Landlord Atlas

Chula Vista, California: Rent Control (none; just-cause ordinance only)

Verified September 16, 2026 All California topics →

Chula Vista has no rent control: the city sets no rent ceiling and no allowable increase, and rent is limited only by California's statewide cap of 5% plus the change in the cost of living, or 10%, whichever is lower, which does not reach housing issued a certificate of occupancy in the previous 15 years.

Cited to Chula Vista Municipal Code Chapter 9.65 (Residential Tenant Protection Ordinance) and 16 more sources · Verified September 16, 2026

What Chula Vista does have is a Residential Tenant Protection Ordinance, in force since March 1, 2023 and amended effective April 1, 2024, that requires a stated reason to end a tenancy from the first day, where state law waits 12 months. Its four no-fault reasons each carry a relocation payment: in a complex of three or more units, two months of the federal small area fair market rent for the ZIP code or two months of actual rent, whichever is greater, and three months if the tenant is 62 or older or has a disability; elsewhere, one month of actual rent. The landlord must pay within 15 calendar days and tell the city within three business days. The ordinance also bans twelve kinds of bad-faith harassment and lets a tenant sue for $2,000 to $5,000 per violation per day. It repeals itself on January 1, 2030 unless the City Council extends it.

Current published figures

Figure Value Applies to Source
Maximum rent increase under state law, San Diego County 8.2% (5% plus a 3.2% rise in the San Diego-Carlsbad consumer price index for all urban consumers from March 2026 over March 2025, rounded to the nearest tenth of 1%; the law caps the total at 10%) increases taking effect August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027 Official source

These figures change on a published cycle; each row states the window it applies to and links the source that published it. Confirm the current figure at the source before acting on it.

What is in force

Chula Vista has no rent control of its own for apartments, houses, condominiums or duplexes. The city sets no rent ceiling and no allowable increase, and it has no rent board. Its Residential Tenant Protection Ordinance, Chula Vista Municipal Code Chapter 9.65, does something different: it requires a stated reason to end a tenancy and makes the landlord pay the tenant to move when the reason is no fault of the tenant's. It has been in force since March 1, 2023, and the City Council amended it effective April 1, 2024 to match changes in state law. What limits rent in Chula Vista is the statewide cap in California Civil Code Section 1947.12: over any 12-month period a landlord may not raise rent by more than 5% plus the change in the cost of living for the San Diego area, or 10%, whichever is lower, and that cap does not reach housing issued a certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years. California publishes no single annual number for that cap; it is worked out from the consumer price index for the San Diego-Carlsbad area, which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes only in odd-numbered months, so the statute's March comparison applies, and for increases taking effect between August 1, 2026 and July 31, 2027 it works out to 8.2%. There is no vacancy control: a landlord sets the rent freely for a new tenancy. One thing in Chula Vista is rent-regulated, and it is not covered by this page: space rents in mobilehome parks, under a separate chapter of the municipal code. Chapter 9.65 repeals itself on January 1, 2030 unless the City Council extends it.

What housing is covered

Chapter 9.65 reaches any dwelling or unit intended for human habitation in Chula Vista, with a list of exceptions. It does not apply to a single-family owner-occupied home, including a mobilehome, where the owner-occupant rents out no more than two units or bedrooms; to a two-unit structure where the owner lived in one unit at the start of the tenancy and still does, and neither unit is an accessory dwelling unit; to a single-family home or condominium that can be sold separately from any other dwelling, so long as the owner is not a real estate investment trust, a corporation, a limited liability company with a corporate member, or mobilehome park management, and the tenant was given the exact written exemption notice the ordinance sets out; to mobilehome owners and to renters of a mobilehome, who keep their state protections instead; to hotel stays; to any stay of 30 days or less, including short-term rentals; to housing in a nonprofit hospital, religious facility, extended care facility, licensed residential care facility for the elderly or adult residential facility; to housing or dormitories owned by the city, a college or a school; to a room where the tenant shares a bathroom or kitchen with a resident owner; or to deed-restricted or subsidized affordable housing. A tenant using a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher stays covered even in that last category. There is no exception for new buildings: a Chula Vista apartment built last year is outside the statewide rent cap but inside the local stated-reason and relocation duties. The ordinance then splits covered tenants into two groups. A tenant in a rental complex, meaning three or more units owned by the same owner on one lot, on touching lots, or on lots separated only by a street or alley, gets the larger relocation payment, the extra month for elderly or disabled households and a two-year right to be offered the unit again. A tenant outside a complex gets one month of rent and no right of return.

Eviction and termination rules

A landlord in Chula Vista may not end a tenancy without a reason the ordinance lists, and that duty starts on the first day of the tenancy. State law only requires a stated reason after a tenant has lived in the home for 12 months, so the local ordinance protects a new tenant that state law does not. The at-fault reasons are: not paying rent; breaking a material term of the lease; nuisance; waste; refusing to sign a similar renewal after a written request; criminal activity at the property or a criminal threat aimed at the owner, the owner's agent or another tenant; unlawful subletting or assignment; refusing lawful entry; using the home for an unlawful purpose, which does not include the fact that the unit itself was built without permits; an employee or licensee not leaving after their job ends; and not giving up possession after the tenant's own written notice. For a violation the tenant can fix, the landlord must first send a written description of the violation and a chance to cure before serving a three-day notice. There are only four no-fault reasons: the owner or a family member will move in within 90 days and live there as a primary residence for at least 12 months; a government or court order requires the unit to be vacated; the owner withdraws the unit from the rental market; or the owner will substantially remodel or completely demolish the unit. A substantial remodel is narrowly defined: a structural, electrical, plumbing or mechanical system replaced or substantially changed, costing at least $40.00 per square foot, needing a permit or hazardous-material abatement that cannot be done safely around the tenant, and requiring the home to be empty for more than 60 days. Painting, flooring, counters and minor repairs do not count. A no-fault notice runs at least 30 or 60 days under state law, must be in type no smaller than 12 point, and must give the reason, the tenant's right to relocation money or a rent waiver, and, for a complex tenant, the right to be offered the home again within two years and how to claim it. If the reason is an owner or family move-in, the notice must name the intended occupant and their relationship to the owner and tell the tenant they may ask for proof, which must then be provided. If the reason is a remodel or demolition, the notice must carry a set paragraph about re-renting, describe the work, give its expected length or the demolition date, and attach either the permits or, where abatement needs no permit, the signed contract with the contractor. The landlord must also send the city a copy-style notice of every no-fault termination within three business days, on a city form, and the city acknowledges it within three business days. Relocation money is owed whatever the tenant earns and however long they have lived there. In a rental complex it is the greater of two months of the federal small area fair market rent for the home's ZIP code or two months of the actual rent, and three months of the greater of the two if the tenant is 62 or older or has a disability. Outside a complex it is one month of actual rent. The landlord may instead waive the same amount of rent in writing. Payment is due within 15 calendar days of serving the notice, on top of returning the deposit, and on top of any relocation money another law requires. If the owner or family member does not move in within 90 days or does not stay 12 months, the landlord must offer the home back at the old rent and terms and repay reasonable moving costs above what was already paid. If a withdrawn unit in a complex is re-rented within two years, the landlord owes the last tenant the greater of six months at the ZIP code's small area fair market rent or six months of the old rent, unless the home went to a family member, to a non-rental use, or to a genuine outside buyer. A landlord who does not strictly comply with these requirements has served a void notice.

Other requirements

Chula Vista has no rent registry and no registration or license under Chapter 9.65, and no fee attached to it. The only thing a landlord files with the city is the notice of a no-fault termination, within three business days, and no filing is required for an at-fault termination. The city uses those notices to track displacement and to offer the household help, and publishes a dashboard of them. The ordinance also bans harassment. Twelve acts are prohibited when done in bad faith, meaning with intent to vex, annoy, harass, coerce, defraud, provoke or injure, including pushing a tenant to leave through unlawful conduct: cutting off or failing to provide services the lease or the law requires; not making required repairs; not using commercially reasonable diligence to start and finish repairs; abusing the right of entry, which covers inspections unrelated to needed repairs, entries excessive in number, entries that target particular tenants or gather evidence; abusive words likely to provoke an immediate violent reaction; using fraud, intimidation or coercion to make a tenant leave; threatening physical harm by word or gesture; breaking an anti-discrimination law; serving a termination notice or suing for possession on facts the landlord has no reasonable cause to believe or on a legal theory untenable on what the landlord knows; interfering with quiet use and enjoyment; refusing a lawful rent payment; and interfering with privacy, including entering or photographing parts of the home beyond a lawful entry. Services protected by that list are defined broadly and include parking, storage, utilities the owner pays, pest control, refuse removal, access to doors and gates, and the agreed number of occupants. Retaliation for using rights under the ordinance is separately banned, and a court may weigh the ordinance's protections in judging a retaliation claim. The harassment section does not reach mobilehome residency tenancies, which state law covers. Enforcement leans on tenants rather than the city: the ordinance says the city has sole discretion over whether to enforce and that private lawsuits are expected to be the main mechanism. A tenant may sue for an injunction, actual money damages and civil penalties of no less than $2,000 and no more than $5,000 per violation per day, with up to $5,000 per violation per day more if the tenant is 62 or older or has a disability. A landlord who tries to take back a home in material violation owes actual damages, and up to three times actual damages plus possible punitive damages if the landlord acted willfully or with oppression, fraud or malice. A violation is also a defense in an eviction case, and the court may award attorney's fees and costs to whoever prevails. The city can act too: it may require education, mediation or another dispute resolution program, issue citations and civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation per day for harassment, sue for an injunction and penalties, and the City Attorney has subpoena power. Cutting off heat, light, water, fuel, Wi-Fi or communications, or using threat, fraud, intimidation, coercion or duress against a tenant's peaceful occupancy, is a misdemeanor carrying a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months in jail, or both. Each day a violation continues counts separately, and any waiver of these rights is void. The City Manager may issue administrative regulations, which take effect 30 days after they are published on the city website; the current set is dated April 20, 2023 and does not yet describe the 2024 changes. Tenant notices must be given in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese or Korean when the lease was negotiated in that language, and the city publishes its forms in all six languages. Chula Vista does not have a right to counsel, an eviction diversion program, a local screening law, a local deposit or fee cap, or a seasonal eviction defense.

Notes and caveats

Citations

This page records local law. Statewide laws — deposits, notice periods, late fees, entry, evictions — live on the California hub, and the state-level position on local rent regulation appears there with its own citations and verification date.