City of Pasadena: Rent Stabilization (Charter Article XVIII / Measure H)
Covered rental units in the City of Pasadena.
Every figure we hold
Applies October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027
Charter §1808(a)(1) sets the AGA at 75% of the increase in the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County CPI for the twelve months ending in March, rounded to the nearest quarter of a percent. CPI rose 3.4% from March 2025 to March 2026; 75% of that is 2.5%. Adopted by the Rental Housing Board on June 18, 2026.
Source: Pasadena Rental Housing Board Resolution RHB-2026-10 (adopted 6/18/2026) Verified August 9, 2026
Applies October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026
Adopted by the Rental Housing Board on August 7, 2025.
Source: City of Pasadena: Rental Housing Board sets the 2025–2026 Annual General Adjustment at 2.25% Verified August 9, 2026
The FY2026–27 Rental Housing Fee. The registration window is September 1 through October 31, 2026.
Source: Pasadena Rental Registry Verified August 9, 2026
The registry's own tier table: +15% ($35.48 a unit) for a registration filed November 8 through December 15, 2026.
Source: Pasadena Rental Registry Verified August 9, 2026
The registry's own tier table: +30% ($70.96 a unit) for a registration filed December 16, 2026 through January 29, 2027.
Source: Pasadena Rental Registry Verified August 9, 2026
The registry's own tier table: +50% ($118.27 a unit) for a registration filed January 30, 2027 or later.
Source: Pasadena Rental Registry Verified August 9, 2026
Registration through November 7, 2026 carries no late penalty. After that the penalty is tiered: +15% ($35.48) at 8–45 days, +30% ($70.96) at 46–90 days, +50% ($118.27) at 91 days or more.
Source: Pasadena Rental Registry Verified August 9, 2026
Applies January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026
Charter §1806(f), through PRHB Regulations Chapter 10, requires interest to be paid each year on every tenant security deposit held for at least one year, at a rate the Rental Board sets annually. The Board surveys at least five FDIC banks with Pasadena branches on their October 1 savings rates, averages them, and adopts the figure by November 1 for the following calendar year.
Source: Pasadena Rent Stabilization: Security Deposit information sheet Verified August 9, 2026
PRHB Regulations Chapter 9 §I.1, citing Charter §1808(e)(1): a landlord who has failed to substantially comply with the Charter Amendment and the PRHB Regulations, including the rental registration requirements, may not impose an Annual General Adjustment rent increase on any covered rental unit. Charter §1808(e) puts two more conditions alongside it: no increase is effective if the unit is not maintained in compliance with Civil Code §1941.1 et seq. and Health & Safety Code §§17920.3 and 17920.10, or if ordered repairs have not been made.
Source: PRHB Regulations Chapter 9: Rental Registration, citing Charter §1808(e)(1) Verified August 9, 2026
Charter §1808(c): an AGA increase becomes effective only after the landlord gives the tenant written notice in the manner prescribed by law, with at least thirty days' advance written notice. State law lands in the same place (Civil Code §827(b) requires thirty days for an increase of 10% or less), but Pasadena sets the thirty days itself.
Source: Pasadena City Charter Article XVIII: the Pasadena Fair and Equitable Housing Charter Amendment (Measure H, 2022 general election) Verified August 9, 2026
Civil Code §827(b) makes a rent-increase notice "subject to Section 1013 of the Code of Civil Procedure if served by mail", and §1013(a) adds five calendar days. Post it thirty days out and it is late.
Source: California Code of Civil Procedure §1013 (service by mail) Verified August 9, 2026
Charter §1808(d): any notice that increases rent or changes a term of tenancy must state that Article XVIII exists and that the tenant may petition against a rent increase above the AGA. §1808(d)(3) is explicit: no rent increase takes effect until those requirements have been met.
Source: Pasadena City Charter Article XVIII: the Pasadena Fair and Equitable Housing Charter Amendment (Measure H, 2022 general election) Verified August 9, 2026
Charter §1808(a)(4): a landlord who wants the AGA must impose it during the twelve months from October 1 to September 30, and one who does not is not eligible to defer it to a later year. A year you skip is gone.
Source: Pasadena City Charter Article XVIII: the Pasadena Fair and Equitable Housing Charter Amendment (Measure H, 2022 general election) Verified August 9, 2026
Recurring dates
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Pasadena rental registry window
Register every covered unit and pay $236.54 per unit. The window is September 1 through October 31, with a grace period through November 7, 2026.
Late fees are tiered after the 7-day grace period: +15% ($35.48) at 8–45 days, +30% ($70.96) at 46–90 days, +50% ($118.27) at 91 days or more. And a landlord who is not in substantial compliance (registration included) may not impose the Annual General Adjustment at all.
Source: Pasadena Rental Registry Verified August 9, 2026
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Pasadena Annual General Adjustment takes effect
The new AGA applies to rent years starting October 1, and Charter §1808(a)(4) gives you until September 30 to take it. Miss the window and it does not carry forward. It is only yours to impose if you are in substantial compliance with the Charter and the PRHB Regulations, rental registration included (Charter §1808(e)(1), PRHB Regulations Chapter 9 §I.1). The notice needs thirty days (Charter §1808(c)) and must state that Article XVIII exists and that the tenant may petition (Charter §1808(d)).
Source: Pasadena Rental Housing Board Resolution RHB-2026-10 (adopted 6/18/2026) Verified August 9, 2026
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Pasadena security deposit interest due to tenants
Pay each tenant the interest that accrued on their security deposit during the prior calendar year, on every deposit you have held for at least a year. By check or as a rent credit (your election, or electronically if you have both agreed to that in writing), and with a notice showing the rate applied and the calculation.
PRHB Regulations Chapter 10 sets January 31 as the deadline, every year. When a tenancy ends, any unpaid interest goes back inside the Civil Code §1950.5 deposit-return timeframe, itemised.
Pasadena security deposit information sheet
Source: PRHB Regulations Chapter 10: Security Deposits (rev. 11/6/2025), implementing Charter §1806(f) Verified August 9, 2026
What we do not hold
- We hold Pasadena deposit-interest rates for 2025 and 2026 only. The Board adopts each year's rate by November 1 of the year before, and our ledger leaves earlier years blank rather than guessing at them.
- The resolution number that adopted the $236.54 Rental Housing Fee is not in our table. The amount, the window and the late tiers are from the city's own rental registry page.
- Charter §1812(c) says owners must register "no later than April 1st" each year, while PRHB Regulations Chapter 9 §C.1 and the city's registry page both set the annual deadline at October 31. We follow the Board's regulation and the city's published window, because that is what the Rent Stabilization Department administers, and we note the Charter text says otherwise.
- Our copy of Charter Article XVIII is the text the voters enacted in 2022, published by the City Clerk. Any amendment made to the article since then would not show up in it.
Today's Pasadena increase figure is 2.5%. These figures move, and no one writes to tell you.
Source: Pasadena Rental Housing Board Resolution RHB-2026-10 (adopted 6/18/2026) Verified August 9, 2026
One address. No account, no card.
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