Landlord Atlas

Inglewood, California: Housing Protection Ordinance

Verified August 17, 2026 All California topics →

Inglewood limits rent increases under its Housing Protection Ordinance, and the limit depends on the size of the property.

Cited to Inglewood Municipal Code ch. 8, art. 10, § 8-125 (definitions; units the rent rules do not cover) and 12 more sources · Verified August 17, 2026

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.

Current published figures

Figure Value Applies to Source
Maximum annual increase — property with 5 or more units 3.7% 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) Official source
Maximum annual increase — property with 4 or fewer units 8.7% 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) Official source
Maximum increase with approval where rent is below 80% of fair market rent — 5 or more units 8.7% 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) Official source
Maximum increase with approval where rent is below 80% of fair market rent — 4 or fewer units 10% 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) 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

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.

The rent increase limit

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.

What housing is covered

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.

What happens on vacancy

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 and termination rules

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 and filings

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.

Other requirements

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.

Notes and caveats

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Inglewood, California: Housing Protection Ordinance (verified August 17, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/california/inglewood/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified).

Citations

This page records local law. Statewide rules — 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.