value": "$90 per unit", "period": "2026-27 registration year, due September 30, 2026", "source_url": "https://dcba.lacounty.gov/rentregistry/", "official": true }, { "label": "Annual registration fee (unit covered only by eviction protections)", "value": "$30 per unit", "period": "2026-27 registration year, due September 30, 2026", "source_url": "https://dcba.lacounty.gov/rentregistry/", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "Los Angeles County Code § 8.52.030 (definitions, including fully covered and partially covered rental units, luxury unit, small property landlord)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/los_angeles_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT8COPRBUWARE_DIV3HO_CH8.52RESTTEPR", "official": true, "pinpoint": "M, R, S, AA, EE" }, { "statute": "Los Angeles County Code §§ 8.52.040, 8.52.045 (applicability and exemptions; base rent)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/los_angeles_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT8COPRBUWARE_DIV3HO_CH8.52RESTTEPR", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 8.52.040(A)–(B); § 8.52.045(A)–(B)" }, { "statute": "Los Angeles County Code § 8.52.050 (permitted rent increases for fully covered rental units)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/los_angeles_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT8COPRBUWARE_DIV3HO_CH8.52RESTTEPR", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A)–(J)" }, { "statute": "Los Angeles County Code §§ 8.52.055, 8.52.060, 8.52.070 (security deposits; fair-return applications; pass-through cost recovery)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/los_angeles_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT8COPRBUWARE_DIV3HO_CH8.52RESTTEPR", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 8.52.055(B); § 8.52.060(A); § 8.52.070(C), (F)" }, { "statute": "Los Angeles County Code § 8.52.080 (annual registration and fee pass-through)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/los_angeles_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT8COPRBUWARE_DIV3HO_CH8.52RESTTEPR", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A), (C), (D), (E)" }, { "statute": "Los Angeles County Code § 8.52.090 (termination of tenancy; at-fault and no-fault grounds)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/los_angeles_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT8COPRBUWARE_DIV3HO_CH8.52RESTTEPR", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A)–(E)" }, { "statute": "Los Angeles County Code §§ 8.52.100, 8.52.110, 8.52.120, 8.52.130 (buyout agreements; relocation assistance; notices to tenants; retaliation and harassment)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/los_angeles_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT8COPRBUWARE_DIV3HO_CH8.52RESTTEPR", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 8.52.100(A)–(E); § 8.52.110(A)–(D); § 8.52.120; § 8.52.130" }, { "statute": "Los Angeles County Code §§ 8.65.030, 8.65.040 (annual rental registration fees; penalties)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/los_angeles_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT8COPRBUWARE_DIV3HO_CH8.65ANREREFECH8.52REST8.57MOREST", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 8.65.030(A)–(C); § 8.65.040(A)–(B)" }, { "statute": "Department of Consumer and Business Affairs — Rent Stabilization Program (current allowable increases; Fair Market Rent thresholds)", "url": "https://dcba.lacounty.gov/rentstabilizationprogram/", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Department of Consumer and Business Affairs — Rent Stabilization Bulletin, Annual Allowable Rent Increase (revised March 2, 2026)", "url": "https://dcba.lacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Rent-Increase-Bulletin-RSTPO-June2026-July2027.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Department of Consumer and Business Affairs — Rent Registry (registration period and fees)", "url": "https://dcba.lacounty.gov/rentregistry/", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (statewide rent cap and its local-ordinance exemption)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1947.12&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (d)(3)–(d)(5), (o)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 (statewide just cause; deference to local ordinances)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1946.2&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(i)(1), (n)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535 (Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.52&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 1954.52(a); § 1954.53(a)" } ], "summary_plain": "Los Angeles County caps rent increases at 1.919% for the year running July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 — 2.919% for qualifying small landlords and 3.919% for luxury units — but only in the unincorporated areas, and only for rentals on a property with two or more units permitted on or before February 1, 1995. The City of Los Angeles and the county's incorporated cities are not covered by these rules. The Board of Supervisors set the formula at 60% of inflation with a 3% ceiling, and the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs publishes the figure each spring. Single-family homes, condominiums and newer buildings sit outside the county's rent limit, though most newer buildings fall under California's statewide limit of 5% plus inflation, capped at 10%, once they are more than 15 years old. Nearly every rental in the unincorporated areas, houses and condominiums included, may be ended only on nine listed grounds, with relocation payments for no-fault terminations and a threshold of two months' Fair Market Rent before unpaid rent can support an eviction. Owners must register each unit by September 30 and pay $90 a year per rent-limited unit or $30 per unit covered only by the eviction protections.", "notes": [ { "label": "Unincorporated areas only", "text": "these rules apply only to the parts of Los Angeles County that lie outside every incorporated city. The City of Los Angeles has its own Rent Stabilization Ordinance, and each of the county's other cities sets its own rules or has none. Whether a given address is unincorporated can be checked with the county's online address lookup or by asking the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs." }, { "label": "How the county cap and the state cap fit together", "text": "units under the county's rent limit are exempt from California's statewide rent cap because the local limit is stricter. Buildings first occupied after February 1, 1995 fall under the statewide cap of 5% plus inflation, at most 10%, once their certificate of occupancy is more than 15 years old. Buildings newer than 15 years, and most individually owned single-family homes and condominiums, sit outside both caps — but the county's eviction protections still reach them." }, { "label": "State law fixes the coverage line", "text": "the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act guarantees landlords a market-rate reset between tenancies, keeps most separately owned single-family homes and condominiums outside local rent caps, and bars the county from capping rents in buildings first occupied after February 1, 1995. The ordinance applies those limits by reference and names the same February 1, 1995 date." }, { "label": "Two levels of coverage", "text": "the rent limit applies only to pre-1995 rentals on a property with two or more units, plus mobilehomes rented out by their owner. The eviction protections, the registration duty, the buyout rules, the harassment rules and the tenant-rights notice apply to nearly every rental in the unincorporated areas, single-family homes and condominiums included." }, { "label": "The unpaid-rent threshold rose in 2026", "text": "before April 16, 2026 a landlord could move to end a tenancy once unpaid rent passed one month of federal Fair Market Rent. The Board of Supervisors doubled that to two months, effective April 16, 2026. The threshold varies by the number of bedrooms and moves whenever the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development republishes the figures, so the dollar trigger is not fixed." }, { "label": "Earlier rent freezes have ended", "text": "rent increases in rent-limited units were barred entirely from March 4, 2020 through March 31, 2023 under the county's COVID-19 tenant protections, then held to flat figures of 3% for the rest of 2023 and 4% through the end of 2024 by Board motions. The inflation-linked formula has run since January 1, 2025." }, { "label": "Mobilehome spaces are a separate program", "text": "rent for a mobilehome space in an unincorporated-area park is limited by a different county ordinance, capped at 3% for July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. A mobilehome that its owner rents out to a tenant, by contrast, falls under the rent stabilization rules described here." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Mountain View", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/california/mountain-view/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Mountain View", "locality_slug": "mountain-view", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Community Stabilization and Fair Rent Act (Measure V)", "page_title": "Mountain View Rent Stabilization", "topic_verified": "2026-08-17", "status_plain": "In force today. Mountain View voters approved Measure V, the Community Stabilization and Fair Rent Act, on November 8, 2016; it took effect December 23, 2016 as Article XVII of the Mountain View City Charter and is run by the Mountain View Rental Housing Committee with the city's Rent Stabilization Division. Voters have not amended the article since. In January 2026 the City Council replaced the city's separate relocation-payment ordinance with a new one, which now supplies the payments the charter requires after a no-fault eviction.", "cap_plain": "One rent increase is allowed per 12 months, on at least 30 days' written notice, for units under the rent cap. The Rental Housing Committee announces the allowed percentage, called the Annual General Adjustment, by June 30 each year, and it applies from September 1 through the following August 31. The charter sets the figure at 100% of the change in the San Francisco-area consumer price index over the preceding 12 months, rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent, and it can never fall below 2% or rise above 5%. An increase not taken in its window is not lost: the landlord may save it and add it to a later year's increase, though the total increase in any 12 months may not exceed 10%, the saved amount does not pass to a new owner, and a tenant facing hardship may ask the committee for relief. Rents are measured from a base rent — the rent in effect on October 19, 2015, or the starting rent of a later tenancy — plus increases lawfully taken since. A larger increase requires a fair-return petition to the committee, and no increase takes effect while the landlord is out of compliance with the article or has not made ordered repairs.", "coverage_plain": "The rent cap reaches apartments and other rentals in buildings of three or more homes first occupied before February 1, 1995 — a line state law fixes in place. Buildings first occupied between February 1, 1995 and December 23, 2016 keep the eviction protections but sit outside the rent cap, as do units in the city's affordable housing program. Buildings first occupied after December 23, 2016 fall outside the article entirely. Also entirely outside it are single-family homes, condominiums, accessory dwelling units, and any building with fewer than three homes, such as a duplex. Further exclusions cover hotel and rooming-house stays under 30 days, hospitals, convents and monasteries, extended-care facilities, asylums, nonprofit homes for the aged, college dormitories, nonprofit tax-credit housing, and government-owned, government-run or government-subsidized housing that state or federal law exempts from local rent limits.", "vacancy_plain": "When a tenancy ends, state law lets the landlord set the starting rent for the next tenant at market rate. Once that starting rent is set the cap applies again, and the landlord may not add on saved increases, cost increases, capital improvement costs, or anything else that arose before the new tenancy began. A tenant displaced by substantial repairs, an owner move-in, a withdrawal of the property from the rental market, or a demolition has a first right to return at the rent they were paying when the notice was given, and may recover the home outright if the stated reason is not acted on within two months or was made in bad faith.", "eviction_limits_plain": "In a covered rental a landlord may end a tenancy only on one of nine grounds: nonpayment of rent; a continuing substantial lease violation; nuisance; criminal or disorderly conduct; refusing reasonable access; substantial repairs that leave the home unlivable for at least 30 days; an owner or close-relative move-in; withdrawal of the property from the rental market; and demolition. Four of them — a lease violation, nuisance, criminal or disorderly conduct, and refusing access — require a written notice to cease first, giving the tenant a chance to fix the problem. An owner move-in requires a person owning at least half the property, occupancy within 60 days for at least 36 months, and cannot displace a tenant of 5 or more years who is 62 or older or disabled, or a tenant certified as terminally ill. Withdrawal from the market requires at least 120 days' notice, or a year for senior and disabled tenants. The last four grounds require relocation assistance for households earning no more than 120% of the Santa Clara County median. Every termination notice must state its reason specifically, and a copy must be filed with the Rental Housing Committee within 3 days of service; a landlord who does not follow these rules gives the tenant a complete defense in an eviction case. Single-family homes, condominiums, accessory dwelling units, and buildings with fewer than three homes are outside these protections, and California's statewide eviction rules may apply to them instead.", "registration_plain": "Owners must register every covered rental with the Rental Housing Committee each year by January 31, update the listing within 30 days of a tenancy starting or ending — including the new rent — and within 30 days of any change in ownership, management, or contact details, and pay an annual per-unit rental housing fee. The fee is $143 per rental unit for the year running July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. A landlord may not apply the yearly increase while the property is unregistered or the fee is unpaid, and failing to register counts as substantial non-compliance with the law.", "extras_plain": "Security deposits may not be increased during a tenancy. Utility charges paid to the landlord, directly or through a billing service, count as rent and are held to the same yearly percentage and the same once-a-year limit. A landlord who offers a tenant money to move out must first give the committee's disclosure form, put the agreement in writing with a required warning in large type, file it with the committee within 15 days, and honor a 10-day window in which either side may cancel; the disclosure and the agreement must be translated if the lease was negotiated in another language. Separate committee rules bar landlord harassment and retaliation. Every new tenancy and every rent-increase notice must come with the committee's information sheet. Tenants and landlords can also use the city's free, confidential mediation program, run for the city by the nonprofit Project Sentinel.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Annual General Adjustment (rent-capped units)", "value": "2.7%", "period": "September 1, 2025 – August 31, 2026", "source_url": "https://www.mountainview.gov/our-city/departments/housing/rent-stabilization/rent-and-allowed-rent-increases", "official": true }, { "label": "Annual General Adjustment (rent-capped units)", "value": "2.5%", "period": "September 1, 2026 – August 31, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.mountainview.gov/our-city/departments/housing/rent-stabilization/rent-and-allowed-rent-increases", "official": true }, { "label": "Annual rental housing fee, per rental unit", "value": "$143", "period": "July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.mountainview.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/13387/639160079407530000", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "Mountain View City Charter Art. XVII (Community Stabilization and Fair Rent Act), §§ 1700–1720", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/mountain_view/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTITHCH_ARTXVIICOSTFAREAC", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Mountain View City Charter Art. XVII, § 1702 (definitions incl. base rent, relocation assistance)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/mountain_view/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTITHCH_ARTXVIICOSTFAREAC_S1702DE", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (b), (d), (o), (p), (w)" }, { "statute": "Mountain View City Charter Art. XVII, §§ 1703–1704 (exemptions; additional homeowner exemptions)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/mountain_view/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTITHCH_ARTXVIICOSTFAREAC_S1703EX", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 1703(a)(1)–(6), (b)(1)–(2); § 1704(a)–(c)" }, { "statute": "Mountain View City Charter Art. XVII, § 1705 (just cause for eviction; relocation; first right of return)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/mountain_view/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTITHCH_ARTXVIICOSTFAREAC_S1705JUCAEVPR", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)(1)–(9), (b), (c), (d), (e), (g), (h)" }, { "statute": "Mountain View City Charter Art. XVII, §§ 1706–1708 (stabilization of rents; annual general adjustment; initial rents)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/mountain_view/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTITHCH_ARTXVIICOSTFAREAC_S1707REINPUANGEAD", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 1706(a), (c); § 1707(a)–(f); § 1708(a), (c)" }, { "statute": "Mountain View City Charter Art. XVII, §§ 1709–1711, 1714, 1718 (Rental Housing Committee and fee; petitions; remedies; suspension)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/mountain_view/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTITHCH_ARTXVIICOSTFAREAC_S1709REHOCO", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 1709(d), (j)(1), (l); § 1710(a)–(d); § 1714(a)–(d); § 1718" }, { "statute": "Mountain View City Code ch. 46, art. II (Tenant Relocation Ordinance), adopted by Ord. No. 1.2026 (Jan. 27, 2026)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/mountain_view/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIITHCO_CH46HO_ARTIITEREAS", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 46.2-1.15, 46.2-1.20, 46.2-1.25, 46.2-2.10" }, { "statute": "Mountain View Rental Housing Committee Resolution No. 142, Series 2026 (2026-27 Annual General Adjustment), adopted April 23, 2026", "url": "https://www.mountainview.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/13211/639135742631700000", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Mountain View Rental Housing Committee Resolution No. 143, Series 2026 (fiscal year 2026-27 budgets and fee schedule), adopted May 28, 2026", "url": "https://www.mountainview.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/13387/639160079407530000", "official": true, "pinpoint": "Exhibit C" }, { "statute": "Mountain View Rent Stabilization Division — rent and allowed rent increases (current Annual General Adjustment)", "url": "https://www.mountainview.gov/our-city/departments/housing/rent-stabilization/rent-and-allowed-rent-increases", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Mountain View Rental Housing Committee — Community Stabilization and Fair Rent Act regulations, chapters 7, 8, 11, 13 and 14", "url": "https://www.mountainview.gov/our-city/departments/housing/rent-stabilization/csfra-act-regulations-and-resolutions", "official": true, "pinpoint": "ch. 7 §§ B–C; ch. 8 §§ B–E; ch. 11 § B; ch. 13 § A; ch. 14" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (statewide rent cap and its local-ordinance exemption)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1947.12&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (d)(3)–(d)(5), (o)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 (statewide just cause; deference to local ordinances)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1946.2&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(i)(1), (i)(2), (n)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535 (Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.52&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 1954.52(a), 1954.53(a)" } ], "summary_plain": "Mountain View caps rent increases at 2.7% for the year running September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026, and at 2.5% for September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2027, for apartments and other rentals in buildings of three or more homes first occupied before February 1, 1995. The cap comes from Measure V, the Community Stabilization and Fair Rent Act that voters added to the city charter in 2016, which sets the yearly figure at 100% of San Francisco-area inflation with a floor of 2% and a ceiling of 5%, and lets a landlord save an unused increase for a later year so long as no 12-month increase tops 10%. Newer buildings, single-family homes, condominiums, accessory dwelling units, and buildings with fewer than three homes sit outside the city cap, though many of them fall under California's statewide limit of 5% plus inflation, capped at 10%, once they are more than 15 years old. Rentals in buildings of three or more homes may be ended only on nine listed grounds, with relocation payments for no-fault evictions, and owners must register each covered home every year by January 31 and pay $143 per unit for the year beginning July 1, 2026.", "notes": [ { "label": "How the city cap and the state cap fit together", "text": "units under Mountain View's rent cap are exempt from California's statewide rent cap because the local limit is stricter. Buildings first occupied on or after February 1, 1995 fall under the statewide cap of 5% plus inflation, at most 10%, once their certificate of occupancy is more than 15 years old. Buildings newer than 15 years, and most individually owned single-family homes and condominiums, sit outside both caps." }, { "label": "State law fixes the coverage line", "text": "the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act guarantees landlords a market-rate reset between tenancies, keeps most separately owned single-family homes and condominiums outside local rent caps, and bars the city from capping rents in buildings first occupied after February 1, 1995. The charter applies those limits by reference, exempting single-family homes and condominiums in the same terms state law uses." }, { "label": "Two levels of coverage, and a third group left out", "text": "the rent cap applies to buildings of three or more homes first occupied before February 1, 1995. The eviction protections reach further, covering those buildings plus ones first occupied up to December 23, 2016 and units in the city's affordable housing program. But single-family homes, condominiums, accessory dwelling units, and buildings with fewer than three homes are outside the city law entirely — they get no local eviction protection, only whatever California law provides." }, { "label": "Relocation payments after a no-fault eviction", "text": "the charter requires relocation assistance when a tenancy ends for substantial repairs, an owner move-in, withdrawal from the rental market, or demolition, and leaves the amounts to a separate city ordinance. The City Council replaced that ordinance in January 2026. Under the new one a displaced household earning no more than 120% of the Santa Clara County median plus $5,000 receives its full security deposit back, help from a relocation specialist, and the cash equivalent of three months' rent based on the city's survey of comparable rents, with a further payment for households that include someone 62 or older, someone disabled, a minor child, or that are lower income — an amount set at $8,000 and adjusted each year for inflation. Moving costs are covered for every displaced household, whatever its income. The landlord pays within 15 days of being told the household qualifies. The charter still points to the older ordinance by its old section numbers, which the city has since repealed and replaced." }, { "label": "Registration deadline stated two ways", "text": "the Rental Housing Committee's own rules set the annual registration deadline at January 31. The city's landlord and answer pages describe the deadline as February 1. The committee's rules are the requirement." }, { "label": "A suspension clause tied to vacancies", "text": "the charter lets the Rental Housing Committee suspend the whole article if it finds the average annual vacancy rate in rent-capped units above 5%, and requires the article to come back if the rate later falls below 5%. There is no expiry date, and the committee has not suspended it." }, { "label": "Mobile home spaces have their own rules", "text": "renting a space in a mobile home park is covered by a separate city ordinance, run by the same Rental Housing Committee, with its own yearly figure set at 60% of San Francisco-area inflation and capped at 3%." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Oakland", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/california/oakland/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Oakland", "locality_slug": "oakland", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Adjustment Program", "page_title": "Oakland Rent Adjustment Program", "topic_verified": "2026-08-13", "status_plain": "In force today. Oakland has regulated rents continuously since May 1980; the current Rent Adjustment Ordinance is Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 8.22, joined by the voter-passed Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance (2002) and later voter measures. A 2022 amendment set the current cap formula — 60% of local inflation, at most 3% — effective August 1, 2022, a citywide rent registry opened in 2023, and a December 2024 amendment tightened the banking rules starting in 2026.", "cap_plain": "One increase per 12 months without city approval, set each year at 60% of the change in the Bay Area consumer price index or 3%, whichever is lower; the rate runs August 1 through July 31, and an increase must also take effect on or after the tenant's anniversary date. Skipped increases may be banked for up to five years, with any single increase capped at three times the current year's rate. Anything above the annual rate or banking requires a petition approved by the Rent Adjustment Program first — an unapproved larger increase is void — and total increases may never exceed 10% in any 12 months (or the statewide-cap amount if lower) or 30% in any five years.", "coverage_plain": "Most dwellings rented in Oakland, including live-work units and recreational-vehicle spaces, in buildings first granted a certificate of occupancy before January 1, 1983. Newly constructed units first occupied on or after that date are exempt — a line state law fixes in place — along with single-family homes and condominiums, government-subsidized units, short-stay rooms under 30 days, care facilities, dormitories, and resident-controlled cooperatives. The landlord bears the burden of proving an exemption applies.", "vacancy_plain": "When a tenant leaves voluntarily, state law lets the landlord set a new starting rent at any amount, and the cap then applies to the new tenancy. The reset is not available after certain no-fault terminations, for three years after a government housing contract ends, or where serious code violations cited more than 60 days before the vacancy remain uncorrected, and unused banked increases and cost passthroughs from the prior tenancy do not carry over.", "eviction_limits_plain": "Oakland's Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance covers nearly every rental in the city — including single-family homes and condominiums — except buildings first occupied within the past ten years. A landlord may evict only on the listed good-cause grounds: nonpayment above a floor tied to federal fair-market rent, uncured lease violations, substantial damage, continuing disorderly conduct, illegal use, denial of access, owner or relative move-in, substantial repairs requiring vacancy, or withdrawal of the property from the rental market. Owner move-ins are barred against tenants of five years or more who are elderly, disabled, or catastrophically ill, and no-fault evictions carry relocation payments with amounts that adjust each July.", "registration_plain": "Owners must register their units, ownership, and rent data with the city's rent registry by March 1 each year; failing to register forfeits months of any increase sought and bars petitions. The program's annual per-unit fee is due January 1, and owners who pay on time may pass half of it through to tenants, while delinquent owners cannot petition or respond to petitions.", "extras_plain": "Every rent increase notice must include the Rent Adjustment Program notice of tenant petition rights, itemize the amounts claimed, and attach the landlord's current business tax certificate — a notice missing these is invalid. Tenants may petition to challenge increases or seek rent reductions for decreased services, capital improvement passthroughs are limited to 70% of actual cost, and separate parts of the chapter regulate Ellis Act withdrawals, tenant harassment, and move-out agreements.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Annual CPI rent increase (no petition needed)", "value": "2.3%", "period": "August 1, 2026 – July 31, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.oaklandca.gov/Community/Housing-Programs-Support/For-Landlords/Allowable-Rent-Increases/Learn-More-About-Allowable-Rent-Increases", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "Oakland Mun. Code ch. 8.22, art. I (Rent Adjustment Ordinance: coverage, exemptions, CPI formula, petitions)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/oakland/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT8HESA_CH8.22REREADEV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 8.22.020, 8.22.030, 8.22.065, 8.22.070, 8.22.080" }, { "statute": "Oakland Mun. Code § 8.22.360 (Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance — good cause required)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/oakland/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT8HESA_CH8.22REREADEV", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Oakland Mun. Code §§ 8.22.500–8.22.520 (program fee; rent registry)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/oakland/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT8HESA_CH8.22REREADEV", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (statewide rent cap and its local-ordinance exemption)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1947.12&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (d)(3)–(d)(5)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535 (Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.52&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 1954.52(a), 1954.53(a)" }, { "statute": "City of Oakland — current annual CPI rent increase", "url": "https://www.oaklandca.gov/Community/Housing-Programs-Support/For-Landlords/Allowable-Rent-Increases/Learn-More-About-Allowable-Rent-Increases", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Oakland caps rent increases at 2.3% from August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027 for most apartments first occupied before January 1, 1983, and a landlord needs city approval to go higher. The cap is set each year at 60% of Bay Area inflation and can never exceed 3%; skipped increases can be banked for up to five years, and units must be registered with the city's rent registry. Newer buildings, single-family homes, and condominiums are outside the city cap, though many fall under California's statewide limit of 5% plus inflation (10% maximum) once their certificate of occupancy is more than 15 years old. Nearly every Oakland rental is covered by the city's just-cause eviction rules — only buildings less than ten years old are outside them — with relocation payments owed for no-fault evictions.", "notes": [ { "label": "How the city cap and the state cap fit together", "text": "units under the city ordinance are exempt from California's statewide rent cap because the local limit is stricter, and the city's own rules cap any increase at the state amount wherever it is lower. Buildings first occupied between 1983 and roughly fifteen years ago fall under the statewide cap of 5% plus inflation (at most 10%); buildings newer than fifteen years, and most individually owned single-family homes and condominiums, sit outside both caps — though the city's just-cause eviction rules still cover everything more than ten years old." }, { "label": "State law fixes the coverage line", "text": "the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act guarantees landlords a market-rate reset between tenancies, keeps most separately owned single-family homes and condominiums outside local rent caps, and bars the city from extending the ordinance to buildings its rules exempted as new construction." }, { "label": "Voter-passed layers", "text": "the eviction ordinance was adopted by voters in 2002 and its protections cannot be narrowed by the city council, which may only add to them. Ballot measures in 2016 and 2022 added the requirement that above-inflation increases be approved by petition first and made the eviction ordinance's new-construction exemption a rolling ten years." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Pasadena", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/california/pasadena/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Pasadena", "locality_slug": "pasadena", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Fair and Equitable Housing Charter Amendment (Measure H)", "page_title": "Pasadena Rent Stabilization (Measure H)", "topic_verified": "2026-08-16", "status_plain": "In force today. Pasadena voters approved Measure H, the Fair and Equitable Housing Charter Amendment, on November 8, 2022; it took effect December 22, 2022 as Article XVIII of the Pasadena City Charter and is administered by the Pasadena Rental Housing Board with the city's Rent Stabilization Department. Voters amended the article on March 5, 2024 and again on November 5, 2024 (Measure PR). In December 2025 the California Court of Appeal upheld the measure overall but held two pieces unenforceable under state law — a relocation payment owed when a tenant leaves because of a large rent increase in a unit outside the rent cap, and a pre-eviction warning notice for nonpayment of rent — and the California Supreme Court declined to review that decision on April 1, 2026, making it final.", "cap_plain": "One rent increase is allowed per 12 months, on at least 30 days' written notice, for units under the rent cap. The Rental Housing Board announces the allowed percentage, called the Annual General Adjustment, by September 1 each year, and it applies from October 1 through the following September 30. The figure is 75% of the change in the Los Angeles-area consumer price index over the 12 months ending in March, rounded to the nearest quarter percent, and cannot go below 0%. An increase not taken during its October-to-September window is lost; it cannot be saved for a later year. Rents are measured from a base rent — the rent in effect on May 17, 2021, or the starting rent of a later tenancy — plus increases lawfully taken since, and rents above that level must be rolled back. Larger increases require a fair-return petition to the Rental Housing Board.", "coverage_plain": "The rent cap reaches most apartments and other multi-unit rentals first occupied before February 1, 1995. Single-family homes and condominiums, and buildings first occupied after that date, are outside the rent cap — a line state law fixes in place — but they remain covered by the article's eviction protections. Fully outside the article are hotel and rooming-house stays under 30 days, hospitals and licensed care facilities, college dormitories, treatment-program housing, nonprofit tax-credit housing, government housing that state or federal law exempts, a room rented in the owner's own home where the tenant shares a kitchen or bathroom, and a homeowner's temporary rental of their own single-family home for 12 months or less. Inclusionary and density-bonus units and Section 8 tenancies fall outside the rent cap while their subsidy rules apply, but keep the eviction protections.", "vacancy_plain": "When a tenant leaves voluntarily or is evicted for a reason the tenant is responsible for, state law lets the landlord set a new starting rent at any amount; the cap then applies to the new tenancy, and the landlord may not add on costs that arose before the new tenancy began. The rent may not be reset after no-fault terminations such as an owner move-in, and a tenant displaced for repairs, a government order, or a withdrawal from the market has a first right to return at the old rent.", "eviction_limits_plain": "A landlord may end a tenancy in nearly any Pasadena rental, including single-family homes and condominiums, only on one of eleven grounds listed in the charter, split between tenant-fault grounds (nonpayment, uncured lease violations, nuisance, illegal use, refusing a like-term renewal, denying access, an unapproved subtenant) and no-fault grounds (owner or close-relative move-in, substantial repairs needing at least 30 days of vacancy, withdrawal of the whole property from the rental market, government order). Owner move-ins require a person owning at least half the property, occupancy within 60 days for at least 36 months, and cannot displace tenants of 5 or more years who are 60 or older, disabled, or terminally ill. No-fault terminations require relocation payments set annually by the Rental Housing Board and paid half within 10 days of the notice, plus a notice of intent filed with the board 30 days before the notice is served, and every termination notice must be filed with the board within 3 days of service.", "registration_plain": "Owners of covered rentals — both rent-capped units and units covered only by the eviction protections — must register every unit with the Rent Stabilization Department each year by October 31, update the registry within 30 days of any rent change, tenancy start or end, or sale, and pay an annual per-unit rental housing fee that the board sets each spring and that may not be passed on to tenants. Rent may not be raised, and evictions may be defended, while a unit is unregistered or the fee is unpaid.", "extras_plain": "Security deposits may not be increased during a tenancy, and landlords must pay tenants annual interest on deposits at a rate the Rental Housing Board sets each October, due by January 31. Tenant buyout offers must follow the board's disclosure form, tenants may cancel a buyout within 45 days, and the signed agreement must be filed with the board. Landlords must give a board-issued notice of the charter at the start of each tenancy and with every rent-increase notice, and post it at the building in English and Spanish.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Annual General Adjustment (rent-capped units)", "value": "2.25%", "period": "October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2026", "source_url": "https://www.cityofpasadena.net/rent-stabilization/rent-stabilization-overview/", "official": true }, { "label": "Annual General Adjustment (rent-capped units)", "value": "2.5%", "period": "October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.cityofpasadena.net/rent-stabilization/rental-registry/", "official": true }, { "label": "Security deposit interest rate", "value": "0.12%", "period": "January 1, 2026 – December 31, 2026 (payable by January 31, 2027)", "source_url": "https://www.cityofpasadena.net/rent-stabilization/info-sheets/security-deposit/", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "Pasadena City Charter Art. XVIII, § 1803 (definitions incl. base rent, covered rental unit)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/pasadena/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CH_ARTXVIIIPAFAEQHOCHAM_S1803DE", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(b), (c), (d)" }, { "statute": "Pasadena City Charter Art. XVIII, §§ 1804–1805 (exemptions; partial exemptions)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/pasadena/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CH_ARTXVIIIPAFAEQHOCHAM_S1804EX", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 1804(a)–(b), § 1805" }, { "statute": "Pasadena City Charter Art. XVIII, § 1806 (just cause for eviction; relocation; security deposits)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/pasadena/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CH_ARTXVIIIPAFAEQHOCHAM_S1806JUCAEVPR", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)(1)–(11), (b), (f), (k)" }, { "statute": "Pasadena City Charter Art. XVIII, §§ 1807–1809 (stabilization of rents; annual general adjustment; initial rents)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/pasadena/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CH_ARTXVIIIPAFAEQHOCHAM_S1808REINPUANGEAD", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 1808(a)(1)–(4), (b)–(e); § 1809(a)–(c)" }, { "statute": "Pasadena City Charter Art. XVIII, § 1810 (tenant buyout notification program)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/pasadena/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CH_ARTXVIIIPAFAEQHOCHAM_S1810TEBUNOPR", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Pasadena City Charter Art. XVIII, §§ 1811–1812 (Rental Housing Board; rental housing fee; rental registry)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/pasadena/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CH_ARTXVIIIPAFAEQHOCHAM_S1811PAREHOBO", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 1811(a), (l)(1); § 1812(b)" }, { "statute": "Pasadena Rent Stabilization Department — rent stabilization overview (current Annual General Adjustment)", "url": "https://www.cityofpasadena.net/rent-stabilization/rent-stabilization-overview/", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Pasadena Rent Stabilization Department — rental registry and rental housing fee", "url": "https://www.cityofpasadena.net/rent-stabilization/rental-registry/", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "California Apartment Assn. v. City of Pasadena (Cal. Ct. App., 2d Dist., Div. 7, No. B329883, filed Dec. 18, 2025)", "url": "https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/archive/B329883.PDF", "official": true, "pinpoint": "Disposition" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (statewide rent cap and its local-ordinance exemption)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1947.12&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (d)(3)–(d)(5), (o)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 (statewide just cause; deference to local ordinances)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1946.2&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(i)(1), (n)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535 (Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.52&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 1954.52(a), 1954.53(a)" } ], "summary_plain": "Pasadena caps rent increases at 2.25% for the year running October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, and at 2.5% for October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, for apartments and other multi-unit rentals first occupied before February 1, 1995. The cap comes from Measure H, the Fair and Equitable Housing Charter Amendment voters approved in 2022, which sets the yearly figure at 75% of Los Angeles-area inflation, rounded to the nearest quarter percent, with no saving of skipped increases. Single-family homes, condominiums, and newer buildings sit outside the city cap, though most newer buildings fall under California's statewide limit of 5% plus inflation (10% maximum) once they are more than 15 years old. Nearly every rental in the city, including houses and condominiums, may be ended only on eleven listed grounds, with relocation payments for no-fault evictions, and landlords must register covered units each year by October 31 and pay a per-unit fee that cannot be passed to tenants.", "notes": [ { "label": "How the city cap and the state cap fit together", "text": "units under Pasadena's rent cap are exempt from California's statewide rent cap because the local limit is stricter. Buildings first occupied after February 1, 1995 fall under the statewide cap of 5% plus inflation (at most 10%) once their certificate of occupancy is more than 15 years old. Buildings newer than 15 years, and most individually owned single-family homes and condominiums, sit outside both caps — but Pasadena's eviction protections still reach them." }, { "label": "State law fixes the coverage line", "text": "the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act guarantees landlords a market-rate reset between tenancies, keeps most separately owned single-family homes and condominiums outside local rent caps, and bars the city from capping rents in buildings first occupied after February 1, 1995; the charter applies those limits by reference." }, { "label": "Two provisions set aside by the Court of Appeal", "text": "in December 2025 the California Court of Appeal held that state law overrides the charter's requirement that landlords pay relocation assistance when a tenant in a unit outside the rent cap leaves because of a rent increase above 5% plus the annual adjustment, and its requirement of a written warning notice before an eviction for nonpayment of rent. The rest of the measure, including the tenant-majority Rental Housing Board, was upheld. The California Supreme Court denied review on April 1, 2026, so the decision is final; the published charter text has not yet been revised to remove the two provisions, and the board is expected to adopt conforming regulations." }, { "label": "Rent rollback to May 2021 levels", "text": "for tenancies that began on or before May 17, 2021, the lawful rent starts from the rent charged on that date plus the annual adjustments actually taken since; higher rents must be rolled back and overpayments refunded, and the Rent Stabilization Department provides rollback-request and rent-withholding forms." }, { "label": "Two levels of coverage", "text": "the rent cap applies to pre-1995 multi-unit rentals, while the eviction protections, registration, security-deposit interest, and buyout rules apply to nearly all rentals in the city, including single-family homes and condominiums." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Pomona", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/california/pomona/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Pomona", "locality_slug": "pomona", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Stabilization and Eviction Control Ordinance of 2025 (Ordinance No. 4359)", "page_title": "Pomona Rent Stabilization (Ord. 4359)", "topic_verified": "2026-08-17", "status_plain": "In force today, and set to expire December 31, 2026 unless the City Council votes to keep funding it. The Pomona City Council adopted Ordinance No. 4359, the Rent Stabilization and Eviction Control Ordinance of 2025, on November 17, 2025, and it took effect January 1, 2026 as Division 4 of Article VIII of Chapter 30 of the city code. It replaced the city's two emergency measures — Ordinance No. 4320 of 2022, which capped increases at the lower of 4% or inflation, and Ordinance No. 4329 of 2023 on relocation payments — both of which were repealed the day it took effect. The ordinance says it stays in effect only until December 31, 2026 unless the City Council passes a resolution on or before that date identifying and setting aside money to keep the program running; if the council does not, the rules become inoperative as though repealed. City staff tied that end date to funding, telling the council the program is paid for out of federal recovery money only through December 2026. The Neighborhood Services Department runs the program; there is no rent board.", "cap_plain": "Rent for a covered unit may not be raised by more than 5% above the highest monthly rent charged for that unit in the 12 months before the increase takes effect, and only one increase is allowed in any 12-month period. The 5% is a flat number written into the ordinance — it is not tied to inflation, no yearly recalculation happens, and nobody announces a new figure each year. An increase a landlord chooses not to take is lost; it cannot be saved up and added to a later year. Rent cannot be raised at all while the unit fails the basic habitability standard, and cutting back services such as parking or laundry counts as a rent increase. A landlord who says the cap prevents a fair and reasonable return may ask the city for more through a fair return petition, and may ask to pass through the cost of capital improvements, though a pass-through may not exceed the lesser of 10% of the monthly rent or $100 a month. A landlord who files either petition pays the city's full cost of reviewing it, estimated in advance. An independent hearing officer decides all petitions.", "coverage_plain": "The rules reach every rental unit in Pomona, including accessory dwelling units, unless the unit falls in one of twelve exempt categories — and an exempt unit is outside the whole ordinance, eviction protections included, not just the rent cap. The exemptions are: buildings first issued a certificate of occupancy after February 1, 1995, a line state law fixes in place; any building issued a certificate of occupancy within the past 15 years; homes that can be sold separately from any other dwelling, meaning single-family houses, condominiums and townhomes; subdivided interests; hotel and tourist stays; nonprofit hospitals, religious facilities, extended care and licensed residential care facilities for the elderly, and adult residential facilities; college and school dormitories; a room in the owner's own home where the tenant shares a kitchen or bathroom; an owner-occupied single-family home where the owner rents out no more than two units or bedrooms; an owner-occupied duplex, so long as the owner keeps living there; units whose landlord receives a federal, state or local housing subsidy, including Section 8 vouchers; and units under a recorded agreement limiting tenant income and rent. Mobile homes are covered by a separate part of the city code instead. An exemption is not automatic: the landlord must file a notice of exemption with the city, before collecting rent for a new tenancy or within 60 days of the start date for an existing one, and a unit whose landlord does not file is treated as covered.", "vacancy_plain": "When no tenant is living in a covered unit, the landlord may set the starting rent for the next tenancy at any amount, and the 5% limit then applies to increases after that. The ordinance sets no extra condition on this — it does not bar a reset after a no-fault eviction, and it gives a displaced tenant no right to return at the old rent. State law separately blocks a reset where the previous tenancy ended on the owner's own termination notice or on an owner-noticed change in terms.", "eviction_limits_plain": "A landlord may end a tenancy in a covered unit only on one of the grounds the ordinance lists, and must also serve the notice properly, refuse rent for any period beyond the terminated term, and file a copy of the eviction court case with the city — including the court name, case number and proof of service — within 10 calendar days of serving the tenant. Tenant-fault grounds are nonpayment after a 3-day notice, an uncured material lease breach, continued refusal of reasonable access, nuisance or damage, and illegal use of the property. Domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking against a tenant or household member cannot be the substantial basis for evicting the victim. No-fault grounds are demolition, permanent removal from the rental market, substantial work costing at least eight times the monthly rent per unit and leaving the unit unlivable for at least 30 days, a move-in by the owner or a listed relative, a resident manager, a tenancy requiring case management, a government order to vacate, and the end of a tenant's eligibility under an agreement with a government agency. An owner or relative must move in within three months and stay at least 12 months, and may use the ground only once per person in each rental complex. A move-in eviction may not be used against a household where a tenant has lived there at least 10 years and is 62 or older or disabled, or where a tenant is terminally ill. Every no-fault eviction requires a relocation payment, made per unit rather than per tenant: $6,164 for a tenant of under three years, $8,074 for a tenant of three years or longer or a household at or below 80% of area median income, and $12,998 or $15,377 on the same tenure lines for a tenant who is 62 or older, disabled, or has a minor dependent child. Small landlords who meet four conditions — a building of four or fewer units, no relocation paid in that building in three years, no more than four units plus one house owned in the city, and an incoming relative who owns no property in the city — pay $5,926 or $11,960 instead. Half is due within 7 days of the termination notice and half within 7 days after the tenant moves out, and the landlord must tell the tenant about the payment when serving the notice. Relocation is not owed where the tenant was warned before signing about a pending conversion, where one resident manager replaces another, where a natural disaster forces the order to vacate, or where another government agency pays as much or more.", "registration_plain": "Pomona charges owners of rent-capped units no annual filing and no per-unit fee. A citywide rental listing requirement was written into the draft ordinance and taken out before adoption: the council declined to pass the version containing it in October 2025, and the version that passed in November 2025 has no such requirement. The only filing the ordinance requires is the opposite one — a landlord who believes a unit is exempt must file a notice of exemption with the Neighborhood Services Department, on the city's form, signed under penalty of perjury and backed by documents, and a unit whose landlord does not file is treated as covered. The city acknowledges a filing within 30 days and reviews it within 90, and the acknowledgment is not an approval. Exemptions must be renewed on a schedule the department sets, and a landlord must report within 30 days if the basis for an exemption ends. For any lease starting on or after January 1, 2026, the lease itself must say whether the unit is claimed as exempt and under which category.", "extras_plain": "A landlord found in violation on a tenant's petition may be fined up to $1,000, with each day counting separately, and the city may also issue citations carrying fines the City Council sets. A tenant may sue in court without going through the city first, a tenant who wins is awarded attorneys' fees and costs, and a violation of the ordinance is a defense to an eviction case. Any agreement to give up rights under the ordinance is void. The city offers voluntary mediation between landlords and tenants through the Housing Rights Center, which started as a one-year pilot on November 1, 2025 and must be used before an eviction is filed in court; it is not a route for deciding rent stabilization disputes. The City Manager may issue regulations that carry the force of law, and the current set adds detail on exemption filings, rent-increase notices, record keeping, and how a fair return petition is judged. Pomona has no rules on security deposit interest, tenant buyout offers, or tenant harassment.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Maximum allowable rent increase (covered units)", "value": "5%", "period": "January 1, 2026 – December 31, 2026", "source_url": "https://www.pomonaca.gov/government/departments/neighborhood-services/rent-stabilization-program", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "Pomona City Code § 30-574 (scope; exemptions; notice of exemption)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/pomona/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=SPAGEOR_CH30LIPEMIRE_ARTVIIIREUN_DIV4URRECOME_S30-574SCEX", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (b)(1)–(12), (c)" }, { "statute": "Pomona City Code § 30-575 (rent stabilization; 5% limit; initial rent)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/pomona/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=SPAGEOR_CH30LIPEMIRE_ARTVIIIREUN_DIV4URRECOME_S30-575REST", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)–(e)" }, { "statute": "Pomona City Code § 30-576 (eviction controls; at-fault and no-fault grounds)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/pomona/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=SPAGEOR_CH30LIPEMIRE_ARTVIIIREUN_DIV4URRECOME_S30-576EVCO", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(b)(1)–(4), (c)(1)–(5), (d)(1)–(4)" }, { "statute": "Pomona City Code § 30-577 (relocation assistance amounts and timing)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/pomona/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=SPAGEOR_CH30LIPEMIRE_ARTVIIIREUN_DIV4URRECOME_S30-577REAS", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (b)(1)–(2), (g), (h)" }, { "statute": "Pomona City Code § 30-578 (fair return, capital improvement and tenant petitions)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/pomona/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=SPAGEOR_CH30LIPEMIRE_ARTVIIIREUN_DIV4URRECOME_S30-578PE", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)(1)–(4), (b)(2), (h)" }, { "statute": "Pomona City Code §§ 30-579–30-583 (enforcement; civil remedies; rulemaking; Costa-Hawkins exemptions; waiver void)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/pomona/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=SPAGEOR_CH30LIPEMIRE_ARTVIIIREUN_DIV4URRECOME_S30-582EX", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 30-579(a); § 30-580(a)–(b); § 30-581; § 30-582; § 30-583" }, { "statute": "Pomona Ordinance No. 4359 § 30-586 (effective date; expiry on December 31, 2026; repeal of Ordinances 4320 and 4329), adopted November 17, 2025", "url": "https://pomona.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=14945230&GUID=23997718-FA43-4E62-B2D8-53FAD03A47D7", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)–(c)" }, { "statute": "Pomona City Council report, second reading of Ordinance No. 4359, November 17, 2025", "url": "https://pomona.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=14945217&GUID=E04F1EDD-8B5A-4739-9DD6-2C090625793A", "official": true, "pinpoint": "Fiscal Impact; Previous Related Action; Program Structure and Coverage" }, { "statute": "City of Pomona Rent Stabilization Program — allowable rent increase and exemptions", "url": "https://www.pomonaca.gov/government/departments/neighborhood-services/rent-stabilization-program", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Pomona Administrative Regulations under Ordinance No. 4359", "url": "https://www.pomonaca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/8472/639029040354070000", "official": true, "pinpoint": "Arts. 3–4, 6" }, { "statute": "City of Pomona Relocation Assistance Guidelines under Ordinance No. 4359", "url": "https://www.pomonaca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/9061/639161760136070000", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (statewide rent cap and its local-ordinance exemption)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1947.12&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (d)(3)–(d)(5), (o)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 (statewide just cause; deference to local ordinances)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1946.2&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(i)(1)–(2), (n)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535 (Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.52&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 1954.52(a)(1), (a)(3); § 1954.53(a)" } ], "summary_plain": "Pomona caps rent increases at 5% a year, from January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026, for rentals that are not exempt. The figure is a flat number written into Ordinance No. 4359, which the City Council adopted on November 17, 2025 — it does not move with inflation, and the city does not publish a new percentage each year. Only one increase is allowed in any 12-month period, and an increase a landlord skips cannot be saved for later. Homes first occupied after February 1, 1995, buildings less than 15 years old, and single-family houses, condominiums and townhomes that can be sold separately are outside the ordinance entirely, along with subsidized and income-restricted units and several owner-occupied arrangements; many of those still fall under California's statewide limit of 5% plus inflation, capped at 10%. Covered tenancies can be ended only on listed grounds, no-fault evictions carry relocation payments ranging from $5,926 to $15,377 depending on the tenant and the landlord, and there is no registration requirement or program fee. The ordinance is written to expire on December 31, 2026 unless the City Council votes to fund it further.", "notes": [ { "label": "The rules are scheduled to end on December 31, 2026", "text": "Ordinance No. 4359 says it stays in effect only until December 31, 2026 unless the City Council passes a resolution on or before that date identifying and setting aside money to keep the program running. If the council does, the rules continue until a later ordinance repeals them. If the council does not, the ordinance becomes inoperative as though repealed — and because it already repealed the city's 2022 and 2023 emergency measures when it took effect, Pomona would be left with no local rent limit and no local eviction grounds. City staff told the council the program is funded from federal recovery money only through December 2026 and that the end date was chosen so no general city money is committed yet, against a projected $5.5 million shortfall in the city's general budget." }, { "label": "How the city cap and the state cap fit together", "text": "units under Pomona's 5% limit are exempt from California's statewide rent cap because the local limit is stricter. Buildings first occupied after February 1, 1995 fall under the statewide cap of 5% plus inflation, at most 10%, once they are more than 15 years old. Buildings newer than 15 years, and most individually owned single-family homes and condominiums, sit outside both caps. Because Pomona's exemptions take a unit out of the whole ordinance rather than only the rent limit, an exempt unit also loses the local eviction grounds — the statewide just-cause rules may still apply to it, which is how the city itself describes the arrangement." }, { "label": "State law fixes the coverage line", "text": "the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act guarantees landlords a market-rate reset between tenancies, keeps separately owned single-family homes and condominiums outside local rent caps, and bars the city from capping rents in buildings first occupied after February 1, 1995. Ordinance No. 4359 applies those limits by reference in its own Costa-Hawkins section." }, { "label": "What changed from the 2022 emergency rules", "text": "Pomona's first rent rules, adopted as an emergency measure in August 2022, capped increases at the lower of 4% or inflation, and a 2023 measure added relocation payments. Ordinance No. 4359 replaced both on January 1, 2026 with a flat 5% and no inflation link. It also changed what landlords file with the city: a copy of the eviction court case, within 10 days of serving the tenant, rather than the 3-day notice." }, { "label": "A rental listing requirement was dropped before adoption", "text": "the version of the ordinance given its first reading in June 2025 would have required every covered unit to be listed with the city each year and would have charged a per-unit fee, up to half of which could be billed to tenants. The council did not pass that version on its second reading in October 2025 and asked staff to bring back a version without it. The ordinance that passed in November 2025 contains no such requirement and no program fee." }, { "label": "The published code does not show the end date", "text": "the sections of Ordinance No. 4359 that set the effective date and the December 31, 2026 expiry are not reproduced in the codified chapter, which shows those section numbers as reserved. Readers working from the code alone will not see that the rules are scheduled to end; the adopted ordinance on the city's legislative records site is the place that carries it." }, { "label": "Relocation amounts may change", "text": "the ordinance lets the City Council set relocation amounts by resolution, and the amounts above apply until it does. A policy replacing the current tenant-category amounts with fixed payments by unit size — $6,515 for a one-bedroom, $8,444 for a two-bedroom and $10,269 for a three-bedroom, based on a study of local moving costs — went to the council in February 2026. The city's relocation guidance still sets out the tenant-category amounts." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Richmond", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/california/richmond/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Richmond", "locality_slug": "richmond", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Fair Rent, Just Cause for Eviction and Homeowner Protection Ordinance (Measure L)", "page_title": "Richmond Rent Control (Measure L)", "topic_verified": "2026-08-17", "status_plain": "In force today. Richmond voters approved Measure L on November 8, 2016, and it took effect December 30, 2016 as Chapter 11.100 of the Richmond Municipal Code, administered by the Richmond Rent Board and its staff, the Richmond Rent Program. Voters amended it once, on November 8, 2022, when Measure P cut the yearly allowed increase from full local inflation to the lower of 60% of inflation or 3%. Two companion laws sit alongside it: the Relocation Ordinance, in force since January 19, 2017, which sets the payments owed to displaced tenants, and the Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance, in force since July 22, 2021, which reaches every rental in the city. Nothing in the ordinance expires.", "cap_plain": "One rent increase is allowed per year for units under the rent cap, and only after the tenant has completed a full year in the unit. The Rent Board announces the allowed percentage, called the Annual General Adjustment, by June 30 each year, and it applies from September 1 through the following August 31. The figure is the lower of 60% of the change in the San Francisco-area consumer price index over the 12 months ending in February, or 3%, and it can never fall below 0%. A landlord who skipped past increases may add them back, but the total increase in any 12 months may not exceed the current year's percentage plus 5% of the rent charged at any point in the previous 12 months, and an increase above that limit is void. A landlord may take the increase only after serving the tenant the notice state law requires and filing a copy with the Rent Program within 10 business days; an unfiled increase is void. Rents are measured from a base rent - the rent in effect on July 21, 2015, or the starting rent of a later tenancy - plus increases lawfully taken since. Larger increases require a petition to the Rent Board, which must allow the landlord a fair return.", "coverage_plain": "The rent cap reaches rentals on a parcel holding more than one dwelling unit, first built before February 1, 1995. Single-family homes and condominiums that can be sold separately, and buildings first occupied after that date, are outside the rent cap - a line state law fixes in place - but they keep the eviction protections, as do government-owned units and homes covered by Section 8 vouchers, project-based Section 8, low-income housing tax credit rules, Section 202 elderly housing, or another government rent agreement. Fully outside the ordinance are hotel, motel, inn and rooming-house stays under 14 days, hospitals, convents, monasteries, extended care facilities, non-profit homes for the aged and college dormitories, a permitted second unit where the owner lives in the main house, a room rented in the owner's own home where the tenant shares a kitchen or bathroom, and a homeowner's temporary rental of their own single-family home for 12 months or less under a written agreement filed with the Rent Program beforehand.", "vacancy_plain": "When a tenant leaves voluntarily, state law lets the landlord set a new starting rent at any amount, and the cap then applies to the new tenancy. The rent may not be reset if the landlord ended the previous tenancy, if the tenancy ended after the landlord changed its terms, if the tenant left because of harassment, constructive eviction, a threatened withdrawal from the market or a misleading notice, if the unit had serious health or safety code violations cited at least 60 days before the vacancy and still uncured, if the departing tenant was the relative who moved in after an owner move-in eviction, or within 3 years of the landlord ending a government rent agreement. No reset is allowed while a tenant who lived there on or before July 21, 2015, or since the landlord last set a starting rent, still occupies the unit as their home. Where a lease gives discounted or free months, the lawful rent is the average of the payments over the initial term.", "eviction_limits_plain": "A landlord may end a tenancy in nearly any Richmond rental, including single-family homes and condominiums, only on one of eight grounds: nonpayment of rent, an uncured lease violation, nuisance or substantial damage, refusing access, temporarily vacating for substantial repairs, an owner or close-relative move-in, withdrawal of the whole property from the rental market, and the end of an agreed temporary tenancy in a single-family home. The first four require a written warning notice first, giving details and a chance to fix the problem. Owner move-ins require a person who owns at least half the property, occupancy within 90 days for at least 36 months, and cannot displace tenants of 5 or more years who are 62 or older or disabled, or tenants certified terminally ill. Withdrawing a property from the market takes 120 days' notice, or one year for senior and disabled tenants. Tenants displaced for repairs, an owner move-in, or a withdrawal get the first chance to return at their old rent. Every termination notice must be filed with the Rent Board within 2 business days of service, and failing to file is a complete defense to an eviction lawsuit. Repairs, owner move-ins and withdrawals all require relocation payments set by the City Council and adjusted each January 1 for inflation; for calendar year 2025 an owner move-in paid up to $4,355.81 for a studio, $6,725.81 for a one-bedroom and $9,159.42 for a two-bedroom or larger, and a withdrawal from the market paid up to $8,775.23, $13,451.61 and $18,255.22, with higher amounts for households that include a senior, a disabled person, a child under 18, a lower-income household, or a terminally ill tenant facing an owner move-in. Half the payment is due within 3 business days of the tenant confirming in writing they will leave and the rest within 3 business days of moving out.", "registration_plain": "Landlords must enroll every rental property with the Rent Program - both rent-capped units and units covered only by the eviction protections - and file an updated form within 30 days of a sale or other substantial change. Each tenancy in a rent-capped unit must also be registered, with a new form whenever the tenancy fully changes. Every landlord pays an annual Residential Rental Housing Fee per unit, billed with the city business license, set by the City Council each year on the Rent Board's recommendation: for the year running July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 it is $261 for a unit under the rent cap and $149 for a unit covered only by the eviction protections. A landlord who has not enrolled, registered, or paid may not raise the rent at all, and the failure is a complete defense to an eviction lawsuit. A landlord who later comes into compliance may ask the Rent Board to restore the increases missed during that period, but only going forward.", "extras_plain": "A separate anti-harassment law covers every rental in Richmond, including single-family homes and condominiums and units the rent ordinance does not reach. It bars 18 kinds of bad-faith conduct, among them cutting utilities, refusing repairs, abusing the right to enter, threatening to report a tenant to immigration authorities, repeating buyout offers after the tenant asks in writing that they stop, and refusing lawful rent. Damages are the greater of three times the tenant's actual losses or $1,000, plus attorney's fees. Parking, garages, storage, laundry rooms, decks, patios, yards and gardens may not be taken away from a tenancy without good cause. Security deposits may not be increased while an original tenant remains, and a deposit charged in violation counts as excess rent. Landlords must give every tenant the Rent Program's brochure at the start of the tenancy and again with every rent-increase notice, and must give the city's anti-harassment notice at the start of a tenancy and with any termination notice, and post it in a common area. Utilities may not be billed to a tenant unless the unit is separately metered. Charging more than the lawful rent exposes a landlord to triple damages where the overcharge was willful. No agreement may waive a tenant's rights under the ordinance.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Annual General Adjustment (rent-capped units)", "value": "1.62%", "period": "September 1, 2025 – August 31, 2026", "source_url": "https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/3376/Rent-Increase", "official": true }, { "label": "Annual General Adjustment (rent-capped units)", "value": "1.5%", "period": "September 1, 2026 – August 31, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/3376/Rent-Increase", "official": true }, { "label": "Maximum increase including saved-up past increases", "value": "6.5%", "period": "September 1, 2026 – August 31, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/3376/Rent-Increase", "official": true }, { "label": "Residential Rental Housing Fee, unit under the rent cap", "value": "$261", "period": "July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/FAQ.aspx?QID=399", "official": true }, { "label": "Residential Rental Housing Fee, unit with eviction protections only", "value": "$149", "period": "July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/FAQ.aspx?QID=399", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "Richmond Municipal Code Ch. 11.100 (Fair Rent, Just Cause for Eviction and Homeowner Protection Ordinance)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/richmond/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=ARTXIPUSAWE_CH11.100FAREJUCAEVHOPR", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 11.100.030(d), (i); § 11.100.040; § 11.100.050(a)–(g); § 11.100.060(g), (l)(1), (s); § 11.100.070(a)–(b), (f)–(g), (k); § 11.100.080; § 11.100.100; § 11.100.130" }, { "statute": "Richmond Municipal Code Ch. 11.102 (Relocation Ordinance)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/richmond/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=ARTXIPUSAWE_CH11.102RERETEREREUN", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 11.102.020(d), (j), (m); § 11.102.030(a)–(c); § 11.102.050; § 11.102.060; § 11.102.070(b); § 11.102.110" }, { "statute": "Richmond Municipal Code Ch. 11.103 (Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/richmond/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=ARTXIPUSAWE_CH11.103TEANRA", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 11.103.030; § 11.103.050; § 11.103.060; § 11.103.080; § 11.103.090; § 11.103.110(c)" }, { "statute": "Richmond Rent Board Regulations, Chapter 6 (annual general adjustments; conditions; saving up increases; filing notices)", "url": "https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/47036/Chapter-6---REGULATIONS", "official": true, "pinpoint": "Regs. 600–603, 614" }, { "statute": "Richmond Rent Board Regulation 615 (2026 annual general adjustment), adopted June 17, 2026", "url": "https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/79930", "official": true, "pinpoint": "Reg. 615(A)–(C)" }, { "statute": "Richmond Rent Board Regulations, compiled (applicability and exemptions; enrollment and registration; vacancy rent increases; eviction notices; security deposits)", "url": "https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/47043/City-of-Richmond-Rent-Board-Regulations", "official": true, "pinpoint": "Regs. 201–204, 402, 405–406, 700–703.5, 905, 912, 1001, 1101–1102" }, { "statute": "Richmond Rent Program — rent control and annual general adjustment", "url": "https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/3376/Rent-Increase", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Richmond Rent Program — residential rental housing fees", "url": "https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/FAQ.aspx?QID=399", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Richmond Rent Program — relocation payments", "url": "https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/4824/Richmond-Relocation-Ordinance", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Ordinance No. 15-22 N.S. (Measure P), approved by Richmond voters November 8, 2022", "url": "https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/65661/1--15-22-NS-Measure-P---CONFORMED---Adopted12-20-22", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 5, 7" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (statewide rent cap and its local-ordinance exemption)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1947.12&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)(1), (d)(3)–(d)(5), (o)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 (statewide just cause; deference to local ordinances)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1946.2&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(i)(1)–(2), (n)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535 (Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.52&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 1954.52(a); § 1954.53(a)" } ], "summary_plain": "Richmond caps rent increases at 1.62% for the year running September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026, and at 1.5% for September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2027, for rentals on a parcel holding more than one dwelling unit that was first built before February 1, 1995. The cap comes from Measure L, which voters approved in 2016, as amended by Measure P in 2022: the yearly figure is the lower of 60% of San Francisco-area inflation or 3%, and never less than 0%. A landlord who skipped earlier increases may add them back, but the total in any 12 months cannot exceed the current year's percentage plus 5%. Single-family homes, condominiums, and newer buildings sit outside the city cap, though most newer buildings fall under California's statewide limit of 5% plus inflation, 10% at most, once they are more than 15 years old. Nearly every rental in the city, houses and condominiums included, may be ended only on eight listed grounds, with relocation payments for repairs, owner move-ins and withdrawals from the market, and landlords must enroll their properties, register rent-capped tenancies, and pay a yearly per-unit fee of $261 or $149 before they may raise rent at all.", "notes": [ { "label": "How the city cap and the state cap fit together", "text": "units under Richmond's rent cap are exempt from California's statewide rent cap because the local limit is stricter. Buildings first occupied after February 1, 1995 fall under the statewide cap of 5% plus inflation, at most 10%, once their certificate of occupancy is more than 15 years old. Buildings newer than 15 years, and most individually owned single-family homes and condominiums, sit outside both caps - but Richmond's eviction protections and its anti-harassment law still reach them." }, { "label": "State law fixes the coverage line", "text": "the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act guarantees landlords a market-rate reset between tenancies, keeps most separately owned single-family homes and condominiums outside local rent caps, and bars the city from capping rents in buildings first occupied after February 1, 1995. Richmond's ordinance does not name that date; it simply carries the state exemption across by reference, so the state statute is where the line actually sits." }, { "label": "Two levels of coverage", "text": "Richmond sorts rentals into fully covered units, which get both the rent cap and the eviction protections, and partially covered units, which get the eviction protections only. Both must be enrolled with the Rent Program and both pay a yearly fee, at different rates." }, { "label": "How the yearly figure is set", "text": "the ordinance points to the San Francisco-area consumer price index for the 12 months ending in March, but that index is published only every other month and has no March reading, so the Rent Board uses the February figure. For 2026 the index rose 2.5%; 60% of that is 1.5%, which is below the 3% ceiling, so 1.5% is the figure for September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2027." }, { "label": "Relocation payments for 2026 are not yet published", "text": "the amounts owed to displaced tenants rise each January 1 with San Francisco-area inflation. The Rent Program has said it cannot yet publish the 2026 amounts because the federal shutdown from October 1 to November 12, 2025 delayed the inflation figure it needs, and that the amounts shown on its relocation page are the calendar year 2025 amounts. Landlords planning a no-fault termination should ask the Rent Program for the current figures." }, { "label": "Saved-up increases are limited", "text": "a landlord who did not take an allowed increase in an earlier year may add it to a later one, and the amounts compound rather than simply add. But the total increase in any 12 months cannot exceed the current year's percentage plus 5% of the rent charged at any point in the prior 12 months, and an increase above that ceiling is void, not merely reduced. With the 1.5% figure for 2026, that ceiling is 6.5%." }, { "label": "Exemptions for subsidized housing are under review", "text": "units covered by Section 8, low-income housing tax credit rules, or another government rent agreement are currently outside the rent cap but keep the eviction protections. The Rent Board has been holding study sessions through 2026 on whether to end that exemption, and it can already withdraw the exemption from an individual property whose owner falls out of compliance with the ordinance, the fee, or its own regulatory agreement." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Sacramento", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/california/sacramento/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Sacramento", "locality_slug": "sacramento", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Tenant Protection Program (Sacramento Tenant Protection Act)", "page_title": "Sacramento Tenant Protection Program", "topic_verified": "2026-08-16", "status_plain": "In force today, with an end date. The City of Sacramento has limited rent increases and required a stated reason to end longer tenancies under its Tenant Protection Act, Sacramento City Code Chapter 5.156, since September 12, 2019. The city council last amended the chapter on November 19, 2024 (effective December 19, 2024), extending it through December 31, 2029; unless the council extends it again, the chapter is repealed on that date.", "cap_plain": "One rent increase is allowed per 12 months, and the increase may not exceed 5% plus the yearly change in the California Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, with a combined ceiling of 10%. The city measures the index as of April each year using the figure released by the California Department of Industrial Relations in mid-June, and the new maximum takes effect July 1. Tenants cannot waive the limit. A landlord who needs a larger increase to earn a fair return may petition the city for a hearing before a hearing examiner, whose decision is final unless a court reviews it. The chapter has no rule letting unused increases be saved for later years.", "coverage_plain": "Rental units in buildings with two or more homes, such as apartments and duplexes, and rented mobile homes (the dwelling, not the space), where the certificate of occupancy or final inspection is dated on or before February 1, 1995. Outside the ordinance: buildings completed after February 1, 1995 (a line state law fixes in place); single homes on their own lot; condominium and stock-cooperative units; hotel and rooming-house rooms rented to transient guests for under 30 days; hospitals, care facilities, group homes, dormitories, and similar institutional housing; government-owned or income-restricted housing where the tenant's rent is set by income; units where the tenant shares a kitchen or bathroom with the owner; and units the landlord or the landlord's immediate family occupies as a primary residence. Exemptions must be requested from the city and renewed each year.", "vacancy_plain": "When a unit is vacated, the landlord may set a new starting rent for the next tenant at any amount, as state law guarantees; the annual limit then applies to increases during that new tenancy.", "eviction_limits_plain": "Once a tenant has lived in a covered unit for more than 12 months, the landlord may end the tenancy, serve an eviction notice, or sue for possession only on one of seven grounds: nonpayment of rent after a 3-day notice; an uncured material lease violation after written notice; criminal or, after notice, nuisance activity; refusing lawful access after three offered dates; substantial repairs that require the unit to be vacant for at least 30 days, with 120 days' notice, permits in hand, and a right to return at the old rent; owner or immediate-family move-in for at least 12 months, with 120 days' notice, by an individual owner holding at least 51%; or withdrawal of every unit on the parcel from the rental market for at least 12 months, with 120 days' notice and a filing with the city. The notice must state the specific ground. Tenants may request a pre-eviction hearing before a city hearing examiner, and a landlord's failure to follow the chapter is a defense in an eviction case. The city ordinance itself does not require relocation payments; those apply under state law to units the state law covers instead.", "registration_plain": "Landlords must register covered units with the city's Tenant Protection Program every year on the city's form and pay an annual per-unit program fee set by the city council; the city mails registration packets and fee invoices, and unregistered properties face administrative penalties. Separately, every residential rental property in the city registers with the Rental Housing Inspection Program, which charges its own annual per-unit and inspection fees.", "extras_plain": "Landlords must offer to renew the rental agreement once a tenant has stayed more than 12 months. A rent increase takes effect only after written notice that includes the information the city's program procedures require. Violations carry administrative penalties of up to $25,000 per offense.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Annual maximum rent increase (covered units)", "value": "8.6%", "period": "July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/community-development/code-compliance/rental-info-hub/tenant-protection-program", "official": true }, { "label": "Annual maximum rent increase (prior year)", "value": "7.7%", "period": "July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026", "source_url": "https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/community-development/code-compliance/rental-info-hub/tenant-protection-program", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "Sacramento City Code § 5.156.020 (definitions)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/sacramentoca/latest/sacramento_ca/0-0-0-16212", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Sacramento City Code § 5.156.030 (exemptions)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/sacramentoca/latest/sacramento_ca/0-0-0-16230", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Sacramento City Code § 5.156.040 (rent-increase limits; new tenancies)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/sacramentoca/latest/sacramento_ca/0-0-0-16239", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Sacramento City Code § 5.156.050 (annual rent adjustment; notice)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/sacramentoca/latest/sacramento_ca/0-0-0-16243", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Sacramento City Code § 5.156.060 (fair-rate-of-return hearing)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/sacramentoca/latest/sacramento_ca/0-0-0-16248", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Sacramento City Code § 5.156.080 (registration and program fee)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/sacramentoca/latest/sacramento_ca/0-0-0-16266", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Sacramento City Code § 5.156.090 (tenant eviction protections)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/sacramentoca/latest/sacramento_ca/0-0-0-16268", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Sacramento City Code § 5.156.150 (sunset date)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/sacramentoca/latest/sacramento_ca/0-0-0-16293", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Ordinance 2024-0045 (adopted November 19, 2024; extends the chapter to December 31, 2029)", "url": "https://records.cityofsacramento.org/ViewDoc.aspx?ID=s6tFBnt4W+JOfOfihIq27rahekY5TVIw", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Sacramento — Tenant Protection Program (current annual maximum, program fee)", "url": "https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/community-development/code-compliance/rental-info-hub/tenant-protection-program", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Sacramento — 2026 Annual Rent Adjustment Maximum Rate notice", "url": "https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/content/dam/portal/cdd/Code-Compliance/TPP/2026-TPP-Max-Increase-Notice.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Sacramento — Rental Housing Inspection Program (registration and fees)", "url": "https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/community-development/code-compliance/rental-info-hub/rental-housing", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (statewide rent cap and its exemptions)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1947.12&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (d)(3)–(d)(5), (o)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 (statewide just cause; deference to local ordinances)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1946.2&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (d), (i), (n)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535 (Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.52&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 1954.52(a), 1954.53(a)" } ], "summary_plain": "Sacramento caps rent increases at 8.6% for the year beginning July 1, 2026 for apartments, duplexes, and other multi-unit rentals with a certificate of occupancy dated on or before February 1, 1995. The limit comes from the city's Tenant Protection Act, which allows one increase per 12 months of 5% plus the change in the California Consumer Price Index, never more than 10%. Newer buildings, single-family homes, and condominiums are outside the city ordinance, though most buildings more than 15 years old fall under California's statewide cap, which uses the same 5%-plus-inflation formula. After a tenant has stayed more than 12 months, the landlord may end the tenancy only on one of seven listed grounds, and landlords must register covered units with the city each year and pay a per-unit program fee. The chapter is scheduled to end on December 31, 2029 unless extended.", "notes": [ { "label": "How the city limit and the state limit fit together", "text": "the city and state limits use the same formula — 5% plus inflation, at most 10% — so covered buildings generally face the same number under both, and both used the April 2026 California index change of 3.6% to reach 8.6% for the year starting July 1, 2026. The city rule allows only one increase per 12 months, where the state rule allows two. Buildings completed after February 1, 1995 sit outside the city ordinance and fall under the state cap once their certificate of occupancy is more than 15 years old; newer buildings and most individually owned single-family homes and condominiums sit outside both." }, { "label": "State law fixes the coverage line", "text": "the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act lets landlords set a new rent whenever a unit turns over, keeps separately owned single-family homes and condominiums outside local rent limits, and bars the city from extending the ordinance to buildings completed after February 1, 1995." }, { "label": "Eviction rules: city grounds, not state grounds", "text": "because Sacramento adopted its just-cause rules on August 13, 2019 — before the September 1, 2019 line drawn in state law — the city's seven grounds govern covered units instead of the state list. The city ordinance does not require relocation payments; the state law's one-month relocation payment applies to units under the state rules." }, { "label": "The chapter has an end date", "text": "the ordinance originally expired December 31, 2024. The council extended it on November 19, 2024 to December 31, 2029, one day before the state's own rent-cap and just-cause law is set to expire, and said it would consider further amendments before then." }, { "label": "City and county are different", "text": "the ordinance applies inside Sacramento city limits only; unincorporated Sacramento County and neighboring cities are not covered by it." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "CA", "locality": "San Francisco", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/california/san-francisco/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "CA", "locality": "San Francisco", "locality_slug": "san-francisco", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Ordinance", "page_title": "San Francisco Rent Ordinance", "topic_verified": "2026-08-13", "status_plain": "In force today. San Francisco has limited rent increases since June 13, 1979 under the Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Ordinance, Administrative Code Chapter 37, administered by the Rent Board. The chapter has been amended continuously; the most recent substantive amendment, effective February 8, 2026, expanded protections around residential demolitions and major renovations and added a seventeenth eviction ground.", "cap_plain": "Each year the Rent Board publishes the allowed increase — 60% of the change in the Bay Area consumer price index, and never more than 7% — effective March 1 through the end of February. A landlord keeps the right to impose it by reporting the unit to the Rent Board's housing inventory, and increases a landlord skips may be banked and imposed in later years. Larger increases require a Rent Board petition, such as certified capital improvement passthroughs.", "coverage_plain": "Most apartments in buildings first occupied on or before June 13, 1979. Newly built units first occupied after that date, certified substantially rehabilitated buildings, and — for tenancies begun in 1996 or later — separately owned single-family homes and condominiums are outside the rent cap, along with hotel rooms until 32 days of continuous occupancy, resident-controlled nonprofit cooperatives, dormitories, and licensed care facilities. The ordinance's eviction protection reaches further than its rent cap: nearly every rental in the city, including newer buildings and single-family homes, is covered by the eviction rules.", "vacancy_plain": "When a tenant moves out voluntarily, state law lets the landlord set a new starting rent at any amount; the annual cap then applies to the new tenancy. The reset is not available after certain owner-initiated terminations.", "eviction_limits_plain": "A landlord may end a covered tenancy only on one of seventeen grounds listed in the ordinance, including nonpayment, breach of lease, owner or relative move-in, substantial rehabilitation, and withdrawal of the property from the rental market. No-fault evictions carry relocation payments with amounts that adjust annually, and tenant buyout offers must follow the ordinance's disclosure, rescission, and filing rules.", "registration_plain": "Owners must report each unit to the Rent Board's housing inventory and update the report annually by March 1. Keeping the report current is what entitles a landlord to impose the annual increase — increases are not owed for months in which that entitlement was suspended — and the Rent Board charges an annual per-unit fee.", "extras_plain": "Certified passthroughs let landlords recover portions of capital improvement, utility, bond, and property-tax costs through Rent Board procedures, and the Rent Board's rules govern petitions and hearings in both directions — landlords seeking larger increases and tenants seeking reductions for lost services.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Annual allowable rent increase", "value": "1.6%", "period": "March 1, 2026 – February 28, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.sf.gov/learn-about-rent-increases-san-francisco", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "S.F. Admin. Code § 37.2 (definitions and coverage)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/san_francisco/latest/sf_admin/0-0-0-15949", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(r)" }, { "statute": "S.F. Admin. Code § 37.3 (rent limitations; new-construction and single-family rules)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/san_francisco/latest/sf_admin/0-0-0-70881", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (d), (g)" }, { "statute": "S.F. Admin. Code § 37.9 (grounds for eviction)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/san_francisco/latest/sf_admin/0-0-0-16273", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)" }, { "statute": "S.F. Admin. Code § 37.15 (housing inventory reporting)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/san_francisco/latest/sf_admin/0-0-0-16540", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (statewide rent cap and its local-ordinance exemption)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1947.12&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (d)(3)–(d)(5)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535 (Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.52&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 1954.52(a), 1954.53(a)" }, { "statute": "S.F. Rent Board — current allowable rent increase", "url": "https://www.sf.gov/learn-about-rent-increases-san-francisco", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "San Francisco caps rent increases for sitting tenants at 1.6% from March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027 in most buildings first occupied on or before June 13, 1979. The cap is set each year at 60% of Bay Area inflation and can never exceed 7%; skipped increases can be banked, and landlords keep the right to raise rent by reporting their units to the Rent Board's housing inventory each year. Newer buildings, single-family homes, and condominiums are outside the city cap, though many fall under California's statewide limit of 5% plus inflation (10% maximum) once their certificate of occupancy is more than 15 years old. Nearly every rental in the city — capped or not — is covered by the ordinance's eviction rules, which allow a landlord to end a tenancy only for one of seventeen listed reasons.", "notes": [ { "label": "How the city cap and the state cap fit together", "text": "units under the city ordinance are exempt from California's statewide rent cap because the local limit is stricter. Buildings first occupied after June 13, 1979 fall under the statewide cap of 5% plus inflation (at most 10%) once their certificate of occupancy is more than 15 years old, and buildings newer than 15 years, along with most individually owned single-family homes and condominiums, sit outside both caps — though the city's eviction rules still apply to nearly all of them." }, { "label": "State law fixes the coverage line", "text": "the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act guarantees landlords a market-rate reset between tenancies, keeps most separately owned single-family homes and condominiums outside local rent caps, and locks the ordinance's June 1979 new-construction cutoff in place. The ordinance carries a dormant provision that would move the cutoff forward (as far as June 1994) if state law ever allows; it has never operated." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "CA", "locality": "San Jose", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/california/san-jose/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "CA", "locality": "San Jose", "locality_slug": "san-jose", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Apartment Rent Ordinance (ARO)", "page_title": "San Jose Apartment Rent Ordinance", "topic_verified": "2026-08-16", "status_plain": "In force today. San Jose has limited rent increases since July 1979 under what is now the Apartment Rent Ordinance, San Jose Municipal Code Chapter 17.23, Parts 1 through 9. The ordinance was rewritten in 2017 (Ordinance 30032), when the city also created an annual rent registry, and the companion Tenant Protection Ordinance (Part 12) took effect June 16, 2017. The Housing Department's Rent Stabilization Program administers all three ordinances.", "cap_plain": "Rent on a covered apartment may rise by no more than 5% of the rent charged over the previous 12 months, and only one increase of any kind is allowed in a 12-month period. The 5% figure is written into the ordinance itself, so it does not change from year to year and no annual rate is published. A landlord who has not registered the unit with the city may not raise the rent at all. Larger increases require a petition to the Housing Department: a fair-return adjustment, or a separate capital-improvement charge capped at 3% of the monthly rent for approved improvements. Utility costs may not be passed through to tenants.", "coverage_plain": "Apartments in buildings of three or more units, and rooms in guesthouses rented for 30 days or longer, that received a certificate of occupancy or were first offered for rent on or before September 7, 1979. Buildings with only one or two units — including single-family homes and duplexes — are outside the ordinance, as are condominiums, units first rented after that 1979 date, government-owned or deed-restricted affordable units, hotel and motel rooms rented to transient guests, and rooms in hospitals, care facilities, dormitories, and similar housing. Mobilehome spaces are covered by a separate city ordinance. Apartments rented with a housing voucher are covered, though their rent adjustments follow the housing agency's rules.", "vacancy_plain": "When a tenant leaves voluntarily or is evicted for nonpayment, a lease violation, or nuisance, the landlord may set the rent for the next tenant at any amount, and the 5% limit then applies to that new tenancy. The rent may not be reset when a tenancy was ended without cause, when an existing household member signs a new agreement, or when the landlord's unlawful conduct pushed the tenant out.", "eviction_limits_plain": "Under the city's Tenant Protection Ordinance, a landlord may end a tenancy in any building of three or more units — regardless of the building's age — only on one of thirteen listed grounds, such as nonpayment, an uncured lease violation, nuisance, substantial rehabilitation, an owner or close family member moving in for at least 36 months, a government order to vacate, or removal of the building from the rental market. Protections begin on the first day of tenancy. Evictions for rehabilitation, owner move-in, an order to vacate, an unpermitted unit, or Ellis Act withdrawal require relocation payments set by City Council resolution and adjusted every year, and a copy of every termination notice must be delivered to the city within 3 days. Ellis Act withdrawals of rent-stabilized buildings carry a minimum 120-day notice, longer for seniors, disabled or seriously ill tenants, and households with school-age children.", "registration_plain": "Landlords must register each covered apartment in the city's Rent Registry every year, using the city's form, and update the entry when tenancy or rent changes; unregistered apartments are not eligible for a rent increase, and late registration carries a fee. Buildings with covered units also pay an annual per-unit program fee set by the City Council and billed together with the residential occupancy permit fee.", "extras_plain": "A security deposit may not be raised during a tenancy. Late fees may not exceed 5% of the monthly rent and apply only when rent is 3 or more days late; key-replacement fees are limited to actual cost plus $10. Utility charges and ratio utility billing may not be passed through, and any allowed charge must appear as a separate line item with a copy of the bill. Tenant buyout offers must use the city's disclosure form, and a tenant may cancel a signed buyout agreement within 45 days.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Annual allowable rent increase (rent-stabilized apartments)", "value": "5%", "period": "In force for increases noticed in 2026 (fixed 5% cap in the ordinance)", "source_url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/san_jose/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT17BUCO_CH17.23REDIMEARDWUNEXMOMOPA_PT3INREREINPEHEPR_17.23.310LIREIN", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "San Jose Mun. Code § 17.23.167 (rent stabilized unit; coverage and exclusions)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/san_jose/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT17BUCO_CH17.23REDIMEARDWUNEXMOMOPA_PT2DE_17.23.167RESTUN", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "San Jose Mun. Code § 17.23.300 (initial rent and vacancy decontrol)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/san_jose/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT17BUCO_CH17.23REDIMEARDWUNEXMOMOPA_PT3INREREINPEHEPR_17.23.300INREVADE", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "San Jose Mun. Code § 17.23.310 (limits on rent increases)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/san_jose/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT17BUCO_CH17.23REDIMEARDWUNEXMOMOPA_PT3INREREINPEHEPR_17.23.310LIREIN", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "San Jose Mun. Code §§ 17.23.315–17.23.320 (fees, pass-throughs, and exceptions)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/san_jose/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT17BUCO_CH17.23REDIMEARDWUNEXMOMOPA_PT3INREREINPEHEPR_17.23.315LIALFEPATHCH", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "San Jose Mun. Code § 17.23.900 (rent registry)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/san_jose/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT17BUCO_CH17.23REDIMEARDWUNEXMOMOPA_PT9RERE_17.23.900RERE", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "San Jose Mun. Code §§ 17.23.1100–17.23.1190 (Ellis Act Ordinance)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/san_jose/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT17BUCO_CH17.23REDIMEARDWUNEXMOMOPA_PT11ELAC_17.23.1150REAS", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 17.23.1150 (relocation assistance)" }, { "statute": "San Jose Mun. Code §§ 17.23.1200–17.23.1290 (Tenant Protection Ordinance)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/san_jose/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT17BUCO_CH17.23REDIMEARDWUNEXMOMOPA_PT12TEPR_17.23.1250JUCATE", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 17.23.1230, 17.23.1250" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (statewide rent cap and its local-ordinance exemption)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1947.12&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (d)(3)–(d)(5)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 (statewide just cause; deference to local ordinances)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1946.2&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(i)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535 (Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.52&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 1954.52(a), 1954.53(a)" }, { "statute": "San Jose Housing Department — Learn About Rent Stabilization", "url": "https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments-offices/housing/tenants/learn-about-rent-stabilization", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "San Jose Housing Department — Apartment Rent Ordinance fact sheet", "url": "https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/50281/639106526103100000", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "San Jose caps rent increases at 5% once every 12 months for apartments in buildings of three or more units first occupied on or before September 7, 1979. The cap is fixed in the city's Apartment Rent Ordinance rather than tied to inflation, so it does not change year to year. Newer buildings are outside the city ordinance, though most fall under California's statewide limit of 5% plus inflation (10% maximum) once their certificate of occupancy is more than 15 years old. The city's Tenant Protection Ordinance allows evictions from any building of three or more units only on thirteen listed grounds, with relocation payments for no-fault evictions, and landlords must register covered apartments with the Housing Department every year.", "notes": [ { "label": "How the city cap and the state cap fit together", "text": "apartments under the city ordinance are exempt from California's statewide rent cap because the fixed 5% limit is stricter. Buildings first occupied after September 7, 1979 fall under the statewide cap of 5% plus inflation (at most 10%) once their certificate of occupancy is more than 15 years old. Buildings newer than 15 years, and most individually owned single-family homes and condominiums, sit outside both caps." }, { "label": "State law fixes the coverage line", "text": "the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act guarantees landlords a market-rate reset after a voluntary move-out or for-cause eviction, keeps most separately owned single-family homes and condominiums outside local rent caps, and bars the city from extending the ordinance to buildings its rules exempted as new construction." }, { "label": "Just-cause rules reach beyond rent-stabilized buildings", "text": "the Tenant Protection Ordinance applies to every building of three or more units regardless of age, plus guesthouse rooms and unpermitted units, so a post-1979 apartment can be free of the city rent cap yet still subject to the city's eviction grounds. Because the ordinance predates September 1, 2019, it applies in place of the statewide just-cause law for the units it covers." }, { "label": "Ellis Act withdrawals and re-control", "text": "an owner who removes a rent-stabilized building from the rental market must give at least 120 days' notice, deposit relocation payments in escrow, record a 10-year memorandum with Santa Clara County, and honor former tenants' right to return. Units brought back within 5 years keep their prior rent, and when a withdrawn building is replaced by new rentals within 5 years, the greater of the number of units removed or half the new units becomes rent-stabilized." }, { "label": "Mobilehomes are a separate regime", "text": "San Jose's Mobilehome Rent Ordinance (Chapter 17.22) regulates mobilehome space rents under its own rules and is not covered here." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Santa Ana", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/california/santa-ana/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Santa Ana", "locality_slug": "santa-ana", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance", "page_title": "Santa Ana Rent Stabilization", "topic_verified": "2026-08-17", "status_plain": "In force today. The Santa Ana City Council adopted a rent stabilization ordinance and a just cause eviction ordinance on October 19, 2021, effective November 19, 2021. The city replaced them with a single combined law, Ordinance No. NS-3027, adopted October 18, 2022, which sits in the Santa Ana Municipal Code as Chapter 8, Article XIX and is run by the city's Rent Stabilization Division with a Rental Housing Board. The article was amended by Ordinance No. NS-3052 on October 17, 2023 and restated in full by Ordinance No. NS-3073 on November 5, 2024, the most recent change. On that same day Santa Ana voters approved Measure CC, adopting the Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance as a voter measure by a vote of 57.63% yes to 42.37% no, and the county's impartial analysis of the measure states that any change to a voter-adopted ordinance would also have to be approved by the voters. The law carries no expiration date. The published code is current through Ordinance No. NS-3089, adopted February 3, 2026.", "cap_plain": "One rent increase is allowed in any 12-month period, and it may not exceed the lower of 3% or 80% of the change in the consumer price index for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area. If that index falls, no increase is allowed at all. The city announces the figure by June 30 each year and it applies from September 1 through August 31 of the following year. The figure is 2.42% for September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026, and 2.87% for September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2027. A landlord who believes the limit denies a fair return may ask the city for a larger increase through a fair return petition, and may separately ask to pass through the cost of capital improvements, spread over the useful life of the work and limited to 10% of the current rent; a capital improvement charge is not rent and is not counted when calculating the next increase. No increase takes effect unless the unit is accurately registered, the property meets city codes, ordered repairs are done, and the required written notices were given.", "coverage_plain": "The limit reaches homes, apartments, and mobilehome spaces across the city, except for units the law exempts. Outside the rent limit are: any property whose certificate of occupancy was issued after February 1, 1995 — a line state law fixes in place; any housing whose certificate of occupancy is less than 15 years old; deed-restricted or subsidized affordable housing; college and school dormitories; a single-family home or condominium that can be sold on its own, so long as the owner is not a real estate investment trust, a corporation, or a limited liability company with a corporate member, and the tenant received the exact written notice the law requires; and a two-unit building where the owner lives in one unit as their main home. For mobilehome spaces, state law also carves out spaces under a lease longer than one year, spaces first offered for rent on or after January 1, 1990, and mobilehomes that are neither the owner's main home nor rented to anyone else. The city summarizes the limit as reaching buildings built on or before February 1, 1995 and mobilehome parks established before 1990; the wording that governs is the certificate of occupancy test in the ordinance. Where the ordinance and California's Mobilehome Residency Law conflict, that state law wins.", "vacancy_plain": "The ordinance sets no rules of its own for the rent charged to a new tenant. It leaves that to state law, which lets a landlord set the opening rent for a new tenancy at any amount, with the yearly limit applying from then on. The only local step tied to a vacancy is paperwork: the unit must be registered again with the city within 30 days after it becomes vacant and is re-rented.", "eviction_limits_plain": "Once a tenant has lived in a home for 30 days, the landlord may end the tenancy only for a reason the ordinance lists, and the reason must be stated in the written notice. The at-fault reasons include not paying rent, breaking a material lease term after a chance to fix it, nuisance, damage to the property, refusing to sign a similar renewal, criminal activity reported to police, unauthorized subletting, refusing lawful entry, and unlawful use of the home. The no-fault reasons are the owner or a close relative moving in, taking the property off the rental market for at least 24 months, complying with a government or court order to vacate, and demolishing or substantially remodeling the home in work that requires the tenant to move out for at least 30 days. Before an eviction for something the tenant can fix, the landlord must first send a written notice to correct it. For any no-fault ending, and regardless of the tenant's income, the landlord must either pay the tenant three months of the current rent within 15 days of serving the notice or waive the last three months of rent in writing. Failing to follow these steps exactly makes the notice void. Every termination notice must be filed with the city through the rental registry within 5 days of serving it, and must be in the language used to negotiate the tenancy as well as English. Tenants have a defense where the notice grows out of domestic violence, elder or dependent adult abuse, sexual assault, human trafficking, or stalking against the household, and a no-fault notice can be defended where a school-age person under 21 lives in the home. Some homes sit outside these eviction rules, including newly built housing less than 15 years old, owner-occupied single-family homes and duplexes, shared kitchen or bathroom arrangements with a resident owner, short hotel stays, care facilities, dormitories, deed-restricted affordable housing, and separately sellable homes with a non-corporate owner who gave the required notice.", "registration_plain": "Landlords must register each rental unit with the city and file any claim of exemption by July 1 each year, and pay a yearly per-unit fee set by the City Council. For the year running July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 the fee is $100.00 per unit if paid between June 1 and July 31, 2026, and $104.00 per unit from August 1, 2026 onward; late fees add 8.2% of the fee in October 2026, 18.2% in November 2026, and 28.2% from December 2026. A landlord may pass up to half the fee to the tenant, spread over 12 monthly payments — the city puts that at $50 per unit — but not to tenants in deed-restricted or subsidized affordable housing, and not at all if the fee was paid late; the pass-through is not rent and is not counted when calculating a rent increase. Registration also has to be updated within 30 days when ownership changes and within 30 days after a vacancy is re-rented, and rent increase and eviction notices are filed with the city through the same registry. Until a unit is accurately registered, a landlord may not advertise it, collect rent, raise the rent, or evict.", "extras_plain": "The ordinance bans retaliation and lists 16 forms of harassment a landlord may not commit, among them cutting off services, bad-faith failures to repair, abusing the right to enter, threatening to report a tenant to immigration authorities, repeat offers to pay a tenant to leave after the tenant asks them to stop, and interfering with tenants organizing. Landlords must post a city notice at the property and give tenants a city notice of their rights at the start of a tenancy, with every rent increase, and with any change in terms, in the language used to negotiate the tenancy as well as English. Tenants may petition the city over an excessive increase, reduced services, an unlivable home, or an improper capital improvement charge, and the city offers free voluntary mediation. A violation can be met with a city citation, a lawsuit by the tenant, or a defense in an eviction case, with damages and attorney's fees for a wrongful eviction. Separately, on March 3, 2026 the City Council adopted an ordinance banning the sale, licensing, and use of certain rent-setting software that relies on private competitor data; a tenant affected by a violation may seek damages, a court order, or penalties of up to $1,000 per violation plus attorney's fees.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Maximum allowable rent increase", "value": "2.42%", "period": "September 1, 2025 – August 31, 2026", "source_url": "https://santa-ana.gov/departments/rent-stabilization/", "official": true }, { "label": "Maximum allowable rent increase", "value": "2.87%", "period": "September 1, 2026 – August 31, 2027", "source_url": "https://santa-ana.gov/allowable-rent-increase-for-sept-1-2026-through-aug-31-2027/", "official": true }, { "label": "Rental registry fee, per unit", "value": "$104.00", "period": "August 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027 (the 2026–2027 registration year; $100.00 if paid June 1 – July 31, 2026)", "source_url": "https://santa-ana.gov/rsd-faq/", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "Santa Ana Municipal Code § 8-3102 (definitions) and § 8-3104 (mobilehome residency law)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/santa_ana/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIITHCO_CH8BUST_ARTXIXRESTJUCAEVOR_DIV1GE_S8-3102DE", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 8-3102(c); § 8-3104" }, { "statute": "Santa Ana Municipal Code § 8-3120 (just cause for termination; relocation assistance; exemptions)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/santa_ana/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIITHCO_CH8BUST_ARTXIXRESTJUCAEVOR_DIV2JUCAEV_S8-3120RETETEWIJUCA", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (b)(1)–(2), (c), (d)(1)–(4), (e)(1)–(9), (g)–(h)" }, { "statute": "Santa Ana Municipal Code § 8-3121 (notice of termination) and § 8-3122 (retaliation and harassment)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/santa_ana/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIITHCO_CH8BUST_ARTXIXRESTJUCAEVOR_DIV2JUCAEV_S8-3121NOTETE", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 8-3121(a)(1)–(5); § 8-3122(a)–(b)" }, { "statute": "Santa Ana Municipal Code § 8-3140 (prohibited increases; annual announcement)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/santa_ana/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIITHCO_CH8BUST_ARTXIXRESTJUCAEVOR_DIV3REST_S8-3140PRIN", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (b)" }, { "statute": "Santa Ana Municipal Code §§ 8-3142–8-3146 (fair return, capital improvement and tenant petitions; mediation)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/santa_ana/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIITHCO_CH8BUST_ARTXIXRESTJUCAEVOR_DIV3REST_S8-3142FAREPEREIN", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 8-3142(a)–(b); § 8-3143(a)–(c); § 8-3144(a); § 8-3146(a)" }, { "statute": "Santa Ana Municipal Code §§ 8-3147–8-3149 (exemptions; when an increase is ineffective; notice requirements)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/santa_ana/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIITHCO_CH8BUST_ARTXIXRESTJUCAEVOR_DIV3REST_S8-3147EX", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 8-3147(a)–(c); § 8-3148(a)–(d); § 8-3149(a)–(d)" }, { "statute": "Santa Ana Municipal Code §§ 8-3160–8-3161 (rental registry; rental registry fee and pass-through)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/santa_ana/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIITHCO_CH8BUST_ARTXIXRESTJUCAEVOR_DIV4REREREREFE_S8-3160RERE", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 8-3160(a)–(k); § 8-3161(a)–(d)" }, { "statute": "Santa Ana Municipal Code §§ 8-3180–8-3185 (Rental Housing Board) and § 8-3200 (violations and remedies)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ca/santa_ana/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIITHCO_CH8BUST_ARTXIXRESTJUCAEVOR_DIV5REHOBO_S8-3180REHOBO", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 8-3182(a); § 8-3185; § 8-3200(a)–(f)" }, { "statute": "City of Santa Ana Rent Stabilization Division — program page (current allowable increase)", "url": "https://santa-ana.gov/departments/rent-stabilization/", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Santa Ana — ordinance page (allowable increases and how they are calculated)", "url": "https://santa-ana.gov/rsjce-ordinance/", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Santa Ana — rent stabilization questions and answers (registration fee and deadlines)", "url": "https://santa-ana.gov/rsd-faq/", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Santa Ana — notice of allowable rent increase for September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2027", "url": "https://santa-ana.gov/allowable-rent-increase-for-sept-1-2026-through-aug-31-2027/", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Santa Ana — City Council adopts ordinance limiting rent-setting software", "url": "https://santa-ana.gov/anticompetitive-rent-setting-software/", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (statewide rent cap and its local-ordinance exemption)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1947.12&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)(1), (d)(3)–(d)(5), (o)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 (statewide just cause; treatment of local ordinances)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1946.2&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(i)(1)–(2), (n)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535 (Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.52&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 1954.52(a)(1)–(3); § 1954.53(a)" }, { "statute": "Orange County Registrar of Voters — Measure CC (City of Santa Ana, Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance): ballot question, impartial analysis, arguments (November 5, 2024)", "url": "https://ocvote.gov/sites/default/files/elections/gen2024/measures/layouts/SANA%20-%20CC%20-%20LAYOUT%20-%20TP,%20IA,%20AF,%20RAF,%20AA,%20RAA.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": "Impartial Analysis" }, { "statute": "Orange County Registrar of Voters — Presidential General Election November 5, 2024, cumulative results report (Measure CC: Yes 43,134 / No 31,713)", "url": "https://ocvote.gov/fileadmin/live/GEN2024/Run_30/cumulative.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": "CC-City of Santa Ana" } ], "summary_plain": "Santa Ana limits rent increases to 2.42% for the year running September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026, and to 2.87% for September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2027, with only one increase allowed in any 12 months. The figure is the lower of 3% or 80% of the change in Los Angeles-area inflation, and the city announces it by June 30 each year. The limit reaches homes, apartments, and mobilehome spaces except those state law puts outside it — most importantly, anything whose certificate of occupancy was issued after February 1, 1995, anything less than 15 years old, and separately sellable houses and condominiums with a non-corporate owner. Those newer buildings mostly fall instead under California's statewide limit of 5% plus inflation, capped at 10%, once they are more than 15 years old. Most tenancies of 30 days or more may be ended only for a reason the ordinance lists, no-fault endings carry three months of rent in relocation help regardless of the tenant's income, and every rental unit must be registered with the city each year by July 1 with a per-unit fee before rent can be raised.", "notes": [ { "label": "How the city limit and the state limit fit together", "text": "units under Santa Ana's limit are outside California's statewide rent cap, because the local limit is the stricter one. Buildings whose certificate of occupancy was issued after February 1, 1995 fall under the statewide cap of 5% plus inflation, at most 10%, once they are more than 15 years old. Buildings newer than 15 years, and most separately owned single-family homes and condominiums, sit outside both limits." }, { "label": "State law fixes the coverage line", "text": "the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act lets a landlord set the opening rent for a new tenancy, keeps most separately owned single-family homes and condominiums outside local rent limits, and bars the city from limiting rents in buildings whose certificate of occupancy was issued after February 1, 1995. Santa Ana's ordinance applies those limits by pointing to the state law rather than restating it." }, { "label": "The eviction rules and the rent limit cover different homes", "text": "a home can be outside the rent limit but still inside the eviction rules, or outside both. The two lists overlap heavily — both exclude housing less than 15 years old, subsidized affordable housing, dormitories, and separately sellable homes with a non-corporate owner — but the eviction rules also exclude owner-occupied single-family homes and duplexes, short hotel stays, and care facilities, while the rent limit separately excludes anything with a certificate of occupancy issued after February 1, 1995." }, { "label": "Registration is a precondition, not just paperwork", "text": "no rent increase takes effect, and no unit may be advertised, rented, or the tenancy ended, unless that unit's registration with the city is complete and accurate and the yearly fee is paid. Rent increase notices and eviction notices are filed with the city through the same registry, eviction notices within 5 days of being served." }, { "label": "Mobilehome spaces are covered, with state law on top", "text": "mobilehome spaces sit under the same yearly rent limit, but California's Mobilehome Residency Law governs where the two conflict, and it puts spaces under leases longer than a year, spaces first rented on or after January 1, 1990, and mobilehomes that are neither the owner's home nor rented out beyond the city's limit. Ending a mobilehome tenancy follows the state law rather than the city's list of reasons." }, { "label": "Who sits on the Rental Housing Board", "text": "the codified ordinance says the seven-member Rental Housing Board is made up of three tenants, one of them a mobilehome tenant, two landlords, and two at-large members with no interest in income-producing rental housing, each appointed by one councilmember and approved by the City Council. Since early 2026 the city's own rent stabilization newsletters describe the board only as seven members appointed by the City Council, one chosen by each councilmember, without that breakdown, and the city has been advertising vacancies. Landlords and tenants should not assume the seat allocation printed in the code is being applied until the city updates the ordinance text." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Santa Monica", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/california/santa-monica/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "CA", "locality": "Santa Monica", "locality_slug": "santa-monica", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Control Law (City Charter Article XVIII)", "page_title": "Santa Monica Rent Control Law", "topic_verified": "2026-08-16", "status_plain": "In force today. Santa Monica voters adopted rent control as Article XVIII of the City Charter on April 10, 1979, and have amended it eight times since, most recently by Measure RC in November 2022 (effective December 6, 2022), which capped the annual increase at 3% and tightened owner move-in evictions. An elected five-member Rent Control Board administers the law and issues its own regulations.", "cap_plain": "Rents on controlled units may rise once a year, on September 1, by the General Adjustment the Rent Control Board announces by June 30. The adjustment is 75% of the change in the Los Angeles-area consumer price index over the 12 months ending in March, rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent, and can never be less than 0% or more than 3%. The Board may also set a dollar ceiling on the increase using a formula in the Charter, and it has done so every year since 2023. The increase applies only to tenancies that began before September 1 of the prior year, in properly registered units, with all registration fees paid, no uncorrected code violations, and written notice that carries the required no-violations statement. A separate Board rule limits any rent increase to 10% of the rent charged in the prior 12 months.", "coverage_plain": "All residential rental units in the city, including mobilehome and trailer spaces, unless the Board has granted an exemption. Exempt on application: buildings constructed after April 10, 1979 (a line state law fixes in place; converted units do not qualify); owner-occupied properties of three or fewer units while the owner lives there; hotel and motel rooms rented to transients for under 14 days; hospitals, extended-care facilities, convents, non-profit homes for the aged, and college dormitories; government-owned or subsidized units only where federal or state law specifically exempts them; and units used for non-profit child care or social services. Single-family homes not rented on July 1, 1984 are automatically exempt, and other single-family homes and condominiums may be permanently exempted after two years of owner occupancy; state law also lets owners of separately owned houses and condominiums set their own rents.", "vacancy_plain": "Since January 1, 1999, when a tenant leaves voluntarily or is evicted for cause, the landlord may set any starting rent for the next tenancy, and that rent becomes the unit's new base — the unit stays under the Charter and future increases run from the new figure. No reset is allowed when the landlord ended the prior tenancy with a no-cause notice or a change of terms, after an Ellis Act withdrawal, or where the owner agreed with a public agency to limit rents. Each new tenancy must be registered with the Rent Control Board.", "eviction_limits_plain": "A landlord may end a controlled tenancy only on one of ten grounds listed in the Charter: nonpayment; a continuing material lease breach after written notice; nuisance or substantial damage after written notice; conviction for illegal use of the unit; refusal to sign a like renewal; continued refusal of lawful access; an unapproved holdover subtenant; owner or close-relative move-in (the owner must hold at least a 50% interest, move in within 60 days, and live there at least two years, and long-term senior, disabled, and terminally ill tenants are protected); demolition or removal after all city permits; and withdrawal under the Ellis Act. Every termination notice must state the cause and, except a three-day notice to pay rent or quit, be filed with the Rent Control Board within three days of service. Under the city's separate relocation ordinance, owner move-in, demolition, and Ellis Act terminations require a permanent relocation payment set by City Council resolution and adjusted every July 1, with higher amounts for households that include a senior, a person with a disability, or a minor child.", "registration_plain": "Every controlled unit must be registered with the Rent Control Board, and each new tenancy must be registered; a landlord who has not properly registered may not raise the rent. The Board charges an annual per-unit registration fee for its fiscal year running July 1 through June 30, due July 1 and payable by August 1; the Charter caps the fee at $288 per unit. Half of the fee paid may be passed through to the tenant in twelve equal monthly installments once the fee is paid in full. Owner-occupied units, units of very-low-income senior or disabled tenants, and Section 8 units may qualify for fee waivers.", "extras_plain": "Security deposits must be kept in an interest-bearing account, may not exceed one month's rent for most landlords, and once set cannot be raised during the tenancy — the annual increase does not apply to them. Property-tax pass-throughs are limited to five ballot-measure line items, only for tenancies that began before March 1, 2018 on parcels not reassessed since, and are capped at the lesser of 4% of the maximum allowable rent or $35 a month. Before offering a tenant money to move out, a landlord must give a city disclosure form (right to refuse, right to a lawyer, 30 days to cancel) and file the signed agreement with the Rent Control Board. Landlords must give new tenants the Board's information sheet at lease signing, and the city maintains a separate tenant-harassment ordinance.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Annual General Adjustment (controlled units)", "value": "2.6%, capped at $70 per month (units with a maximum allowable rent of $2,674 or more get $70)", "period": "September 1, 2026 – August 31, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.santamonica.gov/maximum-lawful-rent", "official": true }, { "label": "Permanent relocation fee (owner move-in, demolition, Ellis Act)", "value": "$20,500 single / $28,300 one-bedroom / $39,350 two or more bedrooms; $21,450 / $30,200 / $41,900 for households with a senior, disabled person, or minor", "period": "From July 1, 2026 (adjusted each July 1)", "source_url": "https://www.santamonica.gov/housing-tenant-relocation-fee", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "Santa Monica City Charter § 1801 (definitions; controlled rental units and exemptions)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/42743537", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(c), (n)" }, { "statute": "Santa Monica City Charter § 1803 (Rent Control Board; registration; fees; security deposits)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/42743567", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (n), (q), (s)" }, { "statute": "Santa Monica City Charter § 1804 (maximum allowable rents; base rent after vacancy)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/42743609", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(b)" }, { "statute": "Santa Monica City Charter § 1805 (annual general adjustment; dollar ceiling; conditions on increases)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/42743615", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (b), (h)" }, { "statute": "Santa Monica City Charter § 1806 (eviction grounds)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/42743651", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Santa Monica City Charter § 1815 (single-family homes)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/print/SA5008?guid=42743535", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Rent Control Charter Amendment (Board-published text with amendment history)", "url": "https://www.santamonica.gov/media/Document%20Library/Detail/Rent%20Control%20Charter%20Amendment%20&%20Regulations/00,%20CharterAmndmnt.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Rent Control Board Regulations Chapter 3 (annual general adjustment, surcharge limits, vacancy rent increase)", "url": "https://www.smgov.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/Rent_Control/Rent_Control_Law/03,%20GA.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": "Regs. 3035, 3120, 3301" }, { "statute": "Rent Control Board Regulations Chapter 11 (registration fee)", "url": "http://www.smgov.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/Rent_Control/Rent_Control_Law/11,%20Reg%20Fee.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": "Reg. 11200" }, { "statute": "Rent Control Board Regulations Chapter 12 (exemptions and coverage)", "url": "https://santamonica.gov/media/Document%20Library/Detail/Rent%20Control%20Charter%20Amendment%20&%20Regulations/12,%20Exemptions%20and%20Coverage.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": "Regs. 12053, 12060" }, { "statute": "Rent Control Board Regulations Chapter 14 (security deposits)", "url": "https://www.smgov.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/Rent_Control/Rent_Control_Law/14,%20Security%20Deposits.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": "Reg. 14002" }, { "statute": "Rent Control Board Resolution 26-001 (2026 general adjustment and $70 ceiling)", "url": "https://www.smgov.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/Rent_Control/Rent_Control_Law/Resolution/Resolution%2026-001%20Adopted%206-11-26.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Santa Monica Rent Control Board — Maximum Lawful Rent (current general adjustment and registration fee)", "url": "https://www.santamonica.gov/maximum-lawful-rent", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Santa Monica Mun. Code Ch. 4.36 (tenant relocation assistance)", "url": "https://library.qcode.us/lib/santa_monica_ca/pub/municipal_code/lookup/4.36.040", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 4.36.020, 4.36.040" }, { "statute": "Santa Monica Housing Office — tenant relocation fee schedule", "url": "https://www.santamonica.gov/housing-tenant-relocation-fee", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (statewide rent cap and its local-ordinance exemption)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1947.12&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (d)(3)–(d)(5), (o)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 (statewide just cause; deference to local ordinances)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1946.2&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(i), (n)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535 (Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.52&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 1954.52(a), 1954.53(a)" } ], "summary_plain": "Santa Monica limits rent increases on controlled apartments to 2.6% — at most $70 a month — for the year running September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2027. The limit comes from Article XVIII of the City Charter, adopted by voters in 1979: each year the elected Rent Control Board sets the increase at 75% of local inflation, never more than 3%, and may cap it in dollars. Buildings constructed after April 10, 1979 are outside the Charter, though most fall under California's statewide limit of 5% plus inflation (10% maximum) once their certificate of occupancy is more than 15 years old. Landlords may set a new rent when a unit turns over, controlled tenancies may be ended only on ten listed grounds with relocation payments for owner move-in, demolition, and Ellis Act evictions, and every controlled unit and new tenancy must be registered with the Board, which charges an annual per-unit fee that is half passable to tenants.", "notes": [ { "label": "How the city cap and the state cap fit together", "text": "units under the Charter are exempt from California's statewide rent cap because the local limit is stricter. Buildings constructed after April 10, 1979 fall under the statewide cap of 5% plus inflation (at most 10%) once their certificate of occupancy is more than 15 years old, and under the statewide just-cause rules; buildings newer than 15 years, and most individually owned single-family homes and condominiums, sit outside both caps. The state provisions expire January 1, 2030." }, { "label": "State law fixes the coverage line", "text": "the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act guarantees landlords a market-rate reset between tenancies, keeps most separately owned single-family homes and condominiums outside local rent caps, and bars the city from extending the Charter to buildings its own rules exempted as new construction — so the April 10, 1979 line cannot move." }, { "label": "How the dollar ceiling works", "text": "the Charter lets the Board cap each year's increase at a dollar figure equal to the average of two rent percentiles (the 85th percentile of all controlled rents and the 85th percentile of rents set before 1999) times the year's percentage. For 2026 that produced $70, so units renting at $2,674 or more get $70 rather than 2.6%. Recent years: 2.3% / $60 (2025), 3% / $76 (2024), 2.8% / $67 (2023)." }, { "label": "2022 transition", "text": "the Board had announced a 6% increase for September 2022; Measure RC, approved by voters that November, cut it to 0.8% (at most $19) for February through August 2023 and treated the full year as a 3% / $70 increase, and made 3% the permanent ceiling." }, { "label": "Fees and relocation amounts change on a calendar", "text": "the general adjustment is announced by June 30 for September 1; the registration fee is set for the Board's July–June fiscal year; permanent relocation payments under the city's relocation ordinance are adjusted every July 1 by City Council resolution." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "CA", "locality": "West Hollywood", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/california/west-hollywood/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "CA", "locality": "West Hollywood", "locality_slug": "west-hollywood", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Stabilization Ordinance", "page_title": "West Hollywood Rent Stabilization", "topic_verified": "2026-08-17", "status_plain": "In force today. West Hollywood adopted its Rent Stabilization Ordinance in 1985, the year after the city incorporated, and it is codified as Title 17 of the West Hollywood Municipal Code. The Rent Stabilization Division runs the program day to day, and a seven-member Rent Stabilization Commission sets the yearly rent increase figure, the relocation payment schedule, and the security deposit interest rate. The ordinance has no end date. Its most recent change took effect through Ordinance 24-27, adopted October 7, 2024, which revised the rules on setting rent for a new tenant and the list of reasons a tenancy may be ended. The published code runs through Ordinance 26-08, adopted May 4, 2026.", "cap_plain": "One rent increase is allowed per 12 months, and none in the first 12 months of a tenancy. The Rent Stabilization Commission announces the allowed percentage, called the Annual General Adjustment, by July 1 each year, and it applies to increases that first take effect from September 1 through the following August 31. The figure is 75% of the change in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim consumer price index from May to May, rounded to the nearest quarter percent. It can never exceed 3%: if the index rises 4% or more, the ordinance caps the increase at 3%. If the index falls, the figure is 0% and rents are not reduced. An increase not taken during its September-to-August window is lost and cannot be saved for a later year. A landlord may take the increase only while in substantial compliance with the ordinance, with the unit registered and all registration fees paid, and must give the tenant 30 days' written notice, or 60 days for a Housing Choice Voucher tenant. Larger increases require an application to a hearing examiner, who must leave the landlord a just and reasonable return.", "coverage_plain": "The rent cap reaches rentals in buildings first occupied on or before July 1, 1979, a line state law lets the city keep because its exemption for new buildings predates 1995. Buildings first occupied after July 1, 1979 are outside the cap. So are separately sold single-family homes, condominiums and cooperatives where the current or previous tenancy began after January 1, 1996, and single-family homes and condominiums the owner lived in as a main home for two years or more. Also outside the ordinance are hospitals, convents, care facilities, nonprofit homes for the aged, fraternity and sorority houses and college housing; short-stay hotel, motel and rooming-house units; a room in the owner's own home where the owner shares a kitchen or bathroom; nonprofit-operated housing; units under a West Hollywood inclusionary housing agreement; a unit lived in by the owner or a close relative; units taken off the rental market for storage or similar uses; buildings after every unit has been withdrawn from the market; units an agency has found in writing unfit to live in; and free interim housing for people experiencing homelessness. Government-assisted housing is outside the cap, but a Housing Choice Voucher tenancy in a privately owned building first occupied on or before July 1, 1979 stays fully covered. Whatever the age or type of building, every rental in the city keeps the eviction rules, the ban on landlord harassment, and the protections during construction work; newer and separately sold units also keep the registration, posting and security deposit rules. An owner of a unit outside the rent cap must tell prospective tenants so in writing, in English, Spanish and Russian.", "vacancy_plain": "When a tenant leaves voluntarily, the landlord may set the starting rent for the next tenant at any amount, and the cap then applies to the new tenancy. The rent may not be reset when the landlord ended the previous tenancy with a no-cause notice or by changing the terms of the tenancy; when the unit was cited for serious health, safety, fire or building code violations at least 60 days before the vacancy and they were still unfixed; when the vacancy was caused by harassment, a constructive eviction, or a breach of the tenant's right to quiet enjoyment; or when the previous occupant had no genuine tenancy or stayed under six months mainly to create a vacancy increase. After an owner or relative move-in where the relative later leaves, the next rent is the last lawful rent plus the yearly adjustments since. After a withdrawal of the property from the rental market under the Ellis Act, no new starting rent may be set for five years. After a landlord ends a government rent-limitation contract, no new starting rent may be set for three years. A tenant who moves to another unit on the property as a disability accommodation keeps the same rent and lease terms. Once a starting rent is set, it may be raised only as the ordinance allows, and the landlord must re-register the unit within 30 days of the new tenancy.", "eviction_limits_plain": "A landlord may end a tenancy in any West Hollywood rental, including new buildings, houses, condominiums and subsidized units, only on one of 19 grounds listed in the ordinance, and that ground must be the landlord's dominant motive. They run from nonpayment of rent, an uncured material breach, nuisance, illegal use, refusing a like-term renewal, denying reasonable access and an unapproved subtenant, through to owner or close-relative move-in, correcting code violations, foreclosure on a house or condominium, and withdrawing every unit on the property from the rental market. Adding a spouse, registered domestic partner, parent, grandparent, sibling or non-dependent child, a new baby or adopted child, a medically needed live-in assistant, or a permitted pet cannot be a ground. An owner or relative move-in needs a good-faith plan to live there for at least a year and 60 days' written notice that does not start running until relocation money is paid and the notice is filed with and approved by the City. Withdrawing a property from the market needs at least 120 days' notice to the City under penalty of perjury and a notice recorded with the County. No-fault terminations require a relocation payment made at the same time as the notice, which the tenant cannot waive, plus a counseling fee paid to the City before the notice is served. For July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 the payment is $9,763 for a studio, $13,787 for one bedroom, $18,571 for two bedrooms and $24,508 for three or more; $25,847 where a tenant is 62 or older, disabled, terminally ill or living with a dependent child, or where the household is moderate income; and $32,547 for a lower-income household. Every termination notice must state the ground and cite the exact subsection, and a copy of it, and of any eviction summons and complaint, must be filed with the City within 5 days of service. Retaliation is barred and the ordinance is a defense in court.", "registration_plain": "Owners must register every rental unit that is not exempt, re-register within 30 days each time a unit is rented to a new tenant, and file an amendment within 30 days of a change in ownership, management or contact details. Since January 1, 2023 this reaches units outside the rent cap as well: buildings first occupied after July 1, 1979 and separately sold single-family homes, condominiums and cooperatives, which the city handles through a separate registry. An annual per-unit fee set by City Council resolution is billed in June and due each July, with a late fee after the city's deadline; half of it may be passed to tenants as a monthly surcharge, but only after the owner has actually paid and completed registration, never as a lump sum or retroactively, and never to a Housing Choice Voucher tenant. The surcharge is not rent: it comes off the rent before a yearly increase is worked out, then goes back on. Certain senior or disabled owners may apply to pay in installments, and per-unit exemption applications are due July 1 each year. A landlord cannot take the yearly increase for an unregistered unit, and any increase taken while unregistered is an illegal overcharge that must be repaid, with the increase allowed only going forward once the owner is fully in compliance. Owners must also give every covered tenant a City notice at the start of the tenancy and again with each rent-increase notice, in English, Spanish and Russian, and post it in buildings of five or more units.", "extras_plain": "Security deposits cannot be raised during a tenancy, and for tenancies beginning on or after March 24, 2022 no extra pet deposit may be collected at any point. Landlords must pay tenants interest on deposits each year at a rate the Rent Stabilization Commission announces by September 1, paid or credited by January 31 of the following year; a tenant not paid on time may deduct the interest from a later month's rent. Before offering a tenant money to move out, a landlord must give a City disclosure form, hand over the proposed agreement at least 10 business days before signing, and include set warnings in bold type; the tenant may cancel within 30 days, and the signed agreement must be filed with the City between the 31st and 60th day. Landlord harassment is prohibited, with a long list of examples including cutting services, letting repairs slide, abusing the right to enter, threatening baseless evictions and misleading a tenant into leaving. Construction and remodeling work that would make an occupied unit unlivable, that affects more than one unit or the common areas, or that would leave every elevator out of service more than 72 hours needs an approved tenant habitability plan before any permit issues. Late fees are capped at 1% of the monthly rent for rent 5 or more days overdue. Landlords may not charge separately for a utility the utility company bills to the landlord, including ratio utility billing, and since March 24, 2022 may not charge a side fee for on-site parking or any other service tied to living in the unit. Adding an occupant cannot raise the rent above the lawful maximum, breed restrictions on dogs are prohibited, and the city offers free mediation for landlord-tenant disputes.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Annual General Adjustment (rent-capped units)", "value": "2.75%", "period": "September 1, 2026 – August 31, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.weho.org/home/showpublisheddocument/65791/639202533815200000", "official": true }, { "label": "Annual General Adjustment (rent-capped units)", "value": "2.25%", "period": "September 1, 2025 – August 31, 2026", "source_url": "https://www.weho.org/home/showpublisheddocument/62616/638902680994770000", "official": true }, { "label": "Security deposit interest rate", "value": "4.3%", "period": "January 1, 2025 – December 31, 2025 (payable by January 31, 2026)", "source_url": "https://www.weho.org/home/showpublisheddocument/60599/638954392228130000", "official": true }, { "label": "Relocation payment for a no-fault termination, by unit size", "value": "$9,763 studio; $13,787 one bedroom; $18,571 two bedrooms; $24,508 three or more bedrooms", "period": "July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.weho.org/home/showpublisheddocument/59783/639192106543970000", "official": true }, { "label": "Relocation payment for a no-fault termination, higher household amounts", "value": "$25,847 for a tenant 62 or older, disabled, terminally ill or living with a dependent child, and for a moderate-income household; $32,547 for a lower-income household", "period": "July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.weho.org/home/showpublisheddocument/59783/639192106543970000", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "West Hollywood Municipal Code § 17.24.010 (exempt property)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/43911906", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)(1)–(15), (b)–(d)" }, { "statute": "West Hollywood Municipal Code ch. 17.28 (registration, posting and disclosure)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/43911938", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 17.28.010, 17.28.030, 17.28.040, 17.28.050, 17.28.060" }, { "statute": "West Hollywood Municipal Code ch. 17.32 (limits on rents, security deposits and fees)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/43912067", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 17.32.010, 17.32.020, 17.32.030, 17.32.090, 17.32.100" }, { "statute": "West Hollywood Municipal Code ch. 17.36 (annual general rent increases)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/43912111", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 17.36.020, 17.36.030, 17.36.050, 17.36.060, 17.36.070" }, { "statute": "West Hollywood Municipal Code ch. 17.40 (rent adjustments upon vacancy)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/43912121", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 17.40.020(1)–(2), § 17.40.030" }, { "statute": "West Hollywood Municipal Code ch. 17.52 (grounds for termination; relocation; harassment; buyouts)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/43912250", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 17.52.010, 17.52.020, 17.52.030, 17.52.060, 17.52.070, 17.52.080, 17.52.090, 17.52.140" }, { "statute": "West Hollywood Municipal Code ch. 17.30 (tenant protection during construction)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/43912000", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 17.30.010" }, { "statute": "West Hollywood Municipal Code ch. 2.64 (Rent Stabilization Commission)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/43902982", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 2.64.090" }, { "statute": "City of West Hollywood Rent Stabilization Division — annual increases in the maximum allowable rent", "url": "https://www.weho.org/city-government/rent-stabilization/tenants/tenant-faqs/annual-increases-in-the-mar", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of West Hollywood Rent Stabilization Division — relocation fee schedule, July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027", "url": "https://www.weho.org/home/showpublisheddocument/59783/639192106543970000", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of West Hollywood Rent Stabilization Division — registration fees", "url": "https://www.weho.org/city-government/rent-stabilization/registration-fees", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (statewide rent cap and its local-ordinance exemption)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1947.12&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (d)(3)–(d)(5), (o)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 (statewide just cause; deference to local ordinances)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1946.2&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(i)(1)–(2), (n)" }, { "statute": "Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535 (Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.52&lawCode=CIV", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 1954.52(a)(1)–(3), § 1954.53(a)" } ], "summary_plain": "West Hollywood caps rent increases at 2.75% for the year running September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2027, and at 2.25% for September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026, for rentals in buildings first occupied on or before July 1, 1979. The cap comes from the city's Rent Stabilization Ordinance, adopted in 1985 and codified as Title 17 of the municipal code, which sets the yearly figure at 75% of Los Angeles-area inflation from May to May, rounded to the nearest quarter percent, with a hard ceiling of 3% and no saving of skipped increases. Newer buildings and most separately sold houses and condominiums sit outside the city cap, though newer buildings fall under California's statewide limit of 5% plus inflation, 10% at most, once they are more than 15 years old. Every rental in the city, whatever its age, may be ended only on one of 19 listed grounds, with relocation payments of $9,763 to $32,547 for no-fault terminations in the year running July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, and owners must register each unit, re-register after every vacancy, and pay an annual per-unit fee or lose the right to raise the rent.", "notes": [ { "label": "How the city cap and the state cap fit together", "text": "units under West Hollywood's rent cap are exempt from California's statewide rent cap because the local limit is stricter. Buildings first occupied after July 1, 1979 fall under the statewide cap of 5% plus inflation, at most 10%, once their certificate of occupancy is more than 15 years old. Buildings newer than 15 years, and most individually owned single-family homes and condominiums, sit outside both caps — but West Hollywood's eviction rules, harassment ban and construction protections still reach them. The city requires buildings of five or more units that are outside the local cap to post a notice saying which of these applies." }, { "label": "Why the coverage line is 1979 and not 1995", "text": "the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act generally freezes a city's new-construction cutoff at February 1, 1995, but it preserves an earlier cutoff where the local exemption for newly constructed units was already in place by that date. West Hollywood's exemption for buildings first occupied after July 1, 1979 dates from 1985, so the older line holds. The same state law guarantees landlords a market-rate reset between tenancies and keeps most separately sold single-family homes and condominiums outside local rent caps; the ordinance applies those limits through its own vacancy and exemption sections." }, { "label": "The 3% ceiling", "text": "since 2022 the ordinance has capped the Annual General Adjustment at 3% whenever the consumer price index rises 4% or more. Because the formula takes 75% of the index change, any index rise below 4% already produces a figure under 3%, so 3% is the effective maximum in every year. The ordinance states the ceiling has no end date." }, { "label": "Increases cannot be saved up", "text": "an Annual General Adjustment is available only for increases that first take effect between September 1 and the following August 31. A landlord who does not take it in that window loses it. One narrow exception survives from the ordinance's early years: adjustments that were available between September 1, 1985 and August 31, 1996 but never charged can still be collected from a tenant whose tenancy began before January 1, 1996." }, { "label": "A no-fault eviction costs the vacancy increase", "text": "the market-rate reset between tenancies is available only after a voluntary move-out or a termination the tenant is responsible for. After a no-cause notice, a change in the terms of tenancy, an owner or relative move-in that later ends, a withdrawal of the property from the rental market, or a vacancy caused by harassment, the next tenancy starts at the old lawful rent plus the yearly adjustments since." }, { "label": "Registration is the switch on the rent increase", "text": "the yearly increase may not be taken for a unit that is not registered and re-registered, or where fees are unpaid. Money collected that way is an illegal overcharge the landlord must repay, going back up to three years, and the increase resumes only going forward once the owner is fully in compliance." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "CT", "locality": "Connecticut municipalities", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/connecticut/fair-rent-commissions/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "CT", "locality": "Connecticut municipalities", "locality_slug": "fair-rent-commissions", "record_type": "state_framework", "regime_name": "Municipal Fair Rent Commissions", "page_title": "Connecticut Fair Rent Commissions", "topic_verified": "2026-08-13", "status_plain": "In force statewide. Connecticut law has required larger municipalities to maintain fair rent commissions since Public Act 22-30 (municipalities of 25,000 or more, commissions required by July 1, 2023). November Special Session Public Act 25-1, Section 35, effective January 1, 2026, extends the mandate to every municipality of 15,000 or more people, which may satisfy it with its own commission, a joint commission with neighboring municipalities, or a regional commission, and must do so on or before January 1, 2028. Municipalities that had commissions before 2026 may not abolish them before January 1, 2028 except by joining a joint or regional commission. Public Act 25-121 (effective July 1, 2025) added public-hearing and online-bylaws requirements.", "cap_plain": "There is no percentage cap. A fair rent commission works case by case: after a hearing, it may limit the rent of a specific unit to a fair and equitable amount if it finds the rent so excessive as to be harsh and unconscionable, weighing thirteen factors listed in the statute (comparable rents, the condition of the unit, services and furnishings, needed repairs, taxes and overhead, code compliance, the tenant's income and available housing, utilities, the amount and frequency of increases, and reinvestment in improvements, among others). Commissions may also suspend rent into escrow for health or safety violations and order a landlord to stop retaliating against a complaining tenant.", "coverage_plain": "Complaints may concern rents and rental charges, including fees charged on top of rent, for residential housing in any municipality that has a commission. Every municipality of 15,000 or more people must have a commission (its own, joint, or regional) by January 1, 2028; any smaller municipality may create one voluntarily. The state Department of Housing posts adopted ordinances; its list is an ordinance repository rather than a certified roster, and some long-standing commissions (Hartford, Stamford) predate it.", "vacancy_plain": "Commission orders address a specific tenancy's rent. The statute contains no vacancy rules of the kind found in percentage-cap ordinances.", "eviction_limits_plain": "A commission may order a landlord to cease and desist from retaliatory action against a tenant who has complained. Eviction procedure itself is governed by state landlord-tenant law, and tenants who are 62 or older or have disabilities in buildings of five or more units have separate statewide protections that commissions help administer.", "registration_plain": "The framework imposes no landlord registration duty. Within 30 days of adopting or joining a commission, a municipality's chief executive must notify the state Commissioner of Housing and transmit the ordinance.", "extras_plain": "Violations of commission orders carry fines of $25 to $100 per offense, with each day beyond five days a separate offense. Hartford's commission (five members appointed by the mayor, at least two tenants and two landlords) and New Haven's (nine members, at least five tenants, with a complaint process run by an executive director) are long-standing examples adopted under this framework.", "current_figures": null, "citations": [ { "statute": "Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-148b (2026 Supplement — as amended by Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 25-1, § 35)", "url": "https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/sup/chap_098.htm", "official": true, "pinpoint": "subsecs. (b)–(e)" }, { "statute": "Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-148c (thirteen excessiveness factors)", "url": "https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_098.htm", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-148d (rent limitation, escrow, retaliation orders)", "url": "https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_098.htm", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-148f (penalties)", "url": "https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_098.htm", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "CT Department of Housing — Fair Rent Commission ordinances by town/city", "url": "https://portal.ct.gov/doh/doh/housing/fair-rent-commissions", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Connecticut regulates rents through municipal fair rent commissions rather than statewide rent caps, and every municipality of 15,000 or more people must have one — its own, a joint one with neighboring towns, or a regional one — by January 1, 2028. The mandate first applied to municipalities of 25,000 or more in July 2023 and was extended to the 15,000 threshold effective January 1, 2026; any smaller town may create a commission voluntarily. A commission does not set rent ceilings: it hears individual complaints and can roll back a specific rent it finds harsh and unconscionable after weighing thirteen factors set by state law.", "notes": [ { "label": "The threshold is 15,000 now, not 25,000", "text": "many circulating guides still give the 25,000-population threshold from Public Act 22-30 (2022). November Special Session Public Act 25-1, Section 35 cut it to 15,000 effective January 1, 2026, gave newly covered municipalities until January 1, 2028 to comply, and added the joint and regional commission options. The operative text appears in the 2026 Supplement to the General Statutes rather than the base revision." }, { "label": "No official statewide roster of commissions exists", "text": "the Department of Housing posts the ordinances it has received, listing 35 municipalities under the mandate and 3 voluntary adopters, but that page omits some long-standing commissions such as Hartford's and Stamford's and predates the 15,000-threshold expansion. Whether a particular municipality has a commission is best confirmed with the municipality itself." }, { "label": "A 2026 bill to add a rent-increase cap did not pass", "text": "2026 House Bill 5092, which would have limited certain rent increases after a property transfer through the fair rent commission process, was tabled in the House in April 2026 and did not become law." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "CT", "locality": "Stamford", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/connecticut/stamford/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "CT", "locality": "Stamford", "locality_slug": "stamford", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Fair Rent Commission", "page_title": "Stamford, CT Fair Rent Commission", "topic_verified": "2026-08-13", "status_plain": "In force today. Stamford has had a fair rent process since 1990, well before Connecticut required one. Since a 1995 charter referendum and a 1996 ordinance, the city's five-member Social Services Commission has served as its fair rent commission, holding all the powers Connecticut law gives such commissions (Stamford Code of Ordinances §§ 6-11 through 6-11.4; Charter §§ C6-190-1 and C6-190-2). The ordinance incorporates the state statutes as they are amended, so later state-law changes flow through without local action.", "cap_plain": "There is no percentage cap. The commission works case by case: it hears complaints about excessive rents and rental charges and, after a hearing, may limit the rent of a specific unit it finds so excessive as to be harsh and unconscionable, weighing the thirteen factors state law lists. It can also order rent paid into an escrow account at a local bank until a landlord corrects housing violations, and order a landlord to stop retaliating against a complaining tenant.", "coverage_plain": "Housing accommodations within the City of Stamford, with no local carve-outs of the ordinance's own; state-law definitions and exemptions govern. The commission acts on filed complaints about specific tenancies rather than setting citywide rates.", "vacancy_plain": "Commission orders address a specific tenancy's rent. The ordinance contains no vacancy rules of the kind found in percentage-cap regimes.", "eviction_limits_plain": "The commission carries out the state statutes on retaliatory action by landlords and may order retaliation to stop. Eviction procedure itself is governed by state landlord-tenant law.", "registration_plain": "The ordinance imposes no landlord registration duty of its own.", "extras_plain": "Stamford's arrangement is unusual: one commission handles fair rent, human rights, and social-welfare duties together, assisted by a coordinator in the city's health and human services department. Rent held in escrow is released to the landlord once the commission finds the violations corrected, and commission decisions may be appealed to the Superior Court under state law.", "current_figures": null, "citations": [ { "statute": "Stamford Code of Ordinances §§ 6-11–6-11.4 (Social Services Commission as Fair Rent Commission)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ct/stamford/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH6AUBOCO_ARTIISOSECO", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Stamford Charter §§ C6-190-1, C6-190-2 (commission membership and powers)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ct/stamford/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CH_PT6BOCO_DIV4OTBOCO_SDLSOSECO", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 7-148b–7-148f (fair rent commission powers)", "url": "https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_098.htm", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-148b (as amended, 2026 Supplement)", "url": "https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/sup/chap_098.htm", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Stamford has had a fair rent commission since 1990 — decades before Connecticut required one — and it hears complaints about excessive rents case by case rather than setting a citywide cap. The city's five-member Social Services Commission serves as the fair rent commission, with power to roll back or limit the rent of a specific unit it finds harsh and unconscionable after weighing the thirteen factors state law lists, to order rent into escrow until housing violations are fixed, and to order retaliation against complaining tenants to stop. There are no across-the-board rent caps in Stamford or anywhere in Connecticut, and commission decisions can be appealed to the Superior Court.", "notes": [ { "label": "Part of Connecticut's fair-rent framework", "text": "Connecticut requires every municipality of 15,000 or more people to maintain a fair rent commission — its own, joint, or regional — by January 1, 2028. Stamford's long-standing commission already satisfies the mandate. The state Department of Housing's list of adopted ordinances does not include Stamford's, which predates it; the commission operates under the city code provisions cited on this page." }, { "label": "One commission, several roles", "text": "a 1995 charter referendum merged the former Fair Rent Commission and Human Rights Commission into the Social Services Commission, so fair-rent complaints in Stamford go to a body that also handles discrimination and social-welfare matters." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "IL", "locality": "Chicago", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/illinois/chicago/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "IL", "locality": "Chicago", "locality_slug": "chicago", "record_type": "no_local_regime", "regime_name": "Rent Control (none; barred by state law)", "page_title": "Chicago, IL: No Rent Control", "topic_verified": "2026-08-16", "status_plain": "Chicago has no rent control or rent stabilization, and Illinois law does not let it adopt one. The Rent Control Preemption Act (50 ILCS 825), in force since August 1, 1997, bars every unit of local government — expressly including home-rule cities such as Chicago — from enacting, maintaining, or enforcing any ordinance that would have the effect of controlling the amount of rent charged for private residential or commercial property. The Act has not been amended since it was passed. Chicago's Municipal Code contains no rent-cap chapter; its only chapter ever titled 'Rent Control' was a wartime-era appendix formally repealed on October 3, 2001.", "cap_plain": null, "coverage_plain": "The state ban covers all private residential and commercial rentals in Chicago. The one carve-out is housing in which the local government itself has a property interest, which the city may still manage and control.", "vacancy_plain": null, "eviction_limits_plain": "State law governs evictions; the city adds no rent-regulation-related eviction rules. Chicago's Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance does require advance written notice before a landlord ends a tenancy, declines to renew, or raises the rent: at least 30 days for tenancies under 6 months, 60 days for tenancies of 6 months to 3 years, and 120 days for tenancies over 3 years (Municipal Code § 5-12-130(j)). A Protecting Renters Ordinance introduced June 29, 2026 would add just-cause eviction rules if adopted.", "registration_plain": null, "extras_plain": "Chicago's Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (Municipal Code Chapter 5-12, in force since 1986) regulates security deposits and deposit interest, receipts and disclosures, landlord access, habitability, lockouts, and lease terms — but not the amount of rent. It caps late fees at $10 per month on the first $500 of monthly rent plus 5% per month on any rent above $500 (§ 5-12-140(h)); a lease term charging more is unenforceable. Most rentals are covered; owner-occupied buildings of 6 or fewer units are excluded except for the notice and lockout rules. Bills to repeal the state ban (SB 1260) or to let local voters lift it by referendum (HB 3687 and SB 2884, the 'Let the People Lift the Ban Act') are pending in the 2025–2026 Illinois General Assembly; none has advanced past initial committee referral.", "current_figures": null, "citations": [ { "statute": "Rent Control Preemption Act, 50 ILCS 825", "url": "https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/ILCS/Articles?ActID=748&ChapterID=11", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 5, 10" }, { "statute": "Municipal Code of Chicago, Chapter 5-12 (Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance) — no rent-cap provision", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicago_il/0-0-0-2639041", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Municipal Code of Chicago § 5-12-140 (late-fee cap)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicago_il/0-0-0-2639257", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(h)" }, { "statute": "Municipal Code of Chicago § 5-12-130 (notice before rent increase or non-renewal)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicago_il/0-0-0-2639236", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(j)" }, { "statute": "Municipal Code of Chicago, Appendix (editor's note: former Chapter 198.10A 'Rent Control' repealed October 3, 2001)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicago_il/0-0-0-2693221", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "SB 1260, 104th Illinois General Assembly (would repeal the Rent Control Preemption Act)", "url": "https://ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatus?GA=104&DocTypeID=SB&DocNum=1260&SessionID=114", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "HB 3687, 104th Illinois General Assembly (Let the People Lift the Ban Act)", "url": "https://ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatus?GA=104&DocTypeID=HB&DocNum=3687&SessionID=114", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "SB 2884, 104th Illinois General Assembly (Let the People Lift the Ban Act)", "url": "https://ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatus?GA=104&DocTypeID=SB&DocNum=2884&SessionID=114", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Chicago City Council R2023-0004242 (resolution urging the General Assembly to rescind the preemption; held in committee)", "url": "https://chicityclerkelms.chicago.gov/Matter/?matterId=974FD675-2E53-EE11-BE6E-001DD8097F18", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Chicago has no rent control: Illinois' Rent Control Preemption Act has barred every city in the state, Chicago included, from limiting rents since 1997, and Chicago's own code has no rent-cap chapter. Guides that describe Chicago as rent-controlled, or say its landlord-tenant ordinance caps rent, are wrong. What the city does regulate is security deposits and deposit interest, disclosures, lockouts, advance notice before a rent increase (30, 60 or 120 days by length of tenancy), and late fees ($10 a month on the first $500 of rent plus 5% of the rest). Bills to repeal the state ban or let local voters lift it are pending in the 2025–2026 legislature and have not advanced.", "notes": [ { "label": "Why this page exists", "text": "Chicago is one of the most-searched U.S. cities for 'rent control', and some guides call it rent-controlled or say the Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance limits rent. It does not: that ordinance covers deposits, disclosures, lease terms, lockouts, notice periods and late fees, and state law forbids the city from controlling the amount of rent." }, { "label": "Watch status", "text": "repeal and local-referendum bills (SB 1260, HB 3687, SB 2884) are pending in Springfield through the session ending January 2027, and a Protecting Renters Ordinance introduced June 29, 2026 would rewrite the city's landlord-tenant ordinance (just-cause eviction, a rental registry, and standardized fees and deposits) if adopted. Neither would create rent control by itself, but either could change what this page says." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "MA", "locality": "Boston", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/massachusetts/boston/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "MA", "locality": "Boston", "locality_slug": "boston", "record_type": "no_local_regime", "regime_name": "Rent Control (none; barred by state law)", "page_title": "Boston, MA: No Rent Control", "topic_verified": "2026-08-17", "status_plain": "Boston has no rent control or rent stabilization, and Massachusetts law does not let the city adopt one. The Massachusetts Rent Control Prohibition Act, General Laws chapter 40P, created by a statewide ballot question voters approved in November 1994, says no city or town may enact, maintain or enforce rent control of any kind. Boston tried to get around it: the City Council passed a home rule petition on March 8, 2023 asking the Legislature for permission to cap rents and add eviction protections, and the request went to the State House as House Bill 3744. It died on September 9, 2024, when it was sent to study, and it was not refiled in the 2025-2026 session. A separate statewide ballot question that would have repealed chapter 40P and capped increases at the lower of 5% or the change in the Consumer Price Index was struck from the November 2026 ballot by the Supreme Judicial Court on June 23, 2026. Nothing has been enacted, so the ban still stands.", "cap_plain": null, "coverage_plain": "The state ban reaches any rule that would require below-market rents for residential property in Boston, and any rule that forms part of such a scheme. It does not reach publicly owned housing, publicly subsidized housing, federally assisted housing, or mobile homes. A city may adopt a limited scheme only by formally accepting chapter 40P, which no Massachusetts municipality has done, and even then owner participation must be voluntary after six months and the city must pay owners the difference between market rent and the controlled rent out of its own funds.", "vacancy_plain": null, "eviction_limits_plain": "State law governs evictions, and Boston has no general just-cause eviction rule. Two local rules do apply to how a tenancy ends. Under the Housing Stability Notification Act, Municipal Code section 10-11, a landlord who serves a notice to quit or a notice that a lease will not be renewed must file a copy with the city's Office of Housing Stability through the city's landlord portal and attach a notice of basic housing rights on the Office's form. Where the landlord is not renewing, that notice must reach the tenant at least 30 days before any eviction case is filed. Separately, in a unit already converted to a condominium or cooperative, a landlord seeking possession for any reason other than the conversion must state that reason in the termination notice and in the court complaint and must prove it, under section 10-2.10.", "registration_plain": null, "extras_plain": "Boston's code still contains a chapter written for the rent control era, the Rental Housing Equity Ordinance at Municipal Code section 10-2, with headings such as Rent Equity Board and Maximum Rent. Its rent-setting provisions no longer operate: the ordinance's own text describes rent control authority as having ended, and state law now forbids it. What the chapter does today is govern condominium and cooperative conversion, under a separate 1983 state act. A landlord who intends to convert must give written notice on the Office of Housing Stability's form, file a conversion plan, and get a permit before converting, evicting for the conversion, or selling a unit for the buyer to move into. Notice runs at least 1 year, or at least 5 years for an elderly, disabled, or low or moderate income tenant, and the lease must be extended to cover that period. Rent on that extension may rise by no more than 10% or the previous calendar year's change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. This is the only limit on rent anywhere in Boston's code, and it applies only during a conversion notice period. A tenant who does not buy is owed $10,000 when they move out, or $15,000 if they are elderly, disabled, or low or moderate income, and must first be offered the unit on terms at least as good as those offered to the public. These conversion rules are written to expire on December 31, 2026 unless the council extends them, as it has several times before, most recently on December 3, 2025. Separately, a state law in effect since August 1, 2025 provides that a rental broker's fee is paid by whichever side hired the broker. Every owner of a private residential rental unit in Boston, condominium units included, must register with the Inspectional Services Department by July 1 each year, listing the street address and the number of units owned there. Registration costs $25 the first time and $15 per unit each year after; owner-occupied buildings of six or fewer rental units pay nothing but must still register. An owner who does not live in the building must post a name, address and telephone number by the mailboxes, and an owner living outside Massachusetts must name a Boston-based agent to accept legal papers. Most units must be inspected at least once every five years, and failing to comply costs $300 a month. Those amounts are the ones in the code as published, current through Ordinance 2025 chapter 14, passed November 5, 2025.", "current_figures": null, "citations": [ { "statute": "Massachusetts Rent Control Prohibition Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 40P", "url": "https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleVII/Chapter40P/Section4", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 3, 4, 5" }, { "statute": "Cella v. Attorney General, SJC-13893 (June 23, 2026) — rent stabilization initiative petition barred from the November 2026 ballot", "url": "https://www.mass.gov/doc/cella-v-attorney-general-sjc-w13893/download", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "House Bill 3744, 193rd General Court — Boston rent stabilization home rule petition (sent to study September 9, 2024)", "url": "https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/H3744", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Boston City Council Docket #2023-0408 — home rule petition passed March 8, 2023", "url": "https://boston.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6024574&GUID=7D04E9AD-260C-40FF-B343-20960F1412C5", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Boston Code of Ordinances § 9-1.3 (rental registration and inspection)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/boston/latest/boston_ma/0-0-0-5667", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(C), (D), (I), (T)" }, { "statute": "City of Boston Code of Ordinances § 10-2.10 (condominium and cooperative conversion)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/boston/latest/boston_ma/0-0-0-6682", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(B), (C)" }, { "statute": "City of Boston Code of Ordinances § 10-2.20 (conversion protections run to December 31, 2026)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/boston/latest/boston_ma/0-0-0-6884", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Boston Code of Ordinances § 10-11.4 (Housing Stability Notification Act — required notice)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/boston/latest/boston_ma/0-0-0-7179", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A)" }, { "statute": "Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 112 § 87DDD½ (rental broker fee paid by the party who hired the broker, effective August 1, 2025)", "url": "https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section87DDD%201~2", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Senate Bill 960, 194th General Court — Brookline rent stabilization home rule petition (ordered to a third reading January 29, 2026)", "url": "https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S960", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Senate Bill 22, 194th General Court — Somerville rent regulation home rule petition (ordered to a third reading January 29, 2026)", "url": "https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S22", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Senate Bill 1447, 194th General Court — statewide local option for rent stabilization (in Senate Ways and Means since July 13, 2026)", "url": "https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S1447", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Secretary of the Commonwealth — 1994 statewide Question 9 results", "url": "https://electionstats.state.ma.us/ballot_questions/view/5877/", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Boston has no rent control or rent stabilization in force, and Massachusetts law bars the city from adopting either. A statewide ballot question Massachusetts voters approved in November 1994 bars every city and town from limiting rents, and Boston has not been able to get that changed. Boston voted against the ban at the time, 57,308 to 65,195, and lost statewide. The City Council passed a home rule petition on March 8, 2023 asking the Legislature for permission to cap rents; the request died at the State House in September 2024 and was not refiled. A statewide ballot question that would have capped increases at the lower of 5% or inflation was struck from the November 2026 ballot by the state's highest court on June 23, 2026. Guides that say Boston passed rent control are describing a request the Legislature never granted. What Boston does regulate is rental registration and inspection, notice when a tenancy ends, and condominium conversion, where tenants get 1 to 5 years' notice, a payment of $10,000 or $15,000 if they move out, and first chance to buy their unit.", "notes": [ { "label": "Why this page exists", "text": "\"Boston passes rent control\" headlines ran in March 2023, and many guides and answer engines still repeat them. What the City Council actually passed that day was a request to the state Legislature for permission, because Massachusetts law forbids cities to cap rents on their own. The Legislature never granted it: the request was sent to study in September 2024 and was not filed again. A second source of confusion is Boston's own code, which still carries a chapter with headings like Rent Equity Board and Maximum Rent left over from the pre-1994 era; those provisions no longer set anyone's rent. A third is the statewide ballot question that was expected in November 2026 and was struck from the ballot on June 23, 2026." }, { "label": "Watch status", "text": "Boston's condominium conversion protections are written to expire on December 31, 2026 unless the City Council extends them again. Brookline and Somerville each have a rent stabilization request pending in the state Senate that was ordered to a third reading on January 29, 2026, further than any such request has gone since 1994, and a statewide bill to let cities and towns set their own rules sits in Senate Ways and Means. The Boston City Council voted on June 24, 2026, the day after the court ruling, to back that local-option approach. Any of these could change what this page says." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "MD", "locality": "Montgomery County", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/maryland/montgomery-county/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "MD", "locality": "Montgomery County", "locality_slug": "montgomery-county", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Stabilization", "page_title": "Montgomery County, MD Rent Stabilization", "topic_verified": "2026-08-13", "status_plain": "In force today. Enacted as Bill 15-23 (Chapter 22, Laws of Montgomery County 2023), approved July 2023, and applicable since July 23, 2024, when the Council approved the implementing Executive Regulation 2-24. The codified sections are Montgomery County Code §§ 29-56 through 29-62. A 2025 technical-corrections law (2025 L.M.C. ch. 10, from Expedited Bill 9-25E, effective April 14, 2025) reworded a cross-reference in § 29-56 and the vacant-unit clause in § 29-58 without changing any figure or requirement.", "cap_plain": "The annual rent increase allowance is the lesser of the change in the Washington-area consumer price index (CPI-U) plus 3%, or 6%. At a lease renewal or new lease the rent may not exceed the base rent plus the allowance plus any banked amount, and the total increase may not exceed 10% of the base rent. Only one increase is allowed per 12 months, and 90 days' notice is required for any increase. Landlords may petition for capital-improvement surcharges (building-wide: spread over at least 96 months, at most 20% of base rent; unit-specific: at least 60 months, at most 15%) or for a fair-return increase.", "coverage_plain": "County-licensed residential rental units at least 23 years old — a unit becomes regulated on January 1 of the 23rd year after its state-assessment 'Year Built,' so units built in or before 2003 are covered as of January 1, 2026. The municipalities of Gaithersburg, Rockville, Takoma Park, Barnesville, and Laytonsville are not subject to the county law. Exemptions include newly constructed units offered for rent less than 23 years (a rolling window), accessory dwelling units, owner-occupied two-unit buildings, units under government affordability agreements, substantially renovated buildings (renovation of at least 40% of the building's assessed value), licensed care facilities, religious and transient facilities, dormitories, and small landlords — a natural person, or a decedent's trust or estate, owning two or fewer rental units in the county. An exemption ends when its conditions cease.", "vacancy_plain": "There is no general vacancy decontrol: after the regulations took effect, a vacancy does not reset a regulated unit's base-rent trajectory. A unit that returns to the market after being vacant more than 12 months with no active lease re-prices under a determination by the housing department's director, and units in properties designated troubled or at-risk face a stricter director-set limit.", "eviction_limits_plain": "The rent stabilization law itself imposes no eviction restrictions. A separate 2025 county law (Bill 31-25E, effective December 15, 2025) added pre-eviction notice duties for landlords in county code § 29-31A.", "registration_plain": "The regime rides on the county's existing rental licensing (roughly 114,000 licensed units) and annual survey; landlords report rent data through those channels.", "extras_plain": "Fee increases on regulated units are tied to CPI-U alone. The county's long-standing Voluntary Rent Guideline continues to be published alongside the binding allowance. The county's Office of Rent Stabilization enforces the law with notices of violation, citations, and fines.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Maximum allowable rent increase (regulated units)", "value": "5.2% (CPI-U 2.2% + 3%)", "period": "July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/department-housing-community-affairs/rent-stabilization", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "Montgomery County Code § 29-57 (annual rent increase allowance)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/montgomerycounty/latest/montgomeryco_md/0-0-0-161020", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)" }, { "statute": "Montgomery County Code § 29-58 (rent increases; vacant units; capital-improvement surcharges)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/montgomerycounty/latest/montgomeryco_md/0-0-0-161028", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)" }, { "statute": "Montgomery County Code § 29-60 (exempt rental units)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/montgomerycounty/latest/montgomeryco_md/0-0-0-161108", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)" }, { "statute": "Bill 15-23 (Chapter 22, Laws of Montgomery County 2023) — certified enrolled text", "url": "https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/CountyLegislation", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Montgomery County DHCA — current allowance", "url": "https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/department-housing-community-affairs/rent-stabilization", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Montgomery County caps annual rent increases for most county-licensed rental units that are at least 23 years old. The cap is the lesser of inflation (CPI-U) plus 3% or 6%; from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 the maximum allowed increase is 5.2%, and no single increase may ever exceed 10% of base rent even with banked amounts. Newly built units are exempt for their first 23 years, and other exemptions include accessory dwellings, income-restricted units, and landlords who own two or fewer rental units in the county. The law does not apply inside Gaithersburg, Rockville, Takoma Park, Barnesville, or Laytonsville.", "notes": [ { "label": "The 23-year window rolls", "text": "coverage is not fixed at a construction year: a unit becomes regulated on January 1 of the 23rd year after the year the state assessment records say it was built. Units built in or before 2003 are covered as of January 1, 2026, and later-built units join year by year." }, { "label": "Applicability date differs from the bill's effective date", "text": "Bill 15-23's own effective date was October 23, 2023, but the bill barred application until its implementing regulations took effect, which happened July 23, 2024 with Executive Regulation 2-24. The county Office of Rent Stabilization states the law became effective on that date." }, { "label": "Watch: county algorithmic rent-setting bill", "text": "Bill 8-26, which would prohibit price coordination and certain rent-setting practices in landlord-tenant relations, was at the public-hearing stage as of August 2026 and has not become law." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "MD", "locality": "Prince George's County", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/maryland/prince-georges-county/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "MD", "locality": "Prince George's County", "locality_slug": "prince-georges-county", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Permanent Rent Stabilization and Protection Act", "page_title": "Prince George's County Rent Stabilization", "topic_verified": "2026-08-13", "status_plain": "In force today. A temporary rent stabilization act (CB-007-2023) ran from April 2023, extended into 2024; the Permanent Rent Stabilization and Protection Act of 2024 (CB-055-2024), adopted July 16, 2024 and signed August 1, 2024, replaced it, with the first annual allowance operative October 17, 2024. The codified sections are Prince George's County Code §§ 13-138 and 13-144 through 13-147.3. An implementing executive regulation took effect February 1, 2026. No amendments to these sections appeared in the code through the county's Supp. 2026 Update 2.", "cap_plain": "The annual rent increase allowance is the lesser of the change in the Washington-area consumer price index (CPI-U) plus 3%, or 6%. For age-restricted senior housing with 12- or 24-month leases the allowance is the lesser of CPI-U or 4.5%. At renewal or on a new lease the rent may not exceed the base rent plus the allowance plus any banked amount, and the total may not exceed 10% of base rent. The allowance runs July 1 through June 30 and must be published by May 1. Capital-improvement surcharges (building-wide: at least 96 months, at most 20% of base rent; unit-specific: at least 60 months, at most 15%) and fair-return petitions (benchmarked to the 10-year Treasury rate plus 3%) can add to it.", "coverage_plain": "Every rental unit not exempted. The largest exemption is construction completed on or after January 1, 2000. Others include licensed medical and assisted-living facilities, nonprofit shelters, religious facilities, transient hotels and motels, dormitories, owner-occupied group houses and two-unit buildings, accessory dwelling units, units under government affordability agreements, substantially renovated buildings (at least 40% of assessed value, completed on or after January 1, 2000, violation-free), landlords who are natural persons or living or decedent trusts owning five or fewer county rental units, county-resident-owned individual condominium units, and cooperative units. An exemption ends when its conditions cease.", "vacancy_plain": "The permanent act's cap applies at lease renewal and at the execution of a new lease alike, so a turnover does not lift the limit on a regulated unit.", "eviction_limits_plain": "The permanent act contains no eviction restrictions; general county anti-retaliation protections sit outside this regime.", "registration_plain": "Landlords of regulated units must file an annual data report and rent roll by September 30 covering the July-through-June year, and the county permitting department notifies license holders of the applicable limits. A public rent-lookup portal was required by January 1, 2026.", "extras_plain": "The act limits fee increases and bans new mid-lease fees for services already included in the lease. Penalties run $1,000 to $5,000 per violation. A proposed fee schedule for fair-return, capital-improvement, renovation, and banking applications (CR-073-2026) was in committee as of August 2026.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Maximum rent increase (regulated units, not senior housing)", "value": "5.7%", "period": "July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/departments-offices/permitting-inspections-and-enforcement/about-dpie/permanent-rent-stabilization-and-protection-act-prsa", "official": true }, { "label": "Maximum rent increase (age-restricted senior housing)", "value": "2.7%", "period": "July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/departments-offices/permitting-inspections-and-enforcement/about-dpie/permanent-rent-stabilization-and-protection-act-prsa", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "Prince George's County Code § 13-144 (annual rent increase allowance)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/md/prince_george's_county/codes/code_of_ordinances", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)" }, { "statute": "Prince George's County Code § 13-145 (rent increases; surcharges)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/md/prince_george's_county/codes/code_of_ordinances", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)" }, { "statute": "Prince George's County Code § 13-147 (exempt units)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/md/prince_george's_county/codes/code_of_ordinances", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)" }, { "statute": "CB-055-2024 (Permanent Rent Stabilization and Protection Act of 2024) — county legislative record", "url": "https://princegeorgescountymd.legistar.com/Legislation.aspx", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Prince George's County DPIE — PRSA current allowances", "url": "https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/departments-offices/permitting-inspections-and-enforcement/about-dpie/permanent-rent-stabilization-and-protection-act-prsa", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Prince George's County limits annual rent increases for most rental housing built before 2000. Under the county's permanent rent stabilization law, increases at renewal or on a new lease are capped each year at the lesser of local inflation plus 3% or 6% — 5.7% for the year running July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, and 2.7% for age-restricted senior housing. Newer buildings, small landlords with five or fewer units, and several other categories are exempt, and landlords can apply for higher increases for capital improvements or to earn a fair return.", "notes": [ { "label": "Two Maryland counties, two different laws", "text": "Prince George's County's exemption line is construction completed on or after January 1, 2000, and its small-landlord exemption is five or fewer units; neighboring Montgomery County uses a rolling 23-year window and two or fewer units. A landlord operating in both counties follows each county's own rules." }, { "label": "Senior-housing cap uses a different formula", "text": "for age-restricted senior housing with 12- or 24-month leases, the allowance is the lesser of CPI-U alone or 4.5% — inflation without the 3% cushion — which is why the senior figure (2.7%) sits well below the general figure (5.7%)." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "MD", "locality": "Takoma Park", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/maryland/takoma-park/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "MD", "locality": "Takoma Park", "locality_slug": "takoma-park", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Stabilization", "page_title": "Takoma Park, MD Rent Stabilization", "topic_verified": "2026-08-13", "status_plain": "In force today. Takoma Park has limited rent increases since 1981. The current codified regime is Takoma Park Municipal Code Chapter 6.20, comprehensively reenacted by Ordinance 2007-40 and last amended by Ordinance 2013-25. A city Rent Stabilization Policy Review is underway, with a final report targeted for March 2027; no code change has resulted yet.", "cap_plain": "Each year the city sets a rent stabilization allowance equal to the percentage increase in the Washington-area consumer price index (CPI-U for the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria area) from March to March. The allowance runs July 1 through June 30, increases may not exceed it, and a unit's rent may be raised only once in any 12 months. Landlords may seek a larger increase only through a fair-return petition to the city's Commission on Landlord-Tenant Affairs, which caps any resulting increase on occupied units at 15% per 12 months and phases the remainder.", "coverage_plain": "All residential rental units except exempted categories. Categorical exemptions include single-family homes, accessory apartments, owner-occupied two-unit buildings, owner-occupied group houses, licensed treatment and assisted-living facilities, nonprofit shelters, religious facilities, transient lodging, and dormitories. On application, federally subsidized tenancies, government-regulated affordable housing, and newly constructed rental facilities of two or more units (for five years from rental-license issuance) are also exempt.", "vacancy_plain": "Rent increase room that a landlord did not use may be carried forward and taken only when a unit turns over through the tenant's voluntary departure or a for-cause termination; the annual allowance itself does not reset on vacancy.", "eviction_limits_plain": "Chapter 6.20 imposes no eviction restrictions of its own; termination rules are a matter of state law and other city code provisions.", "registration_plain": "A rental housing license is required before operating, and landlords must file an annual rent report by September 30. The landlord-tenant commission must reject a fair-return petition if the property's registration or rent reports are not current.", "extras_plain": "Tenants must receive two months' written notice before any rent increase. Bad-faith fair-return petitions can lead to rollbacks and refunds.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Annual rent stabilization allowance", "value": "3%", "period": "July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://takomaparkmd.gov/1594/Rent-Stabilization-Rent-Increase-Allowan", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "Takoma Park Municipal Code § 6.20.010 (applicability)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/47259050", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Takoma Park Municipal Code § 6.20.020–.030 (exemptions)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/47259050", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Takoma Park Municipal Code § 6.20.050 (annual allowance, frequency, notice)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/47259050", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Takoma Park Municipal Code § 6.20.080 (fair-return petitions)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/47259050", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Takoma Park — current rent increase allowance", "url": "https://takomaparkmd.gov/1594/Rent-Stabilization-Rent-Increase-Allowan", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Takoma Park has limited annual rent increases on most apartment buildings and rented condominium units since 1981. Each year the city sets a rent increase allowance equal to the change in the Washington-area consumer price index; for July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 the allowance is 3%, and landlords must give tenants two months' written notice before any increase. Single-family homes, accessory apartments, owner-occupied duplexes, and newly built rentals (for their first five years) are among the exemptions, and landlords may seek a larger increase only through a fair-return petition to the city's landlord-tenant commission.", "notes": [ { "label": "Takoma Park sits inside Montgomery County but runs its own regime", "text": "Montgomery County's separate rent stabilization law does not apply inside the City of Takoma Park; the city's own Chapter 6.20 governs. A landlord in Takoma Park follows the city allowance, not the county one." }, { "label": "Policy review underway", "text": "the city began a Rent Stabilization Policy Review with findings published in June 2026 and a final report targeted for March 2027. The rules on this page could change when the council acts on it." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "ME", "locality": "Portland", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/maine/portland/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "ME", "locality": "Portland", "locality_slug": "portland", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Control and Tenant Protections", "page_title": "Portland, ME Rent Control", "topic_verified": "2026-08-13", "status_plain": "In force today. Adopted by citizen-initiated referendum in November 2020, with base rents fixed at June 1, 2020 levels and registration from January 1, 2021. Substantially amended by a second referendum in November 2022 (Question C), which cut the annual allowance from 100% to 70% of inflation, conditioned the 5% turnover increase on voluntary departure, extended increase notice to 90 days, banned rental application fees, and capped security deposits at one month. A November 2023 rollback initiative failed, and the rent control articles (City Code Chapter 6, Articles XII and XIII) are unamended since November 2022.", "cap_plain": "The standard annual allowance is 70% of the 12-month change in the Greater Boston consumer price index, set each September 1 for the following calendar year — 2.2% for 2026. A landlord may add 5% of base rent when a new tenant moves in, but only if the previous tenant left voluntarily, and unused increase room may be banked. The city's Rent Board can grant fair-return increases. No increase may exceed 10% in total or come more than once in 12 months; room above 10% must be banked. Increases require 90 days' written notice stating the amount, banked balance, and justification — a defective notice is void.", "coverage_plain": "All rental units in city limits, including short-term rentals, except municipal housing authority units, hospital and religious accommodations, extended-care facilities, dormitories, units in an owner-occupied building of two to four units, government-subsidized or rate-controlled units, and accessory dwelling units. Exempt units must still register with the city.", "vacancy_plain": "No vacancy decontrol: base rent carries through turnover. The only turnover adjustment is the 5%-of-base-rent increase available when the prior tenant left voluntarily, at most once per 12 months.", "eviction_limits_plain": "Portland is not a just-cause jurisdiction, but 90 days' written notice is required to terminate any tenancy (7 days for cause under state law; shorter stays excepted). A landlord who gives 60 to 89 days' notice owes one month's rent as relocation reimbursement, and 30 to 59 days' notice two months'. A termination or increase within 6 months of a tenant's complaint is presumed retaliatory.", "registration_plain": "Every rental unit must be registered with the city annually by January 1 (new units within 14 days, new owners within 30). The long-term rental fee is $55 per unit per year, part of which funds the Housing Safety Office and Rent Board. Banked rent is recorded at registration.", "extras_plain": "Rental application fees are banned citywide and security deposits are capped at one month's rent — both stricter than state law. Landlords must give tenants a rights document with signed acknowledgment, and tenants' unions have recognized standing. A seven-member Rent Board hears appeals and fair-return requests.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Allowable Increase Percentage", "value": "2.2%", "period": "Calendar year 2026", "source_url": "https://www.portlandmaine.gov/rent-control-rental-housing-rights", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "Portland City Code ch. 6, § 6-232 (Allowable Increase Percentage)", "url": "https://www.portlandmaine.gov/rent-control-rental-housing-rights", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Portland City Code ch. 6, § 6-234 (rent increase limits; 10% ceiling; notice)", "url": "https://www.portlandmaine.gov/rent-control-rental-housing-rights", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Portland City Code ch. 6, § 6-231 (coverage and exemptions)", "url": "https://www.portlandmaine.gov/rent-control-rental-housing-rights", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Portland City Code ch. 6, § 6-236 (90-day termination notice; relocation reimbursement)", "url": "https://www.portlandmaine.gov/rent-control-rental-housing-rights", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Portland caps rent increases on most rental units: the standard annual allowance is 70% of the Greater Boston inflation rate (2.2% for 2026), a landlord may add 5% when a tenant leaves voluntarily, and no increase may exceed 10% or come more than once in 12 months. Landlords must register every unit with the city each year, give 90 days' written notice of any increase, and a seven-member Rent Board hears tenant appeals and landlord requests for larger increases. Application fees are banned citywide and security deposits are capped at one month's rent.", "notes": [ { "label": "The 2022 referendum changed the formula", "text": "before November 2022 the allowance was 100% of inflation with a tax-rate adjustment; Question C cut it to 70% and eliminated the tax adjustment. Guides describing a 100%-of-inflation allowance or a 75-day notice period are describing the pre-2022 ordinance." }, { "label": "The next year's percentage publishes September 1", "text": "the city announces each calendar year's Allowable Increase Percentage on September 1 of the prior year, so the 2027 figure publishes September 1, 2026." }, { "label": "City code is published as chapter documents", "text": "Portland publishes its code as chapter files on the city website rather than through a code-hosting service; the citations above link the city's rent control page, which carries the ordinance text and official summaries." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "ME", "locality": "South Portland", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/maine/south-portland/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "ME", "locality": "South Portland", "locality_slug": "south-portland", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Stabilization", "page_title": "South Portland, ME Rent Stabilization", "topic_verified": "2026-08-13", "status_plain": "In force today. Enacted by the City Council as Ordinance 17-22/23 amending Code Chapter 12, and applicable to rent increases effective on or after May 27, 2023 by the ordinance's own terms. The article automatically repeals on May 27, 2030 unless the city renews it. A related 90-day increase-notice rule (Code § 12-223) has applied to increases effective on or after January 1, 2023.", "cap_plain": "A flat 10% limit on rent increases per 12-month period, which a tenant cannot waive. Only one increase is allowed in any 12 months regardless of tenant or owner changes, unused increase room expires rather than banking, and late fees may not be charged on a disallowed increase. Units renting at or below the federal fair market rent for the Portland metro area are exempt from the percentage limit.", "coverage_plain": "All housing units except: units first occupied under a certificate of occupancy on or after May 27, 2023 (new construction stays outside the cap permanently); units whose rents a government sets or controls, including housing-choice-voucher units while the housing authority deems the rent reasonable; units of owners who, counting all affiliates, own fifteen or fewer housing units; tenancies at sufferance and licenses; nonprofit hospitals, religious and extended-care facilities, licensed elderly care and continuing-care communities; dormitories; units sharing a bath or kitchen with a resident owner; owner-occupied single-family homes including their accessory units; and short-term rentals. A landlord claiming an exemption must give tenants the prescribed written notice or the unit loses exempt status.", "vacancy_plain": "When a unit becomes completely vacant the landlord may reset the rent to market; a partial turnover among co-tenants does not qualify. After a reset the 10% limit applies from the new base.", "eviction_limits_plain": "The article imposes no eviction restrictions, but a landlord's noncompliance with it is an affirmative defense in an eviction or collection action based on a disallowed increase.", "registration_plain": "None. South Portland's ordinance created no registration, licensing, or rent board; it is enforced through the tenant's defense in court and the city's disclosure requirements. Landlords must keep records of increase notices for six years.", "extras_plain": "Every increase (except week-to-week tenancies, which get 7 days) requires 90 calendar days' advance written notice stating the amount, the new rent, and the effective date, with at least 45 days for the tenant to accept or reject, delivered by the prescribed methods. Leases for non-exempt units must include the city's 12-point ordinance-disclosure language, and the article's rights cannot be waived.", "current_figures": null, "citations": [ { "statute": "South Portland Code of Ordinances ch. 12, § 12-505 (10% annual rent adjustment)", "url": "https://www.southportland.gov/429/Rental-Housing-Resources", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)" }, { "statute": "South Portland Code of Ordinances ch. 12, § 12-503 (exemptions)", "url": "https://www.southportland.gov/429/Rental-Housing-Resources", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(c)" }, { "statute": "South Portland Code of Ordinances ch. 12, § 12-507 (applicability date; automatic repeal May 27, 2030)", "url": "https://www.southportland.gov/429/Rental-Housing-Resources", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "South Portland Code of Ordinances ch. 12, § 12-223 (90-day increase notice)", "url": "https://www.southportland.gov/429/Rental-Housing-Resources", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)" } ], "summary_plain": "South Portland limits rent increases to 10% per 12-month period for rental units owned by landlords who, counting affiliates, hold 16 or more units — smaller landlords, new construction first occupied after May 27, 2023, subsidized units, and several other categories are exempt. Every increase requires 90 days' written notice, unused increase room does not carry over, and the rent can reset to market only when a unit becomes completely vacant. The ordinance automatically expires on May 27, 2030 unless the city renews it.", "notes": [ { "label": "Most small landlords are outside the cap", "text": "the fifteen-or-fewer-units exemption counts every housing unit the owner and all affiliated entities hold, not just units in one building. The 90-day notice rule in § 12-223, however, applies to rent increases generally, not only to capped units." }, { "label": "Dates: applicability is the anchor", "text": "the ordinance applies to increases effective on or after May 27, 2023, a date fixed in its own text regardless of when the enactment votes occurred, and it automatically repeals on May 27, 2030." }, { "label": "The city Q&A predates an amendment", "text": "the city's published question-and-answer document describes a 30-day tenant response period; the current code gives tenants at least 45 days to accept or reject an increase. The code controls." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "MN", "locality": "Minneapolis", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/minnesota/minneapolis/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "MN", "locality": "Minneapolis", "locality_slug": "minneapolis", "record_type": "no_local_regime", "regime_name": "Rent Stabilization (none in force)", "page_title": "Minneapolis, MN: No Rent Stabilization", "topic_verified": "2026-08-16", "status_plain": "No rent stabilization or rent control ordinance is in force in Minneapolis. On November 2, 2021, voters approved City Question 3 (75,598 yes to 66,468 no, 53.21%), a charter amendment now codified as Charter section 4.1(g) that lets the City Council adopt a rent control or rent stabilization ordinance or put one to voters. The Council has never enacted one: after a 2022 work group and a 2023 staff analysis, a June 28, 2023 motion to introduce a 3% cap ordinance for the November 2023 ballot failed 4 to 6, and the Council returned the proposal to its author 5 to 4. No rent stabilization proposal has appeared in the Council's legislative files since, and the city's Code of Ordinances contains no rent stabilization or rent control chapter.", "cap_plain": null, "coverage_plain": "Minneapolis rentals are governed by Minnesota state landlord-tenant law, which sets no rent cap. No city ordinance limits rent increases.", "vacancy_plain": null, "eviction_limits_plain": "State law governs, plus the city's own 30-day pre-eviction notice for nonpayment (Code section 244.2060); the city adds no rent-regulation-related eviction rules.", "registration_plain": null, "extras_plain": "Minneapolis does regulate other parts of the tenancy: every rental dwelling needs a city rental license (Code section 244.1810); security deposits are capped at one month's rent (Code section 244.2040); landlords must publish screening criteria and follow inclusive screening or individualized-assessment rules (section 244.2030); nonpayment evictions require 30 days' written notice (section 244.2060); and since March 2025 owners may not use algorithmic devices to set rents (section 244.2070).", "current_figures": null, "citations": [ { "statute": "Minneapolis City Charter § 4.1(g) (rent stabilization authorization; added by Ord. No. 2021-057, Charter Amendment No. 185, approved November 2, 2021)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/mn/minneapolis/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CH_ARTIVCICO_S4.1FU", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(g)(1)-(2)" }, { "statute": "Ordinance No. 2021-057 as filed with the Minnesota Secretary of State (ballot text and vote: Yes 75,598 / No 66,468)", "url": "https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download/FileV2/25863/Secretary-of-State-Filing-Certification-Charter-Amendment-185.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services — 2021 Ballot Questions (City Question 3 results)", "url": "https://vote.minneapolismn.gov/results-data/election-results/2021/ballot-questions/", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Minneapolis City Council, Legislative File 2023-00572 — Rent stabilization policy (introduction failed June 28, 2023; returned to author)", "url": "https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/File/2023-00572", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Minneapolis City Council Proceedings, June 28, 2023 (roll calls on the rent stabilization ordinance)", "url": "https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download/CommitteeReport/3268/Council-06282023-CouncilProceedings.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": "pp. 911-912" }, { "statute": "Minn. Stat. § 471.9996 (rent control prohibited; general-election exception)", "url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/471.9996", "official": true, "pinpoint": "subds. 1-2" }, { "statute": "City of Minneapolis — Rent stabilization (CPED program page)", "url": "https://www.minneapolismn.gov/government/departments/cped/housing-policy-development/rent-stabilization/", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Minneapolis Code of Ordinances, Ch. 244, Art. XVI (rental licenses; § 244.2040 security deposits; § 244.2030 screening; § 244.2060 eviction notice; § 244.2070 rent-setting algorithms)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/mn/minneapolis/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_TIT12HO_CH244MACO_ARTXVIREDWLI", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Minneapolis has no rent control or rent stabilization in force: voters authorized the City Council to regulate rents in November 2021, but the Council has never enacted an ordinance, and its one attempt — a 3% cap headed for the November 2023 ballot — failed on June 28, 2023. Guides that list Minneapolis alongside St. Paul as a rent-stabilized city are wrong as of August 2026: the 2021 vote changed the city charter to permit rent regulation, not to impose it. Minnesota law bars local rent control unless voters approve the measure at a general election, so any future Minneapolis ordinance would still need a ballot vote; state law, which sets no rent cap, governs rent increases in the city today.", "notes": [ { "label": "Why this page exists", "text": "the November 2, 2021 vote is often reported as Minneapolis 'passing rent control.' It passed an authorization — Charter section 4.1(g) — that lets the Council write an ordinance or send one to voters. St. Paul's voters approved an actual ordinance the same night; Minneapolis voters did not." }, { "label": "What happened in 2023", "text": "the Council directed a draft ordinance on May 25, 2023 (3% annual cap, no inflation adjustment, vacancy control, no exemptions) for the November 7, 2023 ballot; on June 28, 2023 the motion to introduce it failed 4 to 6 with three members absent, and a motion returning it to its author passed 5 to 4 with one abstention. The Council's files show no rent stabilization proposal since." }, { "label": "Two approvals would be needed", "text": "the charter lets the Council adopt an ordinance directly, but Minnesota Statutes section 471.9996 allows local rent control only when the measure is approved in a general election, and the city's program page says a passed ordinance would go to voters. Read the 2021 charter change as step one of two." }, { "label": "Watch status", "text": "the authorization has no expiration and the question remains live in city politics; a future Council could send an ordinance to a general-election ballot." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "MN", "locality": "St. Paul", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/minnesota/st-paul/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "MN", "locality": "St. Paul", "locality_slug": "st-paul", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Residential Rent Stabilization", "page_title": "St. Paul, MN Rent Stabilization", "topic_verified": "2026-08-13", "status_plain": "In force today. Adopted by voters at the November 2, 2021 general election under Minnesota's general-election exception to the state rent control ban, effective May 1, 2022, and codified as Saint Paul Legislative Code Chapter 193A. Council amendments restructured the chapter effective January 1, 2023, and a May 2025 amendment (Ordinance 25-29, effective June 13, 2025) made the new-construction exemption permanent.", "cap_plain": "Rent increases are limited to 3% in any 12-month period. A landlord may exceed 3% only through the city's reasonable-return process (effective only on final determination) or under an exemption. After a just-cause vacancy the landlord may raise rent up to 8% plus inflation (CPI). The city administers requests in tiers — up to 3% needs no approval, and the city's published process handles larger requests through self-certification and staff determination — with appeals available within 45 days.", "coverage_plain": "Residential rental units citywide. Excluded by definition: government-owned or managed units, stays under 30 days, place-of-worship accommodations, and licensed care settings. Exempt: rents paid under the state Housing Support program, income-restricted or subsidized affordable housing, and properties whose first certificate of occupancy issued after December 31, 2004 — including conversions — an exemption the June 2025 amendment made permanent. Landlords of exempt units must tell prospective tenants the unit is exempt before the lease is final.", "vacancy_plain": "No vacancy decontrol: the 3% limit follows the unit through tenant changes. If the landlord shows the city a just-cause vacancy (a ten-item list including nonpayment, lease violations, and owner move-in), the one-time increase may reach 8% plus CPI.", "eviction_limits_plain": "The ordinance is not an eviction restriction — its just-cause list governs only when a landlord may take the larger vacancy increase. Anti-retaliation rules restate state law.", "registration_plain": "Chapter 193A imposes no registration or rent-registry duty; the operative duties are the exemption notice to prospective tenants and filings landlords make when they request an above-cap increase.", "extras_plain": "Rent must go down when utilities shift to tenants under shared-meter rules, pass-through charges are excluded from the definition of rent, and lease clauses waiving the chapter are void. Capital improvements of $250 or more per unit may be amortized over at least 36 months in reasonable-return calculations. Violations can draw administrative fines or prosecution under the city code's general penalty provisions.", "current_figures": null, "citations": [ { "statute": "Saint Paul Legislative Code § 193A.04 (3% limit)", "url": "https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/safety-inspections/rent-buy-sell-property/renting-property/rent-stabilization", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Saint Paul Legislative Code § 193A.05 (vacancy; just cause)", "url": "https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/safety-inspections/rent-buy-sell-property/renting-property/rent-stabilization", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(b)" }, { "statute": "Saint Paul Legislative Code § 193A.08 (exemptions; notice to prospective tenants)", "url": "https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/safety-inspections/rent-buy-sell-property/renting-property/rent-stabilization", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)" }, { "statute": "Minn. Stat. § 471.9996, subd. 2 (general-election pathway)", "url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/471.9996", "official": true, "pinpoint": "subd. 2" } ], "summary_plain": "St. Paul limits residential rent increases to 3% in any 12-month period under a voter-approved ordinance that operates through Minnesota's general-election exception to the state rent control ban. Landlords can exceed the cap through a city reasonable-return process or a just-cause vacancy allowance of CPI plus 8%, and buildings first granted a certificate of occupancy after December 31, 2004 are permanently exempt following a June 2025 amendment. The cap otherwise follows a unit even when tenants change, and exempt units require written notice to prospective tenants.", "notes": [ { "label": "The new-construction exemption is now permanent", "text": "as adopted, the post-2004 exemption was structured as a 20-year window; Ordinance 25-29 (effective June 13, 2025) removed the time limit, so any building or conversion first granted a certificate of occupancy after December 31, 2004 stays exempt." }, { "label": "The approval tiers are city process", "text": "the 3%/self-certification/staff-determination tiers describe how the city currently administers above-cap requests, as published on its program pages; the ordinance itself sets the 3% limit, the reasonable-return standard, and the appeal window." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "NJ", "locality": "Atlantic City", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/new-jersey/atlantic-city/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "NJ", "locality": "Atlantic City", "locality_slug": "atlantic-city", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Control", "page_title": "Atlantic City, NJ Rent Control", "topic_verified": "2026-08-17", "status_plain": "In force today. Atlantic City has controlled rents since 1985, and the chapter now in effect was adopted October 21, 1998 by Ordinance 63-1998, which replaced the 1985 chapter. The most recent change was Ordinance 18-2020, adopted May 20, 2020, which reset the board's membership. The law is the Code of the City of Atlantic City, Chapter 41, Landlord-Tenant Affairs Board, published as including legislation through May 13, 2026, and the city's list of newly adopted ordinances shows none affecting the chapter.", "cap_plain": "Once a year a landlord may raise the rent by the change in the consumer price index for the 12 months before the lease term ends. There is no fixed percentage ceiling in the ordinance. No hearing is needed if the landlord serves the calculations on the tenant by certified mail or in person at least 30 days before the increase takes effect and files the same calculations, plus proof the tenant was notified, with the city's Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs. The Office puts out the index figure every three months and the landlord must use the latest one it has published. Skipped years cannot be made up later: no increase is allowed for a period the landlord never applied for. If the landlord does not give the tenant the required information, the increase is void for that year and the tenant gets back anything paid. A capital improvement surcharge and a hardship increase can be applied for on top of the index increase.", "coverage_plain": "Apartments offered for rent in Atlantic City are covered, an apartment meaning a unit with a kitchen, a bathroom and living space, efficiencies included. Exempt: federally subsidized housing including all Section 8 housing, apartments in buildings carrying Department of Housing and Urban Development mortgages, apartments renovated under the Rental Rehabilitation Program, all public housing, apartments in buildings of three or more units built after June 25, 1987, owner-occupied duplexes and triplexes, and seasonal or transient stays in a hotel, motel or guesthouse. An older exemption for apartments renting at $1,300 a month or more was repealed on December 14, 2005.", "vacancy_plain": "Atlantic City has full vacancy decontrol. Each time a tenant leaves voluntarily or a unit becomes vacant through a court-ordered eviction, the landlord sets the new rent, and that amount becomes the base rent all later increases build on. The landlord must tell the Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs about each change in tenancy, file the new rent, and say why the previous tenant left. If the Office finds the landlord harassed the previous tenant into leaving, it can put the unit back under rent control and order the rent cut to the maximum the controlled rent would have allowed.", "eviction_limits_plain": "State law governs evictions. The chapter bars a landlord from serving a notice to quit or bringing a possession case as a reprisal against a tenant for trying to secure or enforce rights under the lease or under the chapter, and it says nothing in it limits the remedies tenants already have under state law. A unit must have current registration before a rent increase can be sought, and any lease term that waives the chapter is void.", "registration_plain": "Every landlord, owner or rental agent must file with the Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs within 30 days of occupancy or purchase of a unit and ask for an inspection for city code violations; the legal base rent is set at that point. Renting without filing is a violation, and each unregistered unit counts as its own offense. The chapter's fees are $30 a year, $15 for a reinspection and a $30 late surcharge once a payment is 30 days overdue, with no fee for a senior citizen owner who lives in the property and rents out the remaining unit. Separately, owners of buildings with two or more rental units file each year on June 1 with the Department of Licensing and Inspections and pay $100, and that filing also counts as filing under the rent control chapter. An ordinance adopted June 18, 2025 adds an online landlord database with renewals due each year by January 31 and a fee set by City Council resolution.", "extras_plain": "A capital improvement surcharge is available: the cost is divided by the improvement's expected life, split across the units for common-area work, and 5% is added as a return, with the result folded into the base rent and collected in 12 equal monthly amounts. The landlord must tell tenants and apply before starting the work, and nothing takes effect until the work is finished and the permits and receipts are handed in. A hardship increase is available when net operating income falls below 40% of gross maximized annual income or below the average of the prior three years; if the Office has not ruled in time through no fault of the landlord, the landlord may collect up to 10% above the current rent in the meantime, refundable as a rent credit. Tenants can ask the Office to cut the rent by the value of services or equipment no longer provided. Fees to apply for an increase are $20 for the first unit, $10 for each unit up to the 50th and $7.50 for each unit after that, and the Administrator may double them if the landlord has not updated its filed information in four years or more. The Office decides first and the eleven-member Landlord-Tenant Affairs Board hears appeals, with fixed deadlines at each step. Violations carry a fine of up to $2,000 or 90 days in jail or both, counted separately for each unit affected. There is no property-tax surcharge and no reduced cap for senior or disabled tenants.", "current_figures": null, "citations": [ { "statute": "Atlantic City Code § 41-6 (annual price index increase; quarterly publication; 30-day notice; no banking)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/15206291", "official": true, "pinpoint": "B" }, { "statute": "Atlantic City Code § 41-8 (subject units; exemptions from rent control)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/15206304", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Atlantic City Code § 41-12 (vacancy decontrol; harassment clawback)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/15206351", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Atlantic City Code § 41-5 (registration; fees)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/15206283", "official": true, "pinpoint": "A, C" }, { "statute": "Atlantic City Code § 41-10 (capital improvement surcharge)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/15206314", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Atlantic City Code § 41-11 (hardship increases; 10% interim limit)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/15206319", "official": true, "pinpoint": "A, C, I" }, { "statute": "Atlantic City Code § 41-13 (reprisal bar)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/15206355", "official": true, "pinpoint": "B" }, { "statute": "Atlantic City Code § 41-18 (violations and penalties)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/15206362", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Atlantic City Code § 41-20 (application fees)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/15206367", "official": true, "pinpoint": "B, C" }, { "statute": "Atlantic City Code ch. 41 (adopted Oct. 21, 1998 by Ord. No. 63-1998)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/15206245", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Atlantic City Code §§ 209A-11, 209A-30 to 209A-36 (rental registration; 2025 landlord database)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/15210972", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Atlantic City — Landlord Tenant Affairs", "url": "https://www.acnj.gov/Departments/landlord-tenant-affairs", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "N.J.S.A. 2A:42-84.2 (new construction exempt from local rent control)", "url": "https://www.nj.gov/dca/codes/publications/pdf_lti/new_const_m_dwell_law.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": "a, b" } ], "summary_plain": "Atlantic City limits yearly rent increases in most apartments to the change in the consumer price index for the 12 months before the lease term ends, with no fixed percentage ceiling in the ordinance and no hearing required as long as the landlord gives the tenant the calculations 30 days ahead and files them with the city. The limit falls away at turnover: when a tenant moves out voluntarily or is evicted by court order, the landlord sets the new rent freely and that becomes the new starting point. Owner-occupied duplexes and triplexes, public and federally subsidized housing, seasonal and transient stays, and buildings of three or more units built after June 25, 1987 sit outside the chapter. Landlords must file with the Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs within 30 days of occupancy or purchase, and a unit must have current registration before an increase can be sought.", "notes": [ { "label": "The percentage is not published on the city website", "text": "the Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs issues the index figure every three months, and the city's own page says it is obtained by contacting that office. No annual percentage appears anywhere on the city site, so a single yearly number quoted for Atlantic City elsewhere should be traced back to the office before it is relied on. The figure is also tenancy-specific: it covers the 12 months before each lease term ends, so two tenants in one building can lawfully see different percentages in the same year." }, { "label": "The city's summary and the ordinance differ on new construction", "text": "the ordinance exempts apartments in buildings of three or more units built after June 25, 1987, pointing to N.J.S.A. 2A:42-84.2. The city's department page describes the same exemption as buildings with four or more units. The ordinance text is the law, and three is the threshold it sets." }, { "label": "New buildings are also exempt under state law", "text": "N.J.S.A. 2A:42-84.2 exempts newly constructed multiple dwellings from local rent control for the amortization period of the initial mortgage or 30 years after construction is completed, whichever is less, and 30 years where there is no initial mortgage. The owner claims it by filing a written statement with the municipal construction official at least 30 days before the certificate of occupancy issues, and must tell prospective tenants of the exemption in writing and in the lease." }, { "label": "Turnover resets the rent", "text": "vacancy decontrol is the practical center of this ordinance. Between tenancies the cap does not apply at all, and the city treats a unit as decontrolled until it is re-rented under a new occupancy permit. The counterweight is that the landlord must tell the Office why the previous tenant left, and a finding of harassment lets the Office put the unit back under control at the rent the cap would have produced." }, { "label": "Registration is being run through a public list", "text": "an ordinance adopted June 18, 2025 requires an online, publicly searchable landlord database, and the city now publishes a Landlord Registration Property Listing showing address, block and lot, owner, units registered and emergency contact for thousands of rental properties." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "NJ", "locality": "Bayonne", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/new-jersey/bayonne/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "NJ", "locality": "Bayonne", "locality_slug": "bayonne", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Control", "page_title": "Bayonne, NJ Rent Control", "topic_verified": "2026-08-17", "status_plain": "In force today. Bayonne first limited rents in 1973, and the current law was rewritten from top to bottom by Ordinance No. O-23-31, adopted July 19, 2023. One later ordinance, No. O-24-06 of January 17, 2024, extended the chapter for a one-year period ending December 31, 2024, and the published code, which includes legislation through December 17, 2025, carries no extension after that. The city continues to run the law: the Rent Control Office issued its 2026 schedule of application deadlines, and the Rent Control Board has held monthly hearings through July 2026. The law is Chapter 16 of the Revised General Ordinances of the City of Bayonne.", "cap_plain": "Rent on a covered unit may rise once a year by the change in the consumer price index, and never by more than 5.5%. The Rent Control Office does the math: it takes the twelve-month change in the index for the region that includes Bayonne, using the last figure reported two months before the office finds the landlord's application complete, and cuts the increase to 5.5% of the unit's base rent whenever the index change is higher. The landlord must apply to the office and receive written approval first, the office decides within 15 days, and the new rent may not start sooner than one year after the last increase ended. An increase a landlord skips cannot be saved up and added to a later one. Surcharges for hardship, building-wide improvements, single-unit improvements, late rent, returned checks, and separately billed extra services sit on top of the base rent and are never folded into it, so they do not raise the base for future increases.", "coverage_plain": "Only long-standing tenancies are covered. A unit is regulated only if it was under rent control under the 1973 ordinance and its successors and has housed the same tenant continuously since June 30, 2011; every unit that fell vacant after that date left rent control for good. On top of that, whole categories of buildings are exempt: any building with four or fewer rental units, motels, hotels, commercial and industrial space, buildings owned or operated by the federal government, the State of New Jersey, any municipality or public housing authority, buildings preempted by federal or state law, and newly built dwellings rented for the first time whose certificate of occupancy the Bayonne Building Department approved after November 1, 2011. Individual units are also exempt if the rent is subsidized in whole or part under federal or state programs, including Section 8, Section 202, and Section 811, or if the unit has already been permanently decontrolled. Owner-occupied buildings get no exemption of their own beyond the four-unit rule, and the chapter says nothing about condominiums. A landlord who believes a property is exempt can apply to the Rent Control Board for a ruling, and a tenant who believes they are covered can ask the board to say so.", "vacancy_plain": "Vacancy ends rent control permanently. When a rent-controlled tenant moves out voluntarily or is evicted through the courts, the landlord applies to the Rent Control Office for permanent decontrol, giving proof of the vacancy or a copy of the court order. The landlord must send the former tenant a copy of the application within 10 days by certified mail or personal service, and the former tenant has 14 days to object. If no objection arrives the office approves, and the unit is decontrolled the day approval is granted and can never come back under the law. There is no vacancy increase percentage, because the unit simply leaves rent control.", "eviction_limits_plain": "State law governs evictions. The chapter adds no grounds of its own and points to the New Jersey Anti-Eviction Act. It does add two rent-related protections. Trying to empty a covered unit so it can be decontrolled, by harassment or other wrongful action, carries a fine of up to $2,000. And a landlord who has not paid back money the Rent Control Board ordered refunded may not apply for or collect any increase or surcharge until the refund is paid in full.", "registration_plain": "On or before December 1 each year, a landlord whose building contains any covered unit must file a completed Registry of Rent-Controlled Tenants with the Rent Control Office and give a copy of that completed registry to every tenant named on it. There is no registration fee. Filing fees apply instead to applications and complaints, on a schedule the council adopted on July 19, 2023 that the published code still carries: $50 to apply for an annual increase covering 1 to 10 units and $100 for more than 10, $100 for a hardship application, $100 for a building-wide improvement application, $50 for a single-unit improvement application, and $25 per unit to apply for permanent decontrol or for an exemption. Tenants pay $25 to challenge an increase or a surcharge, $25 to ask for a rent reduction, $25 to ask the board to confirm they are rent-controlled, and $5 to report that a landlord has not paid what the board ordered. When a tenant wins, the board charges that tenant's fee back to the landlord.", "extras_plain": "Beyond the annual increase, the law allows several surcharges, none of which becomes part of the base rent. A landlord can seek a twelve-month hardship surcharge, but only after showing that the building's operating expenses exceed 60% of its gross income; buildings with 50 or more units may be asked for accountant-certified figures, and an approved surcharge is spread evenly across every unit in the building even though only rent-controlled tenants have to pay it. Surcharges for building-wide improvements and for work inside a single unit must be sought within 12 months of finishing the work, and together they may never exceed 20% of a unit's monthly base rent. A late fee may not exceed $35, and a returned check charge is $35. Charges for separately billed extra services are not limited by the chapter at all. Tenants can push in the other direction: if a service included in the rent is cut back or dropped, a tenant has 18 months to ask the board to lower the base rent, and the lower figure becomes the base for future increases. Tenants also have 18 months from the first payment to challenge an increase or surcharge as invalid, and the board can void it, order refunds, and extend the refund to other tenants in the building in the same position. After an increase is approved, the landlord has 10 days to serve each affected tenant by certified mail or personal service and 14 more days to file proof of that notice; missing either step voids the increase. Fines run to $2,000 for a reckless or intentional violation, counted separately for each apartment affected, and $500 for each false statement in a filing. Decisions of the board and the office are final and can be challenged only in court.", "current_figures": null, "citations": [ { "statute": "Rev. Gen. Ords. of Bayonne § 16-4.1 (annual increase, 5.5% ceiling)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/44927750", "official": true, "pinpoint": "c.1" }, { "statute": "Rev. Gen. Ords. of Bayonne § 16-1.4 (covered units, exempt dwellings and units)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/44927673", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Rev. Gen. Ords. of Bayonne § 16-9 (permanent decontrol on vacancy)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/44927500", "official": true, "pinpoint": "a" }, { "statute": "Rev. Gen. Ords. of Bayonne § 16-3.8 (annual tenant registry)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/44927749", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Rev. Gen. Ords. of Bayonne § 16-5 (hardship and improvement surcharges, late and returned check charges)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/44927453", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Rev. Gen. Ords. of Bayonne § 16-13 (filing fees)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/44927523", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Rev. Gen. Ords. of Bayonne § 16-14 (violations and penalties)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/44927524", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Rev. Gen. Ords. of Bayonne § 16-1.3 (one-year extension to December 31, 2024)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/44927672", "official": true, "pinpoint": "a" }, { "statute": "City of Bayonne Ordinance No. O-24-06 (January 17, 2024)", "url": "https://www.bayonnenj.org/_Content/pdf/ordinances/O-24-06.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Bayonne — Rent Control", "url": "https://www.bayonnenj.org/pages/rent-control", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Bayonne Rent Control Office — 2026 application deadlines", "url": "https://www.bayonnenj.org/_Content/pdf/CPI-DUE-DATES-2026.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "N.J.S.A. 2A:42-84.1 to -84.6 (state exemption for newly constructed multiple dwellings)", "url": "https://www.nj.gov/dca/codes/publications/pdf_lti/new_const_m_dwell_law.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Bayonne's rent control reaches a shrinking set of long-standing tenancies rather than the city's rental housing generally. A unit is covered only if it has housed the same tenant continuously since June 30, 2011, and only if the building has five or more units and is not a hotel, motel, public housing, or a newly built property whose certificate of occupancy came after November 1, 2011. For a covered unit, rent may rise once a year by the change in the consumer price index and by no more than 5.5%, and the landlord must get written approval from the Rent Control Office before charging it. When the tenant leaves, the unit is permanently decontrolled and never returns to rent control. Landlords must file a registry of rent-controlled tenants with the city each year by December 1, and the Rent Control Board hears applications for hardship and improvement surcharges as well as tenant complaints about increases and lost services.", "notes": [ { "label": "Coverage turns on one tenant staying put since 2011", "text": "Bayonne stopped renewing its original rent control law in 2011, and every unit that was vacant on June 30, 2011 left the system then. What survives applies only to units that have housed the same tenant without a break ever since. Guides that describe Bayonne as a city with a 5.5% cap on rental housing generally are describing the cap without the coverage test that comes first." }, { "label": "The published extension period ended in 2024", "text": "The ordinance carries a clause, added in January 2024, extending the chapter for a one-year period ending December 31, 2024, and the published code, current through legislation of December 17, 2025, carries nothing after it. The city continues to administer the chapter, publishing 2026 application deadlines and holding monthly board hearings through July 2026. Anyone relying on the point should ask the Rent Control Office whether a later extension was adopted." }, { "label": "The city's application forms are older than the ordinance", "text": "Forms posted on the city website still cite section numbers from the pre-2023 version of the chapter and quote fees that differ from the ones the council adopted in July 2023 — the hardship form, for example, asks for $10 per unit where the ordinance sets $100 per application. Ask the Rent Control Office which figure to pay before sending a check." }, { "label": "New buildings are exempt for good, not for 30 years", "text": "New Jersey law generally exempts newly built multiple dwellings from local rent control for the length of the first mortgage or 30 years, whichever is shorter. Bayonne's own rule is wider: a building whose first certificate of occupancy was approved after November 1, 2011 is outside the chapter with no end date attached." }, { "label": "There is no annual percentage to look up", "text": "The 5.5% figure is a ceiling written into the ordinance, not a number the city re-sets each year. The percentage that actually applies depends on when the landlord's application is found complete, because the office uses the index figure from two months earlier. What the city does publish each year is a calendar of application deadlines matched to increase dates." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "NJ", "locality": "East Orange", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/new-jersey/east-orange/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "NJ", "locality": "East Orange", "locality_slug": "east-orange", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Control", "page_title": "East Orange, NJ Rent Control", "topic_verified": "2026-08-17", "status_plain": "In force today. East Orange has controlled rents since the mid-1970s; the current chapter was adopted March 24, 1980 and readopted in full on October 13, 2015 by Ordinance No. 47 of 2015. The codified law is Chapter 218 of the Code of the City of East Orange, published through legislation adopted December 9, 2024. The last amendment folded into the published text is Ordinance No. 30 of 2023, adopted November 27, 2023. Two later amendments are law but not yet in the published chapter: Ordinance No. 9 of 2025, adopted April 14, 2025, and Ordinance No. 18 of 2026, adopted June 8, 2026.", "cap_plain": "Rent increases are limited to fixed percentages written into the ordinance. East Orange does not set a new percentage each year and does not tie the limit for a sitting tenant to any price index. For a month-to-month or week-to-week tenant, or a lease shorter than a year, the limit is 4% of the existing rent. For a year-to-year tenant or a lease longer than a year, the limit is 4% of the prior rent for each 12-month period the lease has run, so a three-year lease with no increases allows up to 12% at the end. For a qualified senior tenant aged 65 or older the limit is 2%, and Ordinance No. 9 of 2025 extended that 2% limit to disabled tenants. Only one increase is allowed in any 12 months, none during a tenant's first 12 months, and an increase that takes effect at any time other than the end of a lease or the termination of a periodic tenancy is void. No increase of any amount may be demanded or accepted unless the building's rent roll is current with the city; a landlord without a current rent roll is barred from any increase from that tenant for 12 months. A landlord must also file a rental increase application and pay a fee before the city will process the increase, and an increase may not be collected while listed habitability violations are open. Above the base limit, the Rent Leveling Board may approve a capital improvement surcharge or a hardship increase.", "coverage_plain": "The ordinance covers rental dwellings in the city generally. Exempt: buildings with three or fewer separate living units, motels, hotels, licensed rooming houses, and housing developments owned or subsidized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development along with unsubsidized developments carrying HUD-insured mortgages. A newly constructed dwelling rented for the first time, and a dwelling vacated for substantial rehabilitation, are exempt for that first rental only; after it, the unit is covered. Living in the building does not exempt an owner: the only size exemption is three units or fewer. A newly constructed or substantially rehabilitated building can hold a longer exemption during the term of a first mortgage of at least 75% of the estimated market value at completion, with proof from the lender filed every September 1 and a certificate of exemption approved by the Rent Regulation Officer, the Board and the City Council. New Jersey law caps any such exemption at the initial mortgage amortization period or 30 years, whichever is less.", "vacancy_plain": "A vacancy does not free the rent by itself. On an ordinary turnover the new tenant's base rent is the last rent registered for the former tenant, and the increase to the new tenant may not exceed 5% over that rent or the change in the consumer price index between three months before the old lease ended and three months before the new lease began, whichever is less. The landlord must tell the new tenant in writing what the prior tenant paid and that the record is on file at the city, and must charge any new-tenant increase within 60 days of occupancy or lose it. Without a certificate of habitability the landlord may collect no more than the former tenant's rent and must refund the excess. Separately, a vacated unit may become eligible for formal decontrol, but only where the tenant left voluntarily without pressure or under a court order, and only after an application, a fee and an inspection covering the unit, the common areas, the garage and the building exterior. A decontrolled unit remains subject to the ordinance going forward, must be re-registered, and cannot be decontrolled again for 10 years. A landlord may pursue only one of a capital improvement surcharge, a hardship increase or a decontrol for the same unit in a calendar year. A covered unit must be re-rented and occupied within 60 days of the end of the prior tenancy unless the Rent Regulation Officer grants a waiver.", "eviction_limits_plain": "State law governs evictions. The chapter adds no eviction grounds, but it adopts New Jersey's reprisal law barring retaliation against a tenant who exercises a legal right, and it blocks any rent increase unless the building's rent roll is current with the city. Senior citizen and disabled tenants can obtain protected tenancy status lasting 40 years when their building is converted to a condominium or cooperative, subject to an income test.", "registration_plain": "Every owner whose rents are subject to the chapter must file an itemized rent roll and registration statement with the city on September 1 each year, listing every unit, the current lawful rent, the date of the last increase, tenant occupancy details, a sworn accuracy affidavit and a spreadsheet showing how each rent was calculated. Any rent change must be reported within 30 days. The rent roll is a public record. For the year running September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2027 the fee is $100 per building, not per unit, with late fees of $300 for filing between September 2 and September 30, 2026, $500 in October, $750 in November and $1,000 in December, charged on top of the $100. A current filing is a precondition to any rent increase. A rental increase application carries a separate fee of $5 per unit, and a certificate of habitability is required for each new tenancy before occupancy.", "extras_plain": "Landlords must give 60 days' written notice before an increase, with a signed statement giving the tenant's name and unit, the lease start date, the present rent, the date of the last increase, the dollar amount of the increase and the increase as a percentage. Parking space rents are controlled on the same terms as apartment rents. Leases must cap late fees at $50 for rent more than five days late and bounced-check fees at $35, must not restrict how rent is paid or require payment away from the tenant's building, and receipts must reach the tenant within seven days. A capital improvement surcharge needs Board approval before it is charged and may recover only half the cost, spread over five years in 60 equal monthly installments. A hardship increase is decided within 45 days against a fair-return test. There is no property tax surcharge and no utility surcharge. Tenants may lose up to 30% of a month's rent back when essential services decline. A majority of tenants may agree with the landlord to a specific one-year surcharge for a specific project. Willful violations carry fines from $300 to $2,000 per day and up to 120 days in jail, counted separately for each leasehold affected. The Rent Leveling Board has seven members and meets on the first and third Thursday of each month.", "current_figures": null, "citations": [ { "statute": "Code of East Orange § 218-10 (4% cap; 2% senior cap; registration precondition; application fee)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/9565553", "official": true, "pinpoint": "A, B, E, H" }, { "statute": "Code of East Orange § 218-8 (exemptions; new tenant limit of 5% or the index change)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/9565553", "official": true, "pinpoint": "A, B(1)" }, { "statute": "Code of East Orange § 218-11 (timing; one increase per 12 months; none in the first year)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/9565553", "official": true, "pinpoint": "A, C" }, { "statute": "Code of East Orange § 218-12 (60 days' notice and required contents)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/9565553", "official": true, "pinpoint": "A" }, { "statute": "Code of East Orange § 218-14 (annual September 1 rent roll; $100 fee; late fees)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/9565553", "official": true, "pinpoint": "A, B" }, { "statute": "Code of East Orange § 218-27 (rental decontrol; new construction and rehabilitation exemption)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/9565553", "official": true, "pinpoint": "A, B, D, E, G" }, { "statute": "Ordinance No. 9 of 2025 (2% cap extended to disabled tenants)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/EA0647/laws/LF2395165.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 1" }, { "statute": "Ordinance No. 18 of 2026 (vacancy decontrol inspection fee schedule)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/EA0647/laws/LF2746134.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 1" }, { "statute": "N.J.S.A. 2A:42-84.1 to -84.6 (state exemption for newly constructed multiple dwellings)", "url": "https://www.nj.gov/dca/codes/publications/pdf_lti/new_const_m_dwell_law.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of East Orange — Rent Leveling Division", "url": "https://www.eastorange-nj.gov/263/Rent-Leveling", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of East Orange — 2026 Rent Roll and Registration Statement", "url": "https://www.eastorange-nj.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3563/September-1-2026-218-14-ANNUAL-FILING-OF-ITEMIZED-RENT-ROLL-AND-REGISTRATION-STATEMENT--Application", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "East Orange caps rent increases at percentages written into its ordinance rather than a figure announced each year: 4% for a sitting tenant in any 12-month period, 2% for a qualified senior tenant and, since April 2025, a disabled tenant, and on a turnover the lesser of 5% over the last tenant's rent or the change in the consumer price index. Buildings with three or fewer units, hotels, motels, licensed rooming houses and HUD housing are exempt, and newly constructed or substantially rehabilitated buildings can be exempt for a period tied to their first mortgage, capped by state law at 30 years. Every covered owner must file an itemized rent roll with the city by September 1 each year and pay a $100 per-building fee, and no increase may be charged unless that filing is current, the landlord files a rental increase application with a $5-per-unit fee, and the tenant gets 60 days' written notice.", "notes": [ { "label": "The percentages are fixed in the ordinance, not set each year", "text": "guides that describe an East Orange rent increase limit of about 4% to 5% adopted by the Rent Leveling Board and changing with economic conditions are describing something the city does not do. The 4%, 2% and 5% figures come from the ordinance text and change only when the City Council amends Chapter 218. The city publishes no annual allowable-increase notice; what it publishes each year is the rent roll and registration form for the September 1 to August 31 rent control year." }, { "label": "The turnover limit is the lower of two numbers", "text": "the ordinance allows up to 5% over the last tenant's rent or the change in the consumer price index over the stated months, whichever is less, so 5% is a ceiling rather than an entitlement. The city's own rent roll guidance illustrates turnover with a flat 5% example. The ordinance does not name which price index applies, so a landlord planning a turnover increase should ask the Rent Regulation Officer which figure the office will accept." }, { "label": "Two amendments are law but not yet in the published chapter", "text": "Ordinance No. 9 of 2025, adopted April 14, 2025, extends the 2% senior limit to disabled tenants. Ordinance No. 18 of 2026, adopted June 8, 2026, replaces the flat $125 vacancy decontrol inspection fee with a schedule that scales by building size and adds $300 per unit, and limits an application to one re-inspection. Both are in force; the published chapter still shows the older text, and the city's posted decontrol application still lists the $125 fee." }, { "label": "Decontrol is a process, not an automatic result of a vacancy", "text": "a vacated unit only becomes eligible. The landlord applies before the new tenancy starts, pays the inspection fee, and must pass an inspection covering the unit, common areas, garages and the building exterior, with a 30-day period to cure. A unit that is decontrolled stays under the ordinance afterward and cannot be decontrolled again for 10 years." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "NJ", "locality": "Elizabeth", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/new-jersey/elizabeth/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "NJ", "locality": "Elizabeth", "locality_slug": "elizabeth", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Control and Stabilization", "page_title": "Elizabeth, NJ Rent Control", "topic_verified": "2026-08-17", "status_plain": "In force today. Elizabeth caps rent increases under Chapter 5.70 of the city code, called Rent Control and Stabilization, a law the City Council renews for a fixed term at a time and has extended repeatedly, most recently in December 2024 and again in July 2025. The chapter carries its own expiration date and dies automatically if the council does not extend it in time. The published code sets that date at December 31, 2026, and an ordinance the council adopted on July 28, 2025 moves it to December 31, 2027. Either way the chapter is in effect now. The most recent change is that same 2025 ordinance, No. 6160, which added a $20 ceiling to the annual increase; the published code has not caught up with it yet and still shows only the 3% figure.", "cap_plain": "The increase is a fixed percentage set in the ordinance, not a figure tied to inflation and not a number any board announces each year. The code allows up to 3% over the rent charged in the previous 12 months. Ordinance No. 6160, adopted July 28, 2025 and approved by the Mayor on August 8, 2025, adds that when 3% would come to more than $20, the increase may not exceed $20 — so the limit is 3% or $20, whichever is smaller. That $20 ceiling is not yet printed in the published code, and the city's own January 2026 letter to landlords still describes the limit as 3%, so anyone relying on this should confirm the current figure with the Bureau of Rent Control. An increase is allowed only when a lease expires, when a periodic tenancy ends, or on the building's anniversary date, and only once in any 12 months. No increase may be charged at all unless the landlord has filed the annual registration. There is no banking of skipped increases and no overall ceiling on rent plus surcharges.", "coverage_plain": "The chapter covers buildings, structures, trailers and trailer parks, and condominium and cooperative apartments that are rented out. Exempt are motels, hotels, rooming houses and similar buildings; buildings of two units or fewer; and owner-occupied buildings of three or four units. Newly built multiple dwellings are exempt from the rent cap for the period set by state law — the amortization period of the initial mortgage or 30 years after construction is finished, whichever is shorter. According to the council's own recital in Ordinance No. 5873, adopted July 25, 2023, the chapter had until then exempted buildings constructed after May 10, 1982 permanently; that ordinance removed the permanent exemption, so older buildings that had been outside the law came back under it and the exempt vintage now moves forward one year at a time. The city describes the buildings that must register as those that are not owner-occupied, have three or more homes, and were built before 1996. A vacant building that has been substantially rehabilitated is released from the chapter for one year. The chapter has no provisions for senior, disabled or subsidized housing.", "vacancy_plain": "There is no vacancy decontrol. When a tenant leaves or is evicted, the landlord may raise the rent by up to 20% of the rent charged over the previous 12 months, for the first year only, and that 20% is the most the rent may rise that year rather than an amount added on top of the ordinary increase. Only one such increase is allowed in any 12 months for a given apartment, no matter how many times it turns over. The landlord must file a statement with the Fair Rental Housing Board confirming that the previous tenant left voluntarily or was evicted under state law and was not driven out by harassment, threats or reprisal. The city's form for this is titled a vacancy decontrol notice, but nothing in the chapter releases a unit from the rent cap when it becomes vacant.", "eviction_limits_plain": "State law governs evictions. The chapter adds no grounds for eviction, but it does bar harassment, threats and reprisals aimed at deterring anyone from claiming rights under it, and that bar applies to landlords, their agents and tenants alike. Three other rules protect tenants indirectly: no rent increase may be charged unless the building's registration is current, a landlord cannot claim the turnover increase without certifying that the previous tenant was not forced out, and a hardship increase cannot be collected until outstanding health and housing code violations are fixed.", "registration_plain": "Every dwelling covered by the chapter must be registered each year with the Fair Rental Housing Board, through the city's Bureau of Rent Control. The registration reports conditions as of January 1 and is due by March 1 each year, listing the owner and any agent with contact details, the services provided, the units in the building, and the current base rent for each unit. Landlords can file through the city's online portal. No rent increase may be charged or collected unless the registration has been filed, and a landlord who willfully fails to file can be fined. The city warns that failing to register may bring a summons, and the Board has issued them. Owner-occupied properties must file an affidavit proving residence instead. The chapter sets no registration fee, though it does charge a fee for hardship, capital improvement and rehabilitation applications.", "extras_plain": "Landlords must give tenants at least 30 days' notice before an increase, hand new tenants the state Truth-in-Renting statement, and tell tenants each year about their rights, the landlord's duty to register, and how to reach the Board and the state Office of Landlord/Tenant Information. On top of the base increase the Board can approve a capital improvement or service surcharge, which stays separate from base rent, and a hardship increase for a landlord who shows that operating expenses exceed 60% of income, that the return on equity falls short of a fair rate, or that net operating income has fallen below a three-year baseline; hardship applications require 30 days' certified notice to every tenant and a public hearing. If a landlord wins a property tax appeal, tenants get 50% of the reduction after the landlord's costs, paid within 45 days and spread over 12 months, with notice posted in a common area for a year. Parking fees that were in place on September 1, 1987 cannot be raised at all for a household's first vehicle; a second vehicle's fee can rise 3% a year. Late fees are capped at $25 a month and cannot be charged until rent is more than five business days late. Buildings with 12 or more units need a superintendent on site around the clock. Deliberately holding units off the market is barred, with fines of up to $500 per unit per day. Tenants can recover overcharges going back two years, and complaints must be filed within three years. Willful violations carry fines from $250 to $2,000, up to 90 days in jail, or both, counted separately for each tenancy affected.", "current_figures": null, "citations": [ { "statute": "Elizabeth City Code § 5.70.060 (3% limit on increases in base rent)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/nj/elizabeth/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT5BULIRE_CH5.70RECOST_5.70.060INBARE", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A)" }, { "statute": "Elizabeth Ordinance No. 6160 ($20 ceiling on the increase; expiration date moved to December 31, 2027)", "url": "https://www.elizabethnj.org/DocumentCenter/View/8805/Ord-No-6160-amend-chapter-570-Rent-Control-and-stabilization-to-add-a-twenty-dollar-limit-to-increases-in-base-rent", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 1-2" }, { "statute": "Elizabeth City Code § 5.70.250 (expiration date)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/nj/elizabeth/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT5BULIRE_CH5.70RECOST_5.70.250WHEFXPDA", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Elizabeth Ordinance No. 6072 (expiration date extended to December 31, 2026)", "url": "https://www.elizabethnj.org/DocumentCenter/View/7845/Ord-No-6072--Rent-Control-and-Stabilization-to-Dec-31-2026", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 1" }, { "statute": "Elizabeth City Code § 5.70.010 (definitions; buildings the chapter does not cover)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/nj/elizabeth/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT5BULIRE_CH5.70RECOST_5.70.010DEOTPP", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(A)" }, { "statute": "Elizabeth Ordinance No. 5873 (permanent new-construction exemption removed)", "url": "https://www.elizabethnj.org/DocumentCenter/View/7096/07-26-23-Ordinance-re-New-Construction-Exemption-from-Rent-Controlpdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 1" }, { "statute": "Elizabeth City Code § 5.70.050 (annual registration)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/nj/elizabeth/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT5BULIRE_CH5.70RECOST_5.70.050RE", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Elizabeth City Code § 5.70.080 (increases when a unit changes tenants)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/nj/elizabeth/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT5BULIRE_CH5.70RECOST_5.70.080REINCAVA", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "N.J.S.A. 2A:42-84.2 (newly constructed multiple dwellings exempt from local rent control)", "url": "https://www.nj.gov/dca/codes/publications/pdf_lti/new_const_m_dwell_law.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a), (b)" }, { "statute": "City of Elizabeth — Bureau of Rent Control and Fair Rental Housing Board", "url": "https://www.elizabethnj.org/552/Rent-Control", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Elizabeth limits how much rent can rise in covered buildings each year, and the limit is a fixed figure written into the ordinance rather than one recalculated from inflation. The published code allows 3%; an ordinance the City Council adopted in July 2025 adds that the increase may never exceed $20, making the limit 3% or $20, whichever is smaller, though the published code and the city's January 2026 letter to landlords still show only the 3%. The law covers most rental buildings but not motels, hotels and rooming houses, buildings of two units or fewer, or owner-occupied three- and four-unit buildings, and newly built multiple dwellings are outside the cap for up to 30 years under state law. Rent can rise by up to 20% when a unit changes tenants, but a vacancy never removes a unit from the law. Every covered building must be registered with the city's Bureau of Rent Control by March 1 each year, and no increase may be charged unless that registration is current. The chapter expires on a set date unless the City Council renews it, which it has done repeatedly, most recently in July 2025.", "notes": [ { "label": "The chapter expires unless the council renews it", "text": "Chapter 5.70 sets its own end date and states that it automatically ceases to have effect on that date unless the City Council extends it beforehand. The council has renewed it repeatedly, most recently by Ordinance No. 6072 in December 2024 and Ordinance No. 6160 in July 2025. The published code gives the date as December 31, 2026; Ordinance No. 6160, adopted in July 2025, moves it to December 31, 2027. Anyone relying on the law in late 2026 should check whether a further extension has passed." }, { "label": "The published code is behind the ordinance", "text": "The online code is current through Ordinance No. 6138, adopted June 24, 2025. Ordinance No. 6160 came a month later, so neither the $20 ceiling nor the later expiration date appears in the code text yet. The ordinance itself is posted on the city's website in its list of 2025 ordinances." }, { "label": "The $20 ceiling is a restoration, not a new idea", "text": "The City Council's stated reason for the 2025 ordinance was that a limit of 3% or $20, whichever was less, had applied in Elizabeth for more than 30 years until the council repealed the dollar figure in December 2022, and that restoring it was necessary to keep housing affordable." }, { "label": "The building that qualifies as new construction changes every year", "text": "State law exempts newly built multiple dwellings from local rent caps for the amortization period of the initial mortgage or 30 years, whichever is shorter. Because that is a rolling 30 years, the cutoff advances annually. The city's letter of January 2026 describes covered properties as those built before 1996; the figure will differ in later years." }, { "label": "The city's vacancy form is misleadingly named", "text": "The Fair Rental Housing Board publishes a form called a vacancy decontrol notice, but it collects the report of a unit still standing empty and the rents charged before and after. Nothing in the chapter removes rent regulation from a unit because it became vacant." }, { "label": "The Board meets monthly and enforces the chapter", "text": "The Fair Rental Housing Board hears capital improvement, substantial rehabilitation and hardship applications in Council Chambers on the third Wednesday of the month. Its July 2026 agenda included a summons against a property owner over registration, the vacancy form, late fees and a refund owed to a tenant." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "NJ", "locality": "Fort Lee", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/new-jersey/fort-lee/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "NJ", "locality": "Fort Lee", "locality_slug": "fort-lee", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Control", "page_title": "Fort Lee, NJ Rent Control", "topic_verified": "2026-08-13", "status_plain": "In force today. Derived from the borough's 1978 revised ordinances (adopted March 1, 1979) and codified as Code of the Borough of Fort Lee Chapter 324. The chapter's most recent amendment is Ordinance 2009-37 (November 2009); the borough's published list of adopted-but-uncodified ordinances contains no rent-control amendments as of August 13, 2026. The regime is actively administered by a Rent Leveling Board with members seated through 2028.", "cap_plain": "The general limit is 5% of the prior base rent, at most once every 12 consecutive months. For qualified senior citizens and disabled tenants the limit is 3.5%, applied through a maximum-annual-percentage formula built from weighted operating-cost, tax, and utility components with its own caps and carryover rules. Increases beyond the limits are void, and the board may grant at most one hardship or capital-improvement increase per year, conditioned on code compliance and current taxes.", "coverage_plain": "Any building, structure, trailer, or trailer-park land rented to one or more tenants, except motels, hotels, and structures of fewer than three units with one unit owner-occupied. Fort Lee Housing Authority dwellings and certain small nonprofit buildings serving subsidized tenants are exempt. Housing completed after January 1, 1977 is unrestricted in its initial rent, and New Jersey's state exemption for newly constructed multiple dwellings (up to 30 years) applies separately.", "vacancy_plain": "Limited vacancy decontrol for single-family homes, condominium, and cooperative rental units only: on a voluntary vacancy or lawful eviction these may be re-rented at market, conditioned on registering the new rental within 60 days, with monetary penalties for failure. Standard apartment buildings get no vacancy decontrol, transfers within a building are capped at 15%, and re-rentals of decontrolled units require a board-filed notice — without the board's written receipt any increase on the unit is illegal.", "eviction_limits_plain": "The chapter imposes no eviction restrictions (state law governs), but its anti-harassment rule fines frivolous eviction threats or legal proceedings up to $2,000 per act, with repeat violations also forfeiting increase rights for three years and exposing the landlord to reimbursement of up to six months' rent.", "registration_plain": "Landlords must register their identity, units, rents, and tenants with the Rent Leveling Office (housed at the Fort Lee Housing Authority), and no board relief is available unless the landlord has been registered for at least six months. Every new rental must be registered within 60 days. Owners of five or more units must report vacancies lasting 10 days and re-rent within 60 days absent an extension — an anti-warehousing rule with fines of $500 to $2,000 per day.", "extras_plain": "Increase notices go by certified mail to the tenant and the board with the calculations. Complaint, capital-improvement, and hardship applications carry modest fixed fees plus a professional-review escrow. Rebate complaints can reach back six years. Agents and brokers share liability for violations, with licensing-board referrals available.", "current_figures": null, "citations": [ { "statute": "Code of the Borough of Fort Lee § 324-2 (5% cap; senior/disabled 3.5%)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/10069189", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(B)–(C)" }, { "statute": "Code of the Borough of Fort Lee § 324-9 (limited vacancy decontrol)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/10069189", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Code of the Borough of Fort Lee § 324-36 (post-1977 initial rent unrestricted)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/10069189", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Borough of Fort Lee — Rent Leveling Board", "url": "https://www.fortleenj.org/315/Rent-Leveling-Board", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Fort Lee limits rent increases for most rental units to 5% of the base rent, no more than once every 12 months, with a lower 3.5% cap for qualified senior citizens and disabled tenants. Single-family homes, condominiums, and co-op rental units can be re-rented at a market rate when they become vacant, as long as the new rental is registered with the borough's Rent Leveling Board within 60 days. New construction gets a break: the ordinance leaves the initial rent of housing completed after January 1, 1977 unrestricted, and New Jersey law separately exempts newly built multiple dwellings from local rent control for up to 30 years.", "notes": [ { "label": "The senior/disabled cap runs through a formula", "text": "the 3.5% figure is the ceiling of a maximum-annual-percentage calculation that weights operating costs, taxes, and utilities; in a given year the allowable senior/disabled increase can be below 3.5%. The Rent Leveling Office computes the current percentage." }, { "label": "An old ordinance by design", "text": "Chapter 324's most recent amendment dates to 2009. The borough's published pending-ordinance list showed eleven adopted-but-uncodified ordinances as of August 13, 2026 — parking, traffic, salaries, fire prevention, filming, and alcohol measures — none touching Chapter 324." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "NJ", "locality": "Hoboken", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/new-jersey/hoboken/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "NJ", "locality": "Hoboken", "locality_slug": "hoboken", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Control", "page_title": "Hoboken, NJ Rent Control", "topic_verified": "2026-08-13", "status_plain": "In force today. Adopted January 16, 1984, with rents controlled from an October 1, 1985 base. Codified as Hoboken Code Chapter 155 and amended frequently, most recently October 22, 2025 (Ordinance B-818, adding proof-of-previous-rent requirements and an annual filing-accuracy review by the rent office). A COVID-era increase moratorium ran April 2020 to May 2022; the 2020 index increase remains permanently disallowed.", "cap_plain": "Annual increases are limited to 5% or the change in the consumer price index, whichever is less; periodic tenants get at most one increase per 12 months based on the index change from 15 to 3 months before the increase. Increases require 30 days' written notice with reasons and a certificate of substantial compliance with housing standards. On top of the base cap, the ordinance allows municipal-tax and water/sewer surcharges, board-approved capital-improvement surcharges (raising base rent at most a third in any 12 months), and hardship increases to a fair return.", "coverage_plain": "All dwelling units, broadly defined, except motels and hotels, newly constructed dwellings for their first rental only, industrial and commercial space (apartments in mixed buildings stay covered), student housing, government housing, buildings completely vacant since January 1, 1984 for their first rental only, and multiple dwellings under New Jersey's state new-construction exemption (up to 30 years, with required filings; when that exemption expires the last exempt rent becomes the controlled base).", "vacancy_plain": "Capped vacancy decontrol: when a registered unit is voluntarily vacated or lawfully recovered, the landlord may set the new tenant's starting rent up to 25% above the last rent paid, after which the unit is controlled again from the new base. A unit may be decontrolled this way at most once every three years, and the office issues a $50 decontrol certificate. Condominium and cooperative units rented by bona fide owner-occupants of two or more years get a one-time uncapped initial rent when they move out and rent the unit.", "eviction_limits_plain": "The chapter defines just cause for eviction by reference to state law and imposes no local eviction restrictions of its own.", "registration_plain": "Annual rent registration by June 30 listing tenants, rents, the last increase, and lease expirations, now with proof of the previous rent; filings are public documents and the rent office must review at least a tenth of them each year and publish results. Failure draws fines of $100 to $2,000 per unit, a doubled fee, and loss of index increases and decontrol rights. Registration is also a precondition to tax surcharges.", "extras_plain": "Landlords must give tenants a disclosure statement on board forms; serving it starts the two-year window for refund claims. Tax-appeal savings pass through to tenants net of costs, and declining services can lower rent. Violations are fined up to $2,000, counted per unit and per demand.", "current_figures": null, "citations": [ { "statute": "Hoboken Code § 155-5 (5%-or-CPI cap)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/15252438", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Hoboken Code § 155-2 (coverage and exemptions)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/15252438", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Hoboken Code §§ 155-31–155-34 (capped vacancy decontrol)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/15252438", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Hoboken Code § 155-30 (annual registration)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/15252438", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Hoboken — Rent Leveling and Stabilization Office", "url": "https://www.hobokennj.gov/departments/rent-leveling-and-stabilization-office", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Hoboken limits annual rent increases for covered apartments to the change in the consumer price index or 5%, whichever is less, with extra pass-throughs allowed for property-tax, water/sewer, and approved capital-improvement costs. When a tenant leaves voluntarily, the landlord may reset the next tenant's starting rent, but only up to 25% above the prior rent and no more than once every three years for the same unit, after which the new rent is controlled again. Landlords must register rents with the city's Rent Leveling and Stabilization Office by June 30 each year, and newer buildings can be exempt for up to 30 years under New Jersey's new-construction exemption law.", "notes": [ { "label": "No published annual percentage", "text": "the operative index change is computed from the lease's own timing (the index 15 months before the increase versus 3 months before), so there is no single citywide annual figure; the rent office computes the number for a given tenancy on request." }, { "label": "The 2020 increase is permanently off the table", "text": "increases deferred during the 2020–2022 moratorium may be taken prospectively, but the index increase attributable to 2020 is disallowed outright." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "NJ", "locality": "Jersey City", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/new-jersey/jersey-city/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "NJ", "locality": "Jersey City", "locality_slug": "jersey-city", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Control", "page_title": "Jersey City, NJ Rent Control", "topic_verified": "2026-08-13", "status_plain": "In force today. The current chapter was adopted February 7, 1986, continuing an earlier regime, and stays in force until the City Council determines by ordinance that rent control is no longer necessary. It is codified as Code of Jersey City Chapter 260, published through Supplement 52 (May 2025 ordinances). The most recent amendment, Ordinance 26-028 (adopted May 20, 2026, approved May 21, 2026), brings utility charges billed through ratio utility billing systems under the definition of rent; it had not yet been folded into the published code as of mid-August 2026.", "cap_plain": "Annual increases are limited to 4% or the change in the consumer price index, whichever is less, with at most one cost-of-living increase in any 12-month period. Increases may take effect only at lease expiration or termination; an increase at any other time is void. The city publishes the allowable percentage month by month, and in mid-2026 the computed index change repeatedly exceeded 4%, so the 4% ceiling governed. Board-approved capital-improvement surcharges (up to 15% of the legal rent in the first year) and hardship increases to a fair return can add to the base cap.", "coverage_plain": "Rented housing space in buildings of five or more units, with exemptions for dwellings of four or fewer units, hotels and motels, commercial and industrial space, public housing, newly constructed buildings of 25 or more units in council-approved redevelopment areas, and qualifying new construction under New Jersey's state exemption law (up to 30 years). The first rent of a newly constructed or newly rented unit is unrestricted if the unit is registered; buildings certified vacant as of July 1, 1998 are permanently exempt.", "vacancy_plain": "No general vacancy decontrol: base rent carries over to the next tenant. On a vacancy the landlord may exceed the cost-of-living increase only through documented capital improvements to the unit, at fixed dollar-per-$100-spent rates with a re-registration fee.", "eviction_limits_plain": "The chapter defines just cause for eviction by reference to state law and adds no independent eviction restrictions. Harassment of tenants carries fines up to $1,000 and up to 90 days' imprisonment.", "registration_plain": "Annual registration between January 1 and March 3 for every building of five or more units, whether or not any unit is exempt, plus registration within 7 days of a purchase after April 1, at $10 per housing space. A separate registration applies to non-occupant owners of one-to-four-unit rentals. A current rent roll registration is a precondition to any increase.", "extras_plain": "Late-rent and returned-check charges are capped at $35. Landlords must give 30 days' notice of an increase with the index calculation, and tenants have six months to contest an increase; if no rental statement was served, the two-year limit on refund claims does not run. Buildings must disclose the prior tenant's rent within 10 days of a request. As of the May 2026 amendment, utility fees billed to tenants through ratio utility billing systems count as rent under the cap. The Office of Landlord/Tenant Relations administers the ordinance and the Rent Leveling Board meets monthly.", "current_figures": null, "citations": [ { "statute": "Code of Jersey City § 260-3 (cap; increase timing; vacancy)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/nj/jersey_city/codes/code_of_ordinances", "official": true, "pinpoint": "A–C" }, { "statute": "Code of Jersey City § 260-1 (definitions; covered dwellings)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/nj/jersey_city/codes/code_of_ordinances", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Code of Jersey City § 260-2 (controls; registration)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/nj/jersey_city/codes/code_of_ordinances", "official": true, "pinpoint": "F–G" }, { "statute": "City of Jersey City — Landlord/Tenant Relations (monthly allowable-percentage chart)", "url": "https://www.jerseycitynj.gov/cityhall/HousingAndDevelopment/housingpreservation/landlordtenantrelations", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Jersey City limits rent increases in covered buildings to the lesser of 4 percent or the change in the regional consumer price index, with no more than one increase in any 12-month period. The ordinance generally applies to rental buildings with five or more units; buildings with four or fewer units are exempt, and qualifying newly constructed buildings can be exempt for up to 30 years under state law. Landlords must register covered and exempt multi-unit buildings with the city each year, and as of a May 2026 amendment, utility charges billed to tenants through ratio utility billing systems count as rent under the cap.", "notes": [ { "label": "Use the city's monthly chart for the operative percentage", "text": "the ordinance states the cap as a formula over the federal consumer price index; the city's Landlord/Tenant Relations office publishes the resulting allowable percentage for each month, capped at 4%, and that chart is the authoritative number for a given lease's timing." }, { "label": "The RUBS amendment awaits codification", "text": "Ordinance 26-028 (May 2026) declares utility fees, however calculated, part of rent for rent control purposes. It is law now, but the published code text will not show it until the next supplement." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "NJ", "locality": "Newark", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/new-jersey/newark/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "NJ", "locality": "Newark", "locality_slug": "newark", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Control", "page_title": "Newark, NJ Rent Control", "topic_verified": "2026-08-13", "status_plain": "In force today. Newark has controlled rents in covered buildings since September 4, 1985 under the current chapter, with earlier ordinances reaching back further; the chapter was readopted in 2017 and has been amended repeatedly since, most recently by a May 2026 registration-and-inspections overhaul and a June 2026 ordinance not yet folded into the published code. The codified law is Revised General Ordinances of Newark, Title XIX, Chapter 19:2.", "cap_plain": "Annual increases are limited to the change in the consumer price index measured from 15 months before to 3 months before the proposed increase, and in no case more than 4%. Increases are allowed only at lease expiration or termination, once per 12 months, and only if the building is registered and in substantial code compliance. On top of the base cap, the ordinance allows a property-tax surcharge, amortized major-improvement surcharges, utility surcharges capped by building size, and hardship increases to a fair return — but all increases for a tenant combined may not exceed 25% in any one year.", "coverage_plain": "All multiple dwellings as the chapter defines them. Exempt: public housing, transient hotel and motel rooms, commercial space, newly constructed buildings (exempt for the initial mortgage amortization period or 30 years, whichever is less, with Rent Control Board certification), qualifying rehabilitated vacant buildings, Rental Rehabilitation program units during program tenure, and agency-contract regulated units during the contract.", "vacancy_plain": "No vacancy decontrol: the capped percentages apply per unit in any 12-month period regardless of tenant changes, ownership changes, or vacancy. Narrow exceptions exist for long-vacant buildings substantially rehabilitated (a five-year exemption) and a one-time increase of up to 10% for a vacant unit rehabilitated at a cost above 12 months' rent.", "eviction_limits_plain": "The chapter imposes no general eviction scheme (state law governs), but it bars reprisals against tenants who exercise rights under it and provides protected-tenancy processing for senior and disabled tenants in condominium conversions.", "registration_plain": "Every rental unit, including short-term rentals, must be registered with the city annually with tenancy data, the prior rent, the index percentage used, and the actual increase. Renting without registration and a certificate of habitability is prohibited, inspections run every three years or on occupancy change, and no rent increase is allowed unless registration is current. Annual fees are $50 per building plus $10 per unit, with late and inspection fees on top.", "extras_plain": "Landlords must give the tenant and the city's Rent Regulation Officer 30 days' notice of any increase with the amounts and percentages. Parking fees tied to the tenancy are registered and controlled like rent. Tenants share in property-tax decreases and 75% of successful tax appeals, excess rent is refundable up to two years back, and service reductions can lower rent on a fixed schedule. Violations carry fines up to $2,000 per offense counted per unit and per demand, and the ordinance must be posted in English and Spanish.", "current_figures": null, "citations": [ { "statute": "Rev. Gen. Ords. of Newark § 19:2-3.1 (CPI cap, 4% ceiling)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/36623772", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Rev. Gen. Ords. of Newark § 19:2-3.2 (no vacancy decontrol; 30-day notice)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/36623772", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Rev. Gen. Ords. of Newark § 19:2-18.1 (new-construction exemption)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/36623772", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)" }, { "statute": "Rev. Gen. Ords. of Newark § 19:2-22 (25% aggregate annual limit)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/36623772", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)" }, { "statute": "City of Newark — Division of Rent Control", "url": "https://www.newarknj.gov/255/Division-of-Rent-Control", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Newark limits annual rent increases in covered buildings to the change in the regional consumer price index, capped at 4%, and the cap applies even when a unit turns over to a new tenant. The ordinance covers most residential rental buildings, with exemptions for public housing, transient hotel and motel rooms, and newly constructed buildings, which are exempt for up to 30 years. Landlords must register every rental unit with the city's Office of Rent Control each year and obtain a certificate of habitability before renting, and no increase is allowed unless the building is code-compliant and registered.", "notes": [ { "label": "Small owner-occupied buildings are not exempt from the cap", "text": "the chapter defines owner-occupied buildings of four or fewer units, but the current text gives them only an inspection-fee break — not an exemption from rent control. Guides claiming Newark exempts small owner-occupied buildings from rent control are describing another city's ordinance or an older text." }, { "label": "The city computes the current percentage", "text": "the operative percentage each month comes from the federal consumer price index series the ordinance specifies, subject to the 4% ceiling; Newark's rent control office publishes the administrative figure, and the office is the authoritative source for the number to use in a notice." }, { "label": "June 2026 amendment pending codification", "text": "an ordinance adopted June 17, 2026 (signed June 24, 2026) amends related housing-code provisions and had not yet been folded into the published chapter as of mid-August 2026." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "NJ", "locality": "Passaic", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/new-jersey/passaic/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "NJ", "locality": "Passaic", "locality_slug": "passaic", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Stabilization", "page_title": "Passaic, NJ Rent Stabilization", "topic_verified": "2026-08-17", "status_plain": "In force today. Passaic has regulated rents since the 1980s, and the current rules were rewritten during 2025: the chapter was renamed from Rent Control to Rent Stabilization on January 7, 2025, and the cap was cut twice that year, most recently by Ordinance No. 2494-25, adopted September 2, 2025 and effective September 22, 2025. The law is Chapter 231 of the Code of the City of Passaic, and the published code carries legislation through January 20, 2026.", "cap_plain": "Rent may be raised only once in any 12-month period, on the anniversary date of the tenancy. For most tenancies the increase is capped at 3%. On top of that, a landlord who gets a municipal property tax increase may pass along the share matching the portion of the building's floor area the unit occupies, itemized separately in the increase notice; that tax amount is not counted when working out the next year's permitted increase. A tighter, older rule still applies to tenants who have lived in the unit since December 9, 1999 or earlier: their increase is the smaller of the change in the consumer price index for New York and northeastern New Jersey or $25 a month. Where such a long-term household has two people or fewer, at least one aged 65 or older, and the older occupant's income is $50,000 a year or less, $25 a month is the ceiling on everything combined, including any tax share. Landlords may ask the Rent Leveling Board to go above the cap for a capital improvement or for hardship if the cap prevents a fair return. The 3% rule is written to last six years and, by the city's account, applies through 2031.", "coverage_plain": "Apartments, flats, and condominium or cooperative units used as homes are covered. Not covered: hotels and motels, one-family houses, owner-occupied two-family houses, a single condominium or cooperative unit where the owner holds no other unit in the building or complex apart from one the owner lives in, rooms rented by nonprofit organizations, rooming units in licensed rooming and boarding houses, and new residential construction completed after May 1, 1978. Units renting below $75 per room where the landlord pays for heat, or $60 per room where the tenant does, are also outside the chapter. Buildings put up after 1996 are exempt from the 3% rule for the length of the first mortgage or 30 years after construction is finished, whichever is shorter, and the landlord must tell affected tenants in writing. Property covered by a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with the city is exempt until that agreement ends. New Jersey law separately exempts newly built multiple dwellings from local rent limits for the first mortgage's amortization period or 30 years, whichever is less.", "vacancy_plain": "A vacancy does not reset the rent. The 2025 rule says the limits stay in effect when a unit becomes vacant, and the city tells landlords the base rent and its increase history follow the unit to the next tenant. This reversed the earlier position: an older section of the same chapter, still printed in the code, said the chapter did not apply to a unit that became vacant after December 9, 1999, and guides written before 2025 describe Passaic that way. The Rent Leveling Board now treats a unit that became vacant after 1999 as covered by the 3% rule.", "eviction_limits_plain": "State law governs evictions. The chapter bars provocation or retaliation against tenants who want to stay, and lists reductions in heat, hot water, or security, harassing calls or letters, and baseless eviction threats as harassment. It also blocks any increase where the landlord has not registered tenants or cannot certify code compliance. One provision runs the other way: a tenant's deliberate refusal to let the landlord in for necessary repairs, on 48 hours' written notice on a weekday between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., can count toward a state-law ground for eviction.", "registration_plain": "Landlords must file tenant registrations for every unit with the city's Division of Housing and give copies to the Rent Leveling Board, and must do so every year. The registration form names the tenants, the square footage rented and of each room, the number of rooms and occupants, the landlord's or agent's name, address and telephone number, and the monthly rent for each unit; landlord and tenant both sign it, and it is due within 15 days of occupancy. No rent increase is allowed unless registration is current. The landlord's or agent's name, address, and telephone number must be posted in the ground-floor hall. Applying to the Rent Leveling Board for a surcharge or a service reduction costs $50 per apartment unit, capped at $1,000 per building; tenants pay nothing to apply.", "extras_plain": "An increase requires 30 days' written notice that itemizes the old rent, the new rent, any surcharges, the date the new rent starts, and the section of the chapter allowing it, and the notice must carry the landlord's certification that registration is current and that the unit substantially complies with the city's property maintenance code. Landlords must give every tenant a copy of the chapter, keep a rent log for each apartment, and hand each tenant an annual rent allocation statement on the tenancy anniversary. Tenants get the benefit of tax relief: 100% of a successful tax appeal refund, less the owner's documented appeal costs, within 45 days, and 100% of any tax reduction. Cutting services entitles tenants to a proportionate rent reduction that lowers the base rent. Capital improvement and hardship applications go to a public hearing with 10 days' certified-mail notice to each tenant. Board decisions can be appealed to the City Council within 20 days, which pauses the decision. Violations carry a fine of up to $1,000 or up to 90 days in jail, or both, counted separately for each tenancy affected, and a landlord who is late returning a tax reduction pays $100 a day on top.", "current_figures": null, "citations": [ { "statute": "Code of the City of Passaic § 231-23 (Rent Stabilization of 2025: 3% cap, tax pass-through, vacancy, post-1996 construction, six-year term)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/46045166", "official": true, "pinpoint": "A" }, { "statute": "Code of the City of Passaic § 231-24 (annual tenant registration required before any increase)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/49369613", "official": true, "pinpoint": "B" }, { "statute": "Code of the City of Passaic § 231-25 (30-day itemized notice; registration and code-compliance certifications)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/49369616", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Code of the City of Passaic § 231-1 (definitions and exemptions)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/8638097", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Code of the City of Passaic § 231-2 (earlier vacancy rule, superseded)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/8638103", "official": true, "pinpoint": "B" }, { "statute": "Code of the City of Passaic § 231-4 (older cap for long-standing tenancies; senior limit)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/8638107", "official": true, "pinpoint": "A, C" }, { "statute": "Code of the City of Passaic § 231-14 (penalties)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/8638181", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Code of the City of Passaic § 231-16 (application fees)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/8638183", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Code of the City of Passaic ch. 185 (tenant registration with the Division of Housing)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/8636863", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§ 185-3" }, { "statute": "City of Passaic — Rent Leveling Board", "url": "https://www.cityofpassaic.com/512/Rent-Leveling", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City of Passaic — Rent Stabilization Ordinance of 2025, guide for landlords", "url": "https://www.cityofpassaic.com/DocumentCenter/View/11573/LANDLORDS-Housing-Trifold-Brochure-PDF", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "City Council agenda, September 2, 2025 (adoption of Ordinance No. 2494-25)", "url": "https://www.cityofpassaic.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09022025-678", "official": true, "pinpoint": "item VI.4" }, { "statute": "Rent Leveling Board minutes, September 11, 2025 (effective date of Ordinance No. 2494-25)", "url": "https://www.cityofpassaic.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_09112025-773", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "N.J.S.A. 2A:42-84.1 to -84.6 (state exemption for newly constructed multiple dwellings)", "url": "https://www.nj.gov/dca/codes/publications/pdf_lti/new_const_m_dwell_law.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": "2A:42-84.2(a)" } ], "summary_plain": "Passaic caps most rent increases at 3% a year, and the cap still applies when a new tenant moves in. The limit took effect on September 22, 2025 under Ordinance No. 2494-25 and replaced a 6% cap set earlier the same year. A landlord may add a separate, itemized share of any municipal property tax increase based on the unit's share of the building's floor area, and may ask the Rent Leveling Board to go higher for a capital improvement or for hardship. Tenants who have lived in the same unit since December 9, 1999 or earlier fall under an older, tighter limit of the consumer price index or $25 a month, whichever is smaller. Hotels, one-family houses, owner-occupied two-family houses, single condominium and cooperative units, buildings put up after 1996 for up to 30 years, and properties under a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement are exempt. No increase is allowed unless the landlord has filed tenant registrations for the year and certifies that the unit meets the city's property maintenance code, and the tenant must get 30 days' itemized written notice.", "notes": [ { "label": "The 3% cap is written to expire", "text": "the section carrying the 3% limit runs for six years from the date it took effect, and the city's guide for landlords says it applies through 2031. Unless the City Council extends it, the older limits in the same chapter would take over again." }, { "label": "Guides written before 2025 describe a different Passaic", "text": "until January 2025 the chapter was called Rent Control, the ceiling was the consumer price index capped at $25 a month, and a separate section said the chapter did not apply to any unit that became vacant after December 9, 1999. That vacancy section is still printed in the code, so older summaries repeat it, but the 2025 section overrides it and the Rent Leveling Board applies the 3% limit to units that became vacant after 1999." }, { "label": "The cap moved twice in 2025", "text": "the January 2025 ordinance set 8%, a February 2025 ordinance cut it to 6%, and the September 2025 ordinance cut it to 3%. Anyone relying on a figure from earlier in 2025 is working from a superseded number." }, { "label": "Two different limits are in force at the same time", "text": "which one applies turns on how long the tenancy has run. Households in place since December 9, 1999 or earlier stay under the older consumer price index and $25 limit; everyone else falls under the 3% rule. The Rent Leveling Board sorts cases into one track or the other." }, { "label": "Two construction dates appear in the chapter", "text": "the definitions section excludes residential construction completed after May 1, 1978 from the chapter entirely, while the 2025 section gives buildings put up after 1996 a time-limited exemption of up to 30 years. The city's own guides describe only the post-1996 rule." }, { "label": "There is no annual percentage to look up for the 3% rule", "text": "the 3% figure is written into the ordinance and changes only when the City Council amends it. For the older long-term-tenancy limit, the city's Department of Human Resources works out the consumer price index percentage and posts it on the bulletin board outside the City Clerk's office." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "NJ", "locality": "Paterson", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/new-jersey/paterson/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "NJ", "locality": "Paterson", "locality_slug": "paterson", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Leveling", "page_title": "Paterson, NJ Rent Leveling", "topic_verified": "2026-08-17", "status_plain": "In force today. Paterson has limited rent increases since December 18, 1979, when the City Council adopted Ordinance 79-111, and the law has been amended many times since, most recently by Ordinance 23-013 on February 28, 2023. The law is Chapter 381, Rent Leveling, of the Code of the City of Paterson, and the published code takes in legislation through December 16, 2025. There is no expiration date.", "cap_plain": "A landlord may raise the rent once a year by no more than 5%, without applying to anyone. The limit drops to 3.5% where the head of household is 65 or older or has been found disabled by the Social Security Administration under its Social Security Disability or Supplemental Security Income disability programs. It drops again to 2.5% for those same tenants when the tenant's monthly income is $1,000 or less and total monthly household income is $1,500 or less; a tenant claiming that limit provides proof of income and proof of current rent. Leases running longer than a year may write the same yearly percentages into the lease. Only one increase per apartment is allowed in any 12-month period, and no increase is allowed at all while the building falls short of code compliance or the property registration is not up to date. Separately, a landlord may apply to the Rent Leveling Administrator for a surcharge covering capital improvements or added services, or for a hardship increase where the return on the owner's equity is short of a fair return, treated as no more than 6 percentage points above the best passbook savings rate in the city.", "coverage_plain": "The rules reach every rented dwelling in Paterson with two or more units, or three or more units where the owner lives in the building. Exempt: buildings where only one unit is rented, hotels, motels, licensed rooming houses, housing owned or subsidized by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development or the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency or regulated by the New Jersey Public Housing and Development Authority, buildings constructed after December 23, 1999 for the amortization period of the first mortgage or 30 years, whichever is shorter, substantially rehabilitated buildings, and units certified under the city's neighborhood preservation or rehabilitation programs. An owner claiming the new-construction exemption files a written claim with the Municipal Construction Official at least 30 days before the certificate of occupancy is issued, and every lease in an exempt building must tell the tenant the building is exempt and how long the exemption runs. Converting to a condominium or co-op is not an exemption; the owner files notice with the Rent Leveling Board.", "vacancy_plain": "There is no general vacancy decontrol. The yearly percentage limits attach to the apartment, so a new tenant does not reset the rent. One narrow exception applies: where a property that was on the city's vacant and abandoned property list is rehabilitated, its units are decontrolled for the first new tenant's rent. The landlord then files a vacancy decontrol certification with the Rent Leveling Administrator within 15 days of renting, with a copy to the tenant, and no unit may be decontrolled this way more than once in any three-year period.", "eviction_limits_plain": "State law governs evictions, and the chapter adds no grounds. It does bar reprisal: a landlord may not bring an action to recover possession as a reprisal for a tenant's efforts to secure or enforce a right under the chapter. A landlord also may not evict a tenant in order to carry out rehabilitation work, and an application for a rehabilitation exemption is denied outright if the Rent Leveling Administrator finds tenants were pressured to leave.", "registration_plain": "Every dwelling unit must be registered with the Rent Leveling Board, updated each year, and a registration must accompany every application filed with the Rent Leveling Office. The filing lists each unit's address, the manager's and owner's names and addresses, the rent for each unit, the services provided, any surcharge in force and the date it expires, and the date of the last increase. The city charges no fee for the annual property registration form, which is due within 30 days of being obtained. A landlord cannot take the yearly increase unless the property registration for the current year is up to date, and the increase notice must include it.", "extras_plain": "A landlord must give both the tenant and the Rent Leveling Administrator at least 30 days' written notice of an increase, stating the tenant's name and apartment number, when the current lease began, the present rent, the previous year's rent and the date of the last increase, and the increase in both dollars and percent. Applying for a capital improvement surcharge costs $50 per apartment up to $500 per building, and a hardship application costs $50 per apartment; appealing a Board decision to the City Council costs $100 within 15 days, with the appellant paying for the transcript, and contested money sits in escrow meanwhile. Where a landlord lets services lapse, the chapter sets fixed rent reductions: 50% for a roof leak that makes a unit uninhabitable, 45% for no heat, 35% for dangerous electrical fixtures, 30% for no water, 20% for no hot water, 15% for each broken plumbing fixture, and 10% each for a dead stove or refrigerator and for an elevator out through the landlord's neglect. Complaints must be filed within 12 months of the increase or the conduct complained of. An illegal increase draws a fine of $100 to $1,500, up to 90 days in jail, or up to 90 days of community service, and each apartment affected counts as a separate violation. Board rules, notices and orders are printed in English and Spanish.", "current_figures": null, "citations": [ { "statute": "Code of the City of Paterson § 381-14A (annual increase limits of 5%, 3.5% and 2.5%; one increase per 12 months)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/8553068", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(1)-(3)" }, { "statute": "Code of the City of Paterson § 381-3E (buildings covered: two or more units, three or more if owner-occupied)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/8553068", "official": true, "pinpoint": "E" }, { "statute": "Code of the City of Paterson § 381-11 (exemptions; new construction after December 23, 1999; filing and lease disclosure)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/8553068", "official": true, "pinpoint": "A(1)-(8), C, D" }, { "statute": "Code of the City of Paterson § 381-24 (decontrol after rehabilitation of an abandoned-list property)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/8553068", "official": true, "pinpoint": "A-C" }, { "statute": "Code of the City of Paterson § 381-4 (Rent Leveling Board; registration of dwelling units)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/8553068", "official": true, "pinpoint": "A, G, K" }, { "statute": "Code of the City of Paterson § 381-15 (30 days' notice; contents; current-year registration)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/8553068", "official": true, "pinpoint": "A, B, D" }, { "statute": "Code of the City of Paterson §§ 381-16 to 381-19 (capital improvement and hardship increases; fair return; fees)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/8553068", "official": true, "pinpoint": "381-17C, 381-18B, 381-19D" }, { "statute": "Code of the City of Paterson § 381-20 (rent reductions when services lapse)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/8553068", "official": true, "pinpoint": "C" }, { "statute": "Code of the City of Paterson §§ 381-21, 381-22 (12-month filing deadline; penalties; reprisal bar)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/8553068", "official": true, "pinpoint": "381-22A, B" }, { "statute": "City of Paterson — Rent Leveling", "url": "https://www.patersonnj.gov/department/division.php?structureid=87", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Paterson limits a landlord to one rent increase a year of no more than 5%, with a 3.5% limit where the head of household is 65 or older or disabled under Social Security, and 2.5% for those tenants at the lowest incomes. The rules cover rented buildings of two or more units, or three or more where the owner lives in the building, and exempt hotels, motels, licensed rooming houses, subsidized housing, and buildings constructed after December 23, 1999 for up to 30 years. A landlord must give the tenant and the Rent Leveling Administrator 30 days' written notice, and gets no increase at all if the building is not in substantial code compliance or the property registration for the year is not current. The percentages are written into the ordinance, so there is no yearly figure to look up.", "notes": [ { "label": "The lower limits for older and disabled tenants are in the ordinance", "text": "the 3.5% and 2.5% limits are written into Chapter 381 itself, not set by the Rent Leveling Board, so they do not change from year to year. The 2.5% limit is the newest, added in February 2023, and its $1,000 monthly income and $1,500 household income thresholds are fixed amounts that do not rise with inflation." }, { "label": "There is no tax surcharge in Paterson", "text": "the tax surcharge provisions, and with them the tenant's share of tax reductions and successful tax appeals, were repealed in June 1985. Only capital improvement, added-service and hardship increases remain available on top of the yearly percentage. Guides that describe a Paterson property-tax surcharge are describing another city or a version of the law that has not applied for more than 40 years." }, { "label": "The city's printed guide is older than the law", "text": "the rent leveling brochure posted on the city's website still describes the new-construction cutoff as 1976 and does not mention either the owner-occupied three-unit threshold added in 2017 or the 2.5% limit added in 2023. Chapter 381 as published in the city code is the current text." }, { "label": "Who decides", "text": "the Rent Leveling Board has 11 members — nine appointed by the City Council and two by the Mayor, made up of five tenants, four landlords and two homeowners — and must meet at least four times a year. It hears surcharge, hardship and exemption applications and tenant complaints; the yearly percentage increase needs no application to anyone. Its decisions can be appealed to the City Council within 15 days, on the record only." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "NY", "locality": "New York City", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/new-york/new-york-city/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "NY", "locality": "New York City", "locality_slug": "new-york-city", "record_type": "local_ordinance", "regime_name": "Rent Regulation (Rent Stabilization, Rent Control, and Good Cause Eviction)", "page_title": "New York City Rent Regulation", "topic_verified": "2026-08-13", "status_plain": "In force today — three overlapping systems. (1) Rent stabilization under the NYC Rent Stabilization Law (NYC Administrative Code Title 26, Chapter 4), administered by the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal, with annual limits set by the city's Rent Guidelines Board. (2) Legacy rent control (Title 26, Chapter 3) for a shrinking stock of pre-1947 buildings with continuous tenancies predating July 1971. (3) New York's Good Cause Eviction law (Real Property Law Article 6-A), which has applied in the city automatically since April 20, 2024 and is scheduled to expire June 15, 2034.", "cap_plain": "For rent-stabilized apartments the Rent Guidelines Board sets each year's limits: for leases commencing October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, 3% for one-year leases and 4.5% for two-year leases (Order #57); for leases commencing October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, 0% for both one- and two-year leases — a rent freeze (Order #58). For legacy rent-controlled apartments, the annual collectible increase is the lesser of 7.5% or the five-year average of the board's one-year adjustments, on a maximum-base-rent system. For most other market-rate tenancies, Good Cause Eviction makes an increase above the local rent standard presumptively unreasonable — the standard is the lesser of 5% plus regional inflation or 10%.", "coverage_plain": "Rent stabilization covers most apartments in buildings of six or more units completed before February 1, 1947 whose tenants moved in after June 30, 1971, plus post-1947 buildings receiving certain tax benefits; high-rent and high-income deregulation were repealed in 2019. Legacy rent control covers pre-1947 buildings where the tenancy has been continuous since before July 1, 1971. Good Cause Eviction covers most other market-rate rentals, with exemptions including small landlords (portfolios of 10 or fewer units statewide), owner-occupied buildings of 10 or fewer units, already-regulated units, income-restricted affordable housing, condominium and cooperative units, buildings with a certificate of occupancy on or after January 1, 2009 (for 30 years), and units renting above 245% of fair market rent.", "vacancy_plain": "Stabilized units stay stabilized on turnover at the board-set increases; vacancy deregulation was repealed in 2019. A rent-controlled apartment leaves rent control when the protected tenancy ends, generally passing into rent stabilization if the building qualifies.", "eviction_limits_plain": "Stabilized and controlled tenants have statutory renewal and eviction protections administered by the state housing agency. Good Cause Eviction requires a legal ground to evict or refuse renewal for covered market-rate tenancies and makes above-standard increases evidence in the tenant's favor.", "registration_plain": "Owners of rent-stabilized units must register each unit with the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal and file an annual rent statement; an owner who fails to register on time cannot collect more than the last registered legal rent until the filing is made.", "extras_plain": "The special guideline for units leaving rent control remains 49% above the maximum base rent. Loft-board units follow the same board orders. The board's orders are adopted each June after public hearings and apply by lease commencement date.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Rent Guidelines Board — one-year / two-year lease increases (Order #57)", "value": "3% / 4.5%", "period": "Leases commencing October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2026", "source_url": "https://rentguidelinesboard.cityofnewyork.us/2025-26-apartment-loft-order-57/", "official": true }, { "label": "Rent Guidelines Board — one-year / two-year lease increases (Order #58, rent freeze)", "value": "0% / 0%", "period": "Leases commencing October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://rentguidelinesboard.cityofnewyork.us/2026-27-apartment-loft-order-58/", "official": true }, { "label": "Good Cause Eviction local rent standard, NYC region", "value": "8.38% — computed from the statutory formula (5% plus the 3.38% regional inflation figure in the state housing agency's May 2026 notice; capped at 10%)", "period": "Annual notice as of May 4, 2026", "source_url": "https://hcr.ny.gov/good-cause-eviction", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "NYC Admin. Code § 26-504 (rent stabilization coverage)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCadmin/0-0-0-47306", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)–(b)" }, { "statute": "NYC Admin. Code § 26-510 (Rent Guidelines Board)", "url": "https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCadmin/0-0-0-235021", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(a)–(b)" }, { "statute": "NYS Homes and Community Renewal — Rent Control (maximum base rent system)", "url": "https://hcr.ny.gov/rent-control", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "N.Y. Real Property Law §§ 211–216 (Good Cause Eviction)", "url": "https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPP/A6-A", "official": true, "pinpoint": "§§ 211(7)–(8), 212, 214, 216" }, { "statute": "NYC Rent Guidelines Board — Apartment/Loft Order #58", "url": "https://rentguidelinesboard.cityofnewyork.us/2026-27-apartment-loft-order-58/", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "New York City limits rent increases through three overlapping systems. Most apartments in pre-1947 buildings with six or more units are rent-stabilized, with increases set each year by the Rent Guidelines Board — 3% (one-year) and 4.5% (two-year) for leases starting through September 30, 2026, and a 0% freeze for leases starting between October 1, 2026 and September 30, 2027. A small number of apartments occupied continuously since before July 1971 in pre-1947 buildings remain under the older rent control system. Most other market-rate tenants are covered by New York's Good Cause Eviction law, which makes increases above a yearly standard — currently 8.38% in the city — presumptively unreasonable and requires a legal reason to evict or refuse a renewal.", "notes": [ { "label": "The 2026–27 freeze applies by lease start date", "text": "Order #58's 0% applies to leases commencing October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. A lease commencing before October 1, 2026 falls under Order #57's 3%/4.5% for its full term." }, { "label": "The 8.38% figure is computed, not printed", "text": "the Good Cause standard is set by formula — the lesser of 5% plus the regional inflation rate or 10%. The state housing agency's May 2026 notice publishes the regional inflation figure (3.38%); adding the statutory 5% gives 8.38%, below the 10% ceiling. The notice also lists the fair-market-rent thresholds (from $6,196 for an efficiency to $9,700 for a four-bedroom in the five boroughs) above which units are exempt." }, { "label": "Stabilization eligibility is building-by-building", "text": "tax-benefit programs bring some post-1947 buildings into stabilization, and individual apartments' histories matter; the state housing agency's records, not the building's age alone, settle a unit's status." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "NY", "locality": "New York municipalities outside NYC", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/new-york/etpa-rent-stabilization/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "NY", "locality": "New York municipalities outside NYC", "locality_slug": "etpa-rent-stabilization", "record_type": "state_framework", "regime_name": "Emergency Tenant Protection Act (opt-in rent stabilization)", "page_title": "ETPA Rent Stabilization Outside NYC", "topic_verified": "2026-08-13", "status_plain": "In force today as an opt-in framework. The Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974 lets a municipality that documents a rental vacancy rate below 5% declare a housing emergency and adopt rent stabilization; the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act removed the old geographic restriction, so any municipality in the state may now adopt it. Forty municipalities currently participate: 16 in Nassau County, 2 in Rockland, 21 in Westchester, and the City of Kingston in Ulster County — the one post-2019 upstate adoption still in effect, upheld by the New York Court of Appeals in June 2025.", "cap_plain": "In participating municipalities, county rent guidelines boards (and Kingston's own board) set annual one- and two-year lease increase limits for October-through-September guideline years. For leases commencing October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027: Nassau 1.5%/2.5%, Rockland 5%/6%, Westchester 3.5%/4.5%; Kingston's rates for that year were not yet set as of the state housing agency's July 2026 publication.", "coverage_plain": "Generally buildings of six or more units built before January 1, 1974 in a municipality that has declared an emergency and adopted the act; a municipality may narrow coverage (some cover only larger buildings). The state Division of Housing and Community Renewal administers registration, overcharge, lease, and services enforcement, charging each municipality $20 per regulated unit per year, recoverable from owners.", "vacancy_plain": "Stabilized units stay stabilized on turnover at board-set increases, under the same state administration as New York City's stabilized stock.", "eviction_limits_plain": "Stabilized tenants in participating municipalities have statutory renewal and eviction protections. Separately, New York's Good Cause Eviction law is opt-in outside New York City: 19 localities had adopted it as of the state's May 2026 notice, including Albany, Beacon, Binghamton, Hudson, Ithaca, Kingston, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, New Rochelle, and White Plains, some with locally adjusted thresholds.", "registration_plain": "Owners of stabilized units register with the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal, which enforces the system in participating municipalities.", "extras_plain": "Three municipalities adopted the act after 2019 and then reversed or lost it: Newburgh (declared void in 2024), Nyack (opted out in 2024), and Poughkeepsie (declared void in 2024). Kingston's adoption survived court challenge, and its guidelines board once set a negative adjustment for its initial period.", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Nassau County — one-year / two-year lease increases", "value": "1.5% / 2.5%", "period": "Leases commencing October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://hcr.ny.gov/fact-sheet-26", "official": true }, { "label": "Rockland County — one-year / two-year lease increases", "value": "5% / 6%", "period": "Leases commencing October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://hcr.ny.gov/fact-sheet-26", "official": true }, { "label": "Westchester County — one-year / two-year lease increases", "value": "3.5% / 4.5%", "period": "Leases commencing October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027", "source_url": "https://hcr.ny.gov/fact-sheet-26", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974 (McKinney's Unconsol. Laws § 8623)", "url": "https://hcr.ny.gov/rent-stabilization-and-emergency-tenant-protection-act", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "NYS Homes and Community Renewal — Fact Sheet #8 (ETPA municipalities)", "url": "https://hcr.ny.gov/fact-sheet-8", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "NYS Homes and Community Renewal — Fact Sheet #26 (current guideline rates)", "url": "https://hcr.ny.gov/fact-sheet-26", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "N.Y. Real Property Law § 213 (Good Cause Eviction opt-in)", "url": "https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPP/A6-A", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Outside New York City, rent stabilization is opt-in: a city, town, or village that documents a rental vacancy rate below 5 percent can declare a housing emergency and adopt the Emergency Tenant Protection Act, and since 2019 any municipality in the state may do so. Forty municipalities currently participate — mostly in Nassau, Rockland, and Westchester counties, plus the City of Kingston — with annual rent-increase limits set by county rent guidelines boards and administered by the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal. A separate 2024 law, Good Cause Eviction, is likewise opt-in outside New York City, and 19 localities have adopted it so far.", "notes": [ { "label": "Check the municipality, not just the county", "text": "the act applies municipality by municipality. In Nassau, for example, 13 villages, two cities, and one town participate; a rental in a non-participating village next door is not stabilized. The state's Fact Sheet #8 lists every participating municipality." }, { "label": "Guideline years run October through September", "text": "county boards adopt rates each summer for leases commencing October 1 through September 30, so two different rates can be current at once depending on when a lease begins." }, { "label": "The participation list can change", "text": "municipalities continue to study adoption, and three post-2019 adoptions were later reversed or struck down. The state's published lists are the place to confirm current participation." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "RI", "locality": "New Shoreham (Block Island)", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/rhode-island/new-shoreham/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "RI", "locality": "New Shoreham (Block Island)", "locality_slug": "new-shoreham", "record_type": "no_local_regime", "regime_name": "Rent Control (none exists)", "page_title": "New Shoreham, RI: No Rent Control", "topic_verified": "2026-08-13", "status_plain": "New Shoreham has no rent control or rent stabilization ordinance. The town code contains no chapter regulating rent increases; the only rent-adjacent local law is a short-term rental licensing ordinance adopted in July 2024, and the Block Island Housing Board develops affordable housing and administers a small rental tax without any rent-cap authority.", "cap_plain": null, "coverage_plain": "Rentals in New Shoreham are governed by Rhode Island state landlord-tenant law, which sets no rent cap.", "vacancy_plain": null, "eviction_limits_plain": "State law governs; the town adds no rent-regulation-related eviction rules.", "registration_plain": null, "extras_plain": "Short-term rentals require a town license under the 2024 ordinance (Town Code Chapter 8, Article XII).", "current_figures": null, "citations": [ { "statute": "Code of the Town of New Shoreham (no rent control chapter)", "url": "https://ecode360.com/NE4081", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "New Shoreham (Block Island) has no rent control: claims that the town caps rent increases at 5% or the inflation rate have no basis in the town code, which contains no rent regulation chapter at all. The claim circulates in several landlord guides but does not correspond to any ordinance the town has adopted. Rhode Island state law, which sets no rent cap, governs rent increases in the town.", "notes": [ { "label": "Where the false claim appears", "text": "more than one aggregator guide attributes a '5% or inflation, whichever is lower' rent cap to New Shoreham, with disputes heard by 'local housing authorities.' No such ordinance exists in the town code, and the Block Island Housing Board has no rent-cap function." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "RI", "locality": "Providence", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/rhode-island/providence/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "RI", "locality": "Providence", "locality_slug": "providence", "record_type": "no_local_regime", "regime_name": "Rent Stabilization (none in force)", "page_title": "Providence, RI: No Rent Stabilization", "topic_verified": "2026-08-13", "status_plain": "No rent stabilization is in force in Providence. The City Council passed a rent stabilization ordinance (a 4% annual cap with a Residential Rent Regulation Board, drafted as new sections of Code Chapter 13) on final passage April 16, 2026; Mayor Brett Smiley vetoed it, and the override vote failed on May 15, 2026 with 9 of 15 votes — one short of the required two-thirds. The ordinance never became law, and the city's Code of Ordinances contains no rent stabilization article.", "cap_plain": null, "coverage_plain": "Providence rentals are governed by Rhode Island state landlord-tenant law, which sets no rent cap. No city ordinance limits rent increases.", "vacancy_plain": null, "eviction_limits_plain": "State law governs; the city adds no rent-regulation-related eviction rules.", "registration_plain": null, "extras_plain": "Rent regulation remains an active political question in Providence — the 2026 measure had majority council support, and the issue features in the city's 2026 mayoral race — so this could change.", "current_figures": null, "citations": [ { "statute": "Providence City Council — as-passed rent stabilization ordinance (vetoed; override failed May 15, 2026)", "url": "https://council.providenceri.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Rent-Stabilization-Ordinance-Updated-040126.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Code of Ordinances, City of Providence (no rent stabilization article)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/ri/providence/codes/code_of_ordinances", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Providence has no rent control or rent stabilization in force: a 2026 ordinance that would have capped annual increases at 4% was vetoed by the mayor, and the City Council's override attempt failed on May 15, 2026. Guides that list Providence as a rent-stabilized city are wrong as of August 2026 — the measure passed the council but never became law. Rhode Island state law, which sets no rent cap, governs rent increases in the city.", "notes": [ { "label": "Why this page exists", "text": "several widely used landlord guides state that Providence has rent stabilization. The claim traces to the council's April 2026 passage of the ordinance; the veto and the failed override that followed are the part those guides missed." }, { "label": "Watch status", "text": "the 2026 measure had nine council votes and the question remains live in city politics; a future council could pass a similar ordinance." } ] } }, { "_meta": { "dataset": "Landlord Atlas 50-State Landlord-Tenant Law Dataset", "dataset_version": "1.19.0", "published_at": "2026-08-26T14:30:00Z", "license": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/license/", "attribution": "Landlord Atlas (https://landlordatlas.com) — cite by name, link the relevant page, and carry the record's verification date.", "disclaimer": "Landlord Atlas is not a law firm. This dataset provides general information about state landlord-tenant statutes for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Use of this data does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change: rely on the citations and verification dates carried in each record, and confirm against the cited statute before acting.", "schema": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/schema-locality.json", "changelog": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/changelog.json", "version_manifest": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/version.json", "contact": "contact@landlordatlas.com", "state_code": "WA", "locality": "Seattle", "canonical_page": "https://landlordatlas.com/laws/washington/seattle/", "localities_url": "https://landlordatlas.com/data/localities.json" }, "record": { "state_code": "WA", "locality": "Seattle", "locality_slug": "seattle", "record_type": "no_local_regime", "regime_name": "Rent Control (none; barred by state law)", "page_title": "Seattle, WA: No Local Rent Control", "topic_verified": "2026-08-17", "status_plain": "Seattle has no rent control or rent stabilization of its own, and Washington law does not let it adopt one. RCW 35.21.830, in force since 1981 and never amended, says rent control is a matter of statewide significance and no city or town may enact, maintain, or enforce any provision regulating the amount of rent charged for residential rental property. What limits rent increases in Seattle is state law instead: RCW 59.18.700 has capped most residential rent increases across Washington since May 7, 2025. Under that state law a landlord may not raise the rent at all during the first 12 months of a tenancy, and after that may raise it once in any 12-month period by no more than 7% plus inflation, or 10%, whichever is lower; the Washington State Department of Commerce publishes the exact percentage for each calendar year, usually in July for the year ahead. There is no vacancy control: state law lets a landlord set the rent at any amount after a tenant moves out and the tenancy ends. Seattle adds no cap of its own and cannot.", "cap_plain": null, "coverage_plain": "The state ban on local rent control covers every city and town in Washington and reaches single-family and multiple-unit rental property; it does not reach housing in public ownership or under public management, or low-income housing provided under a public-private agreement, and a 1981 note preserves local rules on rent at floating home moorage sites. The state cap covers most residential rentals in Seattle but not all: increases are not limited for a unit whose first certificate of occupancy was issued 12 or fewer years before the notice, for public housing authority, public development authority or qualifying nonprofit housing with regulated rents, for low-income housing tax credit properties, for a unit where the tenant shares a kitchen or bathroom with a resident owner, for a single-family owner-occupied home where the owner rents no more than two units or bedrooms, or for an owner-occupied duplex, triplex or fourplex. The last three of those do not apply if the owner is a real estate investment trust, a corporation, or a limited liability company with a corporate member.", "vacancy_plain": null, "eviction_limits_plain": "Seattle requires just cause to end a tenancy. A landlord may end or refuse to renew a tenancy only for one of the reasons listed in Municipal Code 22.205.010 and no others, and may not evict at all while the property is unregistered with the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (22.214.040) — every rental property in Seattle must be registered before it can be rented, a registration lasts two years, and as of January 2026 the fee is $126 per property covering the first unit plus $31.50 for each additional unit, with a $52.50 late fee and an inspection at least once every 5 to 10 years. Two seasonal defenses apply. A moderate-income household renting from an owner who owns more than four rental units in Seattle can defend against an eviction that would force it out between December 1 and March 1 (22.205.080). A child, a student, a person with legal custody of one, or a school employee can defend against an eviction that would force them out during the Seattle school year (22.205.110). Both defenses have exceptions, including owner move-in and sale of a single-family home, which carry their own 90 days' notice. Every housing-cost increase needs 180 days' written notice (7.24.030), and at the end of a fixed-term lease the landlord must offer a renewal on reasonable terms 60 to 90 days before it expires unless a just cause applies (7.24.030.J).", "registration_plain": null, "extras_plain": "Seattle regulates a great deal about renting other than the amount of rent. A landlord must give 180 days' written notice before raising rent or any other recurring housing cost, or 30 days where rent is set by the tenant's income under a subsidy (Municipal Code 7.24.030). If increases reach 10% or more within a 12-month period, the notice must include an Economic Displacement Relocation Assistance notice, and a household earning 80% or less of the area median income that moves out because of the increase can claim three times its average monthly housing costs; the landlord pays the city within 7 days and the city pays the household within 14 days (Chapter 22.212). A landlord also may not raise rent for the purpose of avoiding the city's tenant relocation assistance rules (22.210.136). A separate program pays relocation assistance to low-income tenants displaced by demolition, substantial rehabilitation, change of use, or removal of rent restrictions (Chapter 22.210). A security deposit and non-refundable move-in fees together may not exceed one month's rent, the non-refundable fees alone may not exceed 10% of the first month's rent, and a tenant may pay them in installments at no extra cost (7.24.035). Late fees are capped at $10 a month and no fee at all may be charged for serving a notice (7.24.034). Landlords must publish their screening criteria, review completed applications in the order received, and offer the unit to the first applicant who meets all of them (14.08.050), and may not apply a blanket exclusion of people with arrest or conviction records (14.09.025). A tenant may add one additional resident plus immediate family within legal occupancy limits, and the landlord may not impose extra screening on people who are not tenants (7.24.030). Since 2025 the city has also barred landlords from paying for rent-setting software that coordinates pricing across competing landlords (Chapter 7.34).", "current_figures": [ { "label": "Maximum annual rent increase, statewide", "value": "9.683%", "period": "January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026", "source_url": "https://www.commerce.wa.gov/housing-policy/hb1217-landlord-resource-center/", "official": true }, { "label": "Maximum annual rent increase, statewide", "value": "10%", "period": "January 1, 2027 to December 31, 2027", "source_url": "https://www.commerce.wa.gov/housing-policy/hb1217-landlord-resource-center/", "official": true } ], "citations": [ { "statute": "RCW 35.21.830 (local rent control preempted)", "url": "https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=35.21.830", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "RCW 59.18.700 (statewide limit on rent increases; expires July 1, 2040)", "url": "https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18.700", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(1), (8)" }, { "statute": "RCW 59.18.710 (exemptions from the statewide limit)", "url": "https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18.710", "official": true, "pinpoint": "(1), (2)" }, { "statute": "Washington State Department of Commerce, Landlord Resource Center (annual maximum rent increase)", "url": "https://www.commerce.wa.gov/housing-policy/hb1217-landlord-resource-center/", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 7.24 (rental agreement regulation: notice, fees, deposits, renewal, additional residents)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/wa/seattle/codes/municipal_code", "official": true, "pinpoint": "7.24.030, 7.24.034, 7.24.035" }, { "statute": "Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 7.34 (algorithmic rent fixing)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/wa/seattle/codes/municipal_code", "official": true, "pinpoint": "7.34.030" }, { "statute": "Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 22.205 (just cause eviction)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/wa/seattle/codes/municipal_code", "official": true, "pinpoint": "22.205.010, 22.205.080, 22.205.110" }, { "statute": "Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 22.210 (tenant relocation assistance)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/wa/seattle/codes/municipal_code", "official": true, "pinpoint": "22.210.130, 22.210.136" }, { "statute": "Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 22.212 (economic displacement relocation assistance)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/wa/seattle/codes/municipal_code", "official": true, "pinpoint": "22.212.010, 22.212.030, 22.212.050" }, { "statute": "Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 22.214 (rental registration and inspection)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/wa/seattle/codes/municipal_code", "official": true, "pinpoint": "22.214.030, 22.214.040" }, { "statute": "Seattle Municipal Code 14.08.050 (first-in-time) and Chapter 14.09 (use of screening records in housing)", "url": "https://library.municode.com/wa/seattle/codes/municipal_code", "official": true, "pinpoint": "14.08.050, 14.09.025" }, { "statute": "Seattle Resolution 31620 (asking the Legislature to modify or repeal RCW 35.21.830; adopted September 21, 2015)", "url": "https://webapi.legistar.com/v1/seattle/matters/3014", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Seattle Council Bill 120606 (rent control provisions; did not pass)", "url": "https://webapi.legistar.com/v1/seattle/matters/14324", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance program fees (January 2026)", "url": "https://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/SDCI/Codes/RRIO/RRIOProgramFees.pdf", "official": true, "pinpoint": null }, { "statute": "Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, Economic Displacement Relocation Assistance program page", "url": "https://www.seattle.gov/rentinginseattle/housing-providers/moving-a-tenant-out/economic-displacement-relocation-assistance", "official": true, "pinpoint": null } ], "summary_plain": "Seattle has no rent control of its own and cannot adopt one: RCW 35.21.830 has barred Washington cities from regulating the amount of rent since 1981. Rent increases in Seattle are capped by state law instead. Since May 7, 2025, RCW 59.18.700 has barred any increase during a tenancy's first 12 months and limited later increases to 7% plus inflation or 10%, whichever is lower, with the exact figure set each year by the Washington State Department of Commerce: 9.683% for 2026 and 10% for 2027. Guides that call Seattle rent-controlled are wrong, and guides that say Seattle has no rent rules at all are also wrong. The city requires 180 days' notice of any rent increase, makes landlords fund relocation assistance for lower-income households pushed out by increases of 10% or more, requires just cause to end a tenancy, and requires every rental property to be registered before it can be rented.", "notes": [ { "label": "Why this page exists", "text": "Seattle is one of the most-searched cities for rent control, and it is easy to mistake its long list of tenant protections for a rent cap. It is not one: state law forbids the city from limiting the amount of rent, and the only cap that applies is the statewide one. Many guides also still cite Municipal Code 22.206.160(C) for Seattle's just cause eviction rules; those provisions were renumbered into Chapter 22.205 and 22.206.160 now covers only a landlord's maintenance duties." }, { "label": "One court limit to know", "text": "Seattle's fair chance housing rule bars a blanket exclusion of applicants with arrest or conviction records, but the city's code carries a reviser's note recording that a landlord may still inquire about those records, following Yim v. City of Seattle, 63 F.4th 783 (9th Cir. 2023)." }, { "label": "Watch status", "text": "the statewide limit in RCW 59.18.700 expires July 1, 2040 unless the Legislature extends it, and no 2026 bill changed it. Seattle's City Council passed a rental fee ordinance on August 11, 2026 that would rewrite the fee rules in Chapter 7.24; it had not been enacted as of August 17, 2026. A 2023 council bill that would have created rent control provisions in Seattle, contingent on the state ban being lifted, did not pass." } ] } } ] }