How much can my landlord raise my rent in California?

If the unit is covered by the state cap, no more than 5% plus regional inflation or 10%, whichever is lower, in any 12-month period. For the year from 1 August 2026 that was between 8.1% and 8.8% depending on the county. The figure is measured against the lowest rent charged in the previous 12 months rather than your current rent, and two increases in a year are allowed as long as they do not exceed the annual limit together. A local ordinance may allow less.

How much notice does my landlord have to give in California?

Thirty days in writing for an increase of 10% or less, and 90 days for an increase above 10%, under Civil Code section 827(b). Because the state cap already forbids a covered unit going above 10%, a lawful 90-day notice means the unit is exempt from the cap. If you receive one and believe your home is covered, either the exemption applies or the increase does not comply with the cap, and it is fair to ask which.

Can my landlord raise the rent in the middle of my lease in California?

Not while a fixed term is running, unless the lease itself plainly allows it. Rent is a term of the agreement and cannot be changed by announcement. On a month-to-month tenancy the landlord can raise it with the required notice. If what you received is a notice ending your tenancy rather than raising the rent, that is a different document with different consequences and worth getting advice on before you respond.

How Much Can a Landlord Raise the Rent in California?

Q: I rent a single-family house. Am I exempt from the rent cap?

Possibly, but not automatically. The exemption applies only if the owner is an individual rather than a corporation, a real estate investment trust or certain LLCs, and only if the owner has given you written notice that the property is not subject to the rent limits. That notice is a condition of the exemption under section 1947.12(d)(5). A landlord who never served it and then charges above the cap is treated as being in violation of it.

If your home is covered by California’s rent cap, your landlord cannot raise the rent by more than 5% plus regional inflation, or 10%, whichever is lower, in any 12 months. For most of the state that worked out between 8.1% and 8.8% for the year from 1 August 2026. You are entitled to 30 days’ written notice, or 90 days if the increase is above 10%.

The hard part is not the percentage. It is whether the cap reaches your unit at all — and two things on the notice tell you more about that than most tenants realise.

What the cap measures, which is not what you pay now

The limit in Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 is measured against the lowest gross rent charged in the previous 12 months — not your current rent. If the rent already went up once this year, the second increase is measured from where you started. Two increases are allowed in 12 months, but together they cannot exceed the annual figure.

The cap was added by the Tenant Protection Act of 2019 and, as written, it is repealed on 1 January 2030.

A 90-day notice is telling you something

This is worth a minute. Cal. Civ. Code § 827(b) requires 30 days’ notice for an increase of 10% or less, and 90 days for anything above 10%. But the cap already forbids a covered unit from going above 10%.

So a lawful increase above 10% can only happen on a unit the cap does not reach. If you have been handed a 90-day notice, there are only two possibilities: your home is exempt from the cap, or the increase is unlawful. Which one it is depends on the next section, and it is a reasonable thing to ask your landlord to put in writing.

California tiers the notice by the size of the increase; Maryland tiers it by the length of the tenancy.

The exemption your landlord has to tell you about

Single-family houses and condominiums are exempt from the cap — but only if the owner is an individual rather than a corporation, a real estate investment trust or certain LLCs, and only if the owner has given you written notice that the property is not subject to the rent limits. That notice requirement sits in § 1947.12(d)(5).

That second condition is the one worth knowing. A landlord who never served the notice and then raises the rent above the cap is treated as being in violation of it. If you rent a house or condo, never received anything saying the unit is exempt, and have been given an increase above the cap, the exemption your landlord relies on may not be available.

The other exemptions cover housing with a certificate of occupancy issued in the last 15 years — a rolling window a building ages out of — owner-occupied duplexes, deed-restricted affordable housing and dormitories. Sources disagree on their subdivision numbering.

Your city may cap it lower

California is the one state with both a statewide cap and local rent control under it. Around 31 cities run their own ordinances — Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Berkeley, Santa Monica and Sacramento among them — as does unincorporated Los Angeles County, and a local ordinance generally allows less. The state figure is your ceiling, not your answer.

If the increase is over the cap

Write to your landlord, name § 1947.12, give the figure charged and the figure the cap allows, and ask which exemption they rely on. In a capped state this is not a negotiation — it is a figure. Keep it short and keep a copy. An increase above the cap on a covered unit is not enforceable, and most of these end once someone shows they have read the statute.

On validity: the notice must be in writing, run its full period from when you received it, and start at the beginning of a rental period.

When this needs a lawyer

Get advice if the increase followed a repair request, if the figure exceeds a local board’s allowance, or if you were served a termination rather than an increase. California’s tenant legal aid network is dense and mostly free.

Sources

Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (rent cap, added by AB 1482, Tenant Protection Act of 2019) and Cal. Civ. Code § 827(b) (notice). Regional cap percentages for 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2027 are published annually and were 8.1% to 8.8% depending on county. Local ordinance list follows the National Multifamily Housing Council’s state chart of August 2026. Verified November 2026. Sources disagree on the subdivision numbering of the exemptions other than the single-family notice, so check the current text on the legislature’s site before relying on a citation. This is general information, not legal advice about your tenancy.

California is one of only four places that cap the amount rather than just the notice. Oregon and Washington do it differently and more strictly, and the hub compares all 51 jurisdictions. If your deposit is the live question instead, see the 21-day rule in California.

Not sure whether your unit is covered?

Upload your lease and we will read the rent, renewal and notice clauses and tell you what they commit you to. No account needed, and the preview is free.

Read my lease