California AB 1482: Tenant Protection Act (statewide)
The statewide fallback. It applies to units that are not covered by a stricter local rent-control ordinance and are not exempt. Where a local ordinance applies, the local cap is used instead.
Every figure we hold
Applies August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027
Civil Code §1947.12(a)(1): 5% plus the percentage change in the cost of living, or 10%, whichever is lower, measured against the lowest gross rent charged in the previous 12 months. The index is fixed by §1947.12(g)(1)(A)(i), the CPI-U for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metropolitan area, which covers the Counties of Los Angeles and Orange and no others. For an increase taking effect on or after August 1, §1947.12(g)(3)(B)(ii) uses April of that year against April of the year before, rounded to the nearest tenth. We recomputed it from the BLS series itself: April 2025 = 342.565 to April 2026 = 355.166 is +3.678%, which rounds to 3.7%. 5% + 3.7% = 8.7%, below the 10% ceiling. No government page publishes the finished percentage, which is why so many sites still show last year's number.
Source: BLS CPI-U series CUURS49ASA0: Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim (recomputed from the raw series) Verified August 9, 2026
Applies August 1, 2025 through July 31, 2026
Same series, one year back: April 2024 = 332.572 to April 2025 = 342.565 is +3.004%, rounding to 3.0%; 5% + 3.0% = 8.0%.
Source: BLS CPI-U series CUURS49ASA0: Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim (recomputed from the raw series) Verified August 9, 2026
Civil Code §1947.12(a)(1): 5% plus CPI "or 10 percent, whichever is lower". The cap can never exceed 10%, whatever CPI does.
Source: California Civil Code §1947.12 (Tenant Protection Act rent cap) Verified August 9, 2026
Civil Code §827(b)(2), which §1947.12(e) points at for any increase under the state cap. This is the statewide floor and it applies whether or not a rent cap does.
Source: California Civil Code §827 (notice of a change in rent) Verified August 9, 2026
Civil Code §827(b)(3)(A). The 12 months are counted back from the effective date of the increase. Under the state cap this tier is unreachable: the cap itself never exceeds 10%.
Source: California Civil Code §827 (notice of a change in rent) Verified August 9, 2026
Code of Civil Procedure §1013(a) adds five calendar days to the notice period when the notice is served by mail, where the place of address and the place of mailing are both in California. §827(b)(1)(B) and (b)(2) point at §1013 by name. Post it 30 days out and it is late.
Source: California Code of Civil Procedure §1013 (service by mail) Verified August 9, 2026
Civil Code §1946.2(e)(8)(B)(i) and §1947.12(d)(5)(B)(i) set out one identical mandatory statement: "This property is not subject to the rent limits imposed by Section 1947.12 of the Civil Code and is not subject to the just cause requirements of Section 1946.2 of the Civil Code. This property meets the requirements of Sections 1947.12 (d)(5) and 1946.2 (e)(8) of the Civil Code and the owner is not any of the following: (1) a real estate investment trust…; (2) a corporation; or (3) a limited liability company in which at least one member is a corporation." Under §1946.2(e)(8)(B)(iii) and §1947.12(d)(5)(B)(iii) it must be in the rental agreement for any tenancy commenced or renewed on or after July 1, 2020 (July 1, 2022 for a tenancy in a mobilehome). Without it, the exemption is not available and both the cap and the just-cause rules apply.
Source: California Civil Code §1946.2 (just cause and exemptions) Verified August 9, 2026
A verified negative. Civil Code §1950.5 is the whole of the state's residential deposit law and it contains no interest requirement anywhere in its text. Some cities do require it. LA City and West Hollywood are the ones in our coverage area that we have confirmed.
Source: California Civil Code §1950.5 (security deposits): the whole of the state's deposit law, which requires no interest Verified August 9, 2026
Recurring dates
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New AB 1482 statewide cap takes effect (Los Angeles and Orange Counties)
The cap for August 1 through July 31 is recomputed from April CPI under Civil Code §1947.12(g)(3)(B)(ii). For 2026–27 it is 8.7%, up from 8.0%.
Source: BLS CPI-U series CUURS49ASA0: Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim (recomputed from the raw series) Verified August 9, 2026
What takes this cap away
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Issued a certificate of occupancy within the last 15 years
: Civil Code §1947.12(d)(4). The date that counts is the certificate of occupancy, not when the building was finished or sold, and the exemption does not apply to a mobilehome. It is a rolling exemption: a certificate issued in 2012 is exempt in 2026 and stops being exempt in 2027.
Source: California Civil Code §1947.12 (Tenant Protection Act rent cap)
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A home that can be sold on its own (single-family house or condominium) in private ownership
: Civil Code §1947.12(d)(5) and §1946.2(e)(8): residential real property alienable separate from the title to any other dwelling unit, provided the owner is not a real estate investment trust, a corporation, a limited liability company with at least one corporate member, or the management of a mobilehome park. And only if the rental agreement carries the exact statutory exemption statement, for any tenancy commenced or renewed on or after July 1, 2020 (July 1, 2022 for a mobilehome). No statement, no exemption.
Source: California Civil Code §1946.2 (just cause and exemptions)
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Owner-occupied duplex
: Civil Code §1947.12(d)(6): two separate dwelling units within a single structure, where the owner occupied one as their principal place of residence at the beginning of the tenancy and still does, and neither unit is an accessory dwelling unit or a junior accessory dwelling unit.
Source: California Civil Code §1947.12 (Tenant Protection Act rent cap)
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Deed-restricted or subsidised affordable housing
: Civil Code §1947.12(d)(1): housing restricted by deed, by a regulatory agreement with a government agency, or by another recorded document as affordable housing for very low, low or moderate income households, or subject to an agreement providing such subsidies.
Source: California Civil Code §1947.12 (Tenant Protection Act rent cap)
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A dormitory owned and operated by a school or college
: Civil Code §1947.12(d)(2).
Source: California Civil Code §1947.12 (Tenant Protection Act rent cap)
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Covered by a stricter local rent-control ordinance
: Civil Code §1947.12(d)(3): housing under a local ordinance that restricts annual increases to less than the state formula allows. This is not really an exemption: it means a tighter rule applies, and the local cap is used instead.
Source: California Civil Code §1947.12 (Tenant Protection Act rent cap)
What we do not hold
- The exemption list is read straight from Civil Code §1947.12(d), and the disclosure from §1946.2(e)(8)(B) and §1947.12(d)(5)(B). What we cannot read off a statute is your side of it: which exemption you fall under turns on your ownership structure, your certificate of occupancy date and what your rental agreement actually says. Use the exemption checker as a starting point and confirm before you rely on it.
- The 8.7% is the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CPI-U, which Civil Code §1947.12(g)(1)(A)(i) assigns to Los Angeles and Orange Counties only. A property in Riverside or San Bernardino County is on its own index under §1947.12(g)(1)(A)(ii) and gets a different number. Do not carry this one across the county line.
- Both halves of the Tenant Protection Act are dated: Civil Code §1947.12 and §1946.2 are each repealed as of January 1, 2030 by their own terms. Nothing changes before then unless the Legislature acts, but the cap is not permanent law.
Today's AB 1482 increase figure is 8.7%. These figures move, and no one writes to tell you.
Source: BLS CPI-U series CUURS49ASA0: Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim (recomputed from the raw series) Verified August 9, 2026
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