Landlord Atlas

Sacramento, California: Tenant Protection Program (Sacramento Tenant Protection Act)

Verified August 16, 2026 All California topics →

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.

Cited to Sacramento City Code § 5.156.020 (definitions) and 14 more sources · Verified August 16, 2026

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.

Current published figures

Figure Value Applies to Source
Annual maximum rent increase (covered units) 8.6% July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027 Official source
Annual maximum rent increase (prior year) 7.7% July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026 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, 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December 19, 2024), extending it through December 31, 2029; unless the council extends it again, the chapter is repealed on that date.

The rent increase limit

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.

What housing is covered

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.

What happens on vacancy

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 and termination rules

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 and filings

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.

Other requirements

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.

Notes and caveats

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Sacramento, California: Tenant Protection Program (Sacramento Tenant Protection Act) (verified August 16, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/california/sacramento/" — 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.