Free California Rent Increase Notice
California caps most annual rent increases at 5% plus regional CPI, 10% maximum (AB 1482) and requires 30 days’ written notice for an increase of 10% or less, 90 days for more. Generate a compliant notice below.
This California Rent Increase Notice raises the rent on a month-to-month tenancy under Civil Code Section 827 while staying within the AB 1482 cap (Section 1947.12). Confirm the increase fits the cap and any stricter local ordinance, then serve it with the right lead time. Our how to raise rent guide walks through the math, and the tenant screening laws by state hub helps you place reliable tenants in the first place.
California Rent Increase at a Glance
Statute
Civ. Code Section 827 / 1947.12
Increase 10% or less
30-day notice
Increase above 10%
90-day notice
AB 1482 annual cap
5% + CPI (10% max)
California Civil Code Section 827 and AB 1482
Give at least 30 days’ written notice for an increase of 10% or less in a 12-month period, and 90 days for an increase above 10%. Add 5 calendar days if you serve by mail (Code of Civil Procedure Section 1013). The new rent must also stay within the AB 1482 cap unless the unit is exempt.
How to Serve the California Rent Increase Notice
Determine the required notice period
Confirm the tenancy is month-to-month – you cannot raise rent mid-term on a fixed-term lease – and check whether AB 1482 or a stricter local ordinance applies to the unit.
Calculate the increase
Calculate the lawful increase: the lesser of 5% plus your region’s CPI change or 10% over the prior 12 months, counting no more than two increases in that period.
Prepare the written notice
Set the notice period by size: 30 days for an increase of 10% or less, 90 days for more, plus 5 days if you will serve by mail.
Serve the notice
Serve the notice by a method allowed under Code of Civil Procedure Section 1162 – personal delivery, substituted service plus mail, or posting plus mail – and record the date and method.
Document and follow up
Keep a signed, dated copy and proof of service. If the tenant later disputes the increase, that record is what shows the notice period and cap were met.
Generate the California Notice
Complete the fields below to generate a California rent increase notice. The new rent and effective date must give the tenant the full statutory notice period. Service should comply with Code of Civil Procedure Section 1162; retain proof of service.
Set the effective date correctly
Count the full 30 or 90 days from when the tenant receives the notice, and add 5 calendar days if you serve by mail. An effective date that arrives before the notice period ends makes the notice defective.
1. Parties & Property
From (Landlord / Property Manager)
To (Tenant)
2. Rent Change Details
3. Notice Details
4. Signature
About This California Notice
A California rent increase notice is the written notice a landlord serves to raise the rent on a month-to-month tenancy. Since 2020 the Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482) has capped most annual increases, and Civil Code Section 827 has long set how much advance notice the tenant must receive. Getting both right is what makes the increase enforceable.
The AB 1482 cap in Civil Code Section 1947.12 limits a 12-month increase to the lesser of 5% plus the regional change in the cost of living or 10%, and it allows no more than two increases in that period. The cap is measured against the lowest rent charged during the prior 12 months. Some units are exempt – housing issued a certificate of occupancy within the last 15 years, and most single-family homes and condominiums that are not owned by a corporation or a real-estate investment trust – but a landlord claiming an exemption must give the tenant written notice of it. The statute is currently set to sunset on January 1, 2030.
Civil Code Section 827 sets the notice period by the size of the increase: at least 30 days for an increase of 10% or less in a 12-month period, and at least 90 days for anything above 10%. If the notice is served by mail, Code of Civil Procedure Section 1013 adds 5 calendar days, or 10 if it is mailed from outside California, so the effective date has to be pushed out accordingly. Service itself must follow Code of Civil Procedure Section 1162 – personal delivery, substituted service with a mailed copy, or posting with a mailed copy.
Local law can be stricter than the state floor. Under the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and Berkeley run their own rent-control programs with lower caps and longer notice rules, and a landlord must follow whichever requirement is more protective of the tenant. A rent increase is also not a substitute for an eviction – AB 1482’s just-cause rules govern terminations separately, and an unlawful or improperly served increase simply gives the tenant a defense rather than a reason to leave. Keep the cap math, the notice, and the proof of service on file. Our how to raise rent guide covers the calculation, and screening applicants with verified reports keeps your tenancies stable so the increases you do serve actually stick.
To calculate the cap, start from the lowest rent the tenant was charged in the prior 12 months, add 5% plus the percentage change in the regional Consumer Price Index published for the area, and stop at 10% if the total runs higher. Because that CPI figure changes and differs by region, confirm the current number before you set the new rent. If the unit is exempt, the written notice of exemption must use the language the statute requires and generally must have been given in the lease or by separate notice; an exemption claimed without it does not hold. None of this replaces the screening you do at move-in – a tenant chosen for steady income and a clean payment history is the one most likely to absorb a lawful increase without a dispute.
How the AB 1482 Rent Cap Works
For a unit covered by the Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482, codified at Civil Code Section 1947.12), the most a landlord may raise the rent over any 12-month period is the lesser of 5% plus the regional change in the cost of living, or 10% total – whichever number is lower. The 10% figure is a hard ceiling: even in a high-inflation year, a covered unit can never go up more than 10% in twelve months, and no more than two separate increases may be used to get there.
The cap is not measured against today’s rent. It is measured against the lowest gross rent the tenant was charged at any time during the prior 12 months. That matters when you have already raised the rent once in the year – the second increase is still measured from that lowest prior figure, not from the higher current amount. The “cost of living” component is the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for your specific region, which the state publishes and which resets annually (increases effective on or after August 1 each year use the newly published CPI). Because the CPI number differs by metro area and changes every year, you must confirm the current figure for your region before setting the new rent – the California Apartment Association publishes an AB 1482 CPI calculator that many landlords use for this.
Worked example
Say the lowest rent charged in the prior 12 months was $2,000 and your region’s published cost-of-living change is 4%. Under Civil Code Section 1947.12 the formula is 5% + 4% = 9%. Because 9% is below the 10% ceiling in Section 1947.12, your maximum lawful increase is 9% – that is $180 – which brings the rent to $2,180 under Section 1947.12. Had the cost-of-living change instead been 6%, the Section 1947.12 formula would give 11%, but the 10% ceiling in Section 1947.12 would cap you at $200, for a new rent of $2,200. Either way the increase is 10% or less, so Civil Code Section 827 requires 30 days’ notice; an increase above 10% would need 90 days and would exceed the Section 1947.12 cap on a covered unit.
Which Units Are Exempt From AB 1482
AB 1482’s cap does not reach every rental. The main exemptions in Civil Code Section 1947.12 and its companion just-cause statute are:
- New construction – housing with a certificate of occupancy issued within the previous 15 years. This is a rolling window, so a building drops back under the cap once it passes the 15-year mark (mobilehomes are treated differently).
- Single-family homes and condominiums – but only when the property is not owned by a real estate investment trust, a corporation, or an LLC with at least one corporate member, and only if the landlord gave the tenant the specific written notice of exemption the statute requires.
- Owner-occupied duplexes – a two-unit property where the owner occupied one of the units as a principal residence at the start of the tenancy and continues to live there.
- Units already covered by a local rent-control ordinance that restricts increases, and certain deed-restricted affordable housing, dormitories, and hospital/care facilities.
The single-family exemption depends on the written notice
A single-family or condo exemption only holds if the landlord actually delivered the statutory notice of exemption – typically in the lease or by separate written notice using the language the statute prescribes. Skip that notice and the unit is treated as covered, so the 5%-plus-CPI/10% cap applies to any increase you serve. AB 1482 is also currently set to sunset on January 1, 2030, when Section 1947.12 is scheduled to be repealed unless the Legislature extends it.
Local Rent Control Can Override the State Cap
AB 1482 is a statewide floor, not a ceiling. Many California cities run their own rent-stabilization programs whose annual caps are usually lower than the state limit and whose notice, registration, and just-cause rules are their own. Major examples include the Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO), San Francisco, Oakland (Rent Adjustment Program), Berkeley, Santa Monica, and San Jose (Apartment Rent Ordinance) – and many smaller cities and unincorporated county areas have adopted ordinances as well.
Where a local ordinance applies to your unit, you must follow whichever rule is more protective of the tenant, which is almost always the local one. Local programs frequently tie the allowable increase to a local CPI-based formula, limit you to one increase per year, and require you to register the unit or file the notice with a rent board before an increase is valid. Because these local percentages and rules change every year and vary city to city, do not assume the AB 1482 numbers apply – look up your specific city’s ordinance and current allowable increase before you serve any notice. The Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act (Civil Code Section 1954.50 and following) is what preserves these local programs while exempting single-family homes, condos, and post-1995 new construction from local price controls.
30 Days or 90 Days? The 10% Threshold Is Cumulative
Civil Code Section 827 sets the advance notice by the size of the increase: at least 30 days when the increase is 10% or less, and at least 90 days when it is more than 10%. The point landlords miss is that the 10% test is cumulative, not per-increase. The statute triggers the 90-day rule when the increase – “either in and of itself or when combined with any other rent increases for the 12 months before the effective date” – is greater than 10%.
Two small increases can still require 90 days
If you raised the rent 6% in the spring and want another 5% before that 12-month window closes, the combined 11% pushes you over the threshold – so the second notice needs 90 days, not 30, and the combined increase would also exceed the AB 1482 cap on a covered unit. Always add up every increase in the rolling 12-month period before you decide which notice period applies, and remember AB 1482 separately limits you to two increases in that period.
Rent Increase vs. Change of Terms of Tenancy
A rent increase is technically one kind of change in the terms of a tenancy, and Civil Code Section 827 covers both. Subdivision (a) is the general rule: a landlord may change the terms of a month-to-month tenancy – pet policy, parking, added fees, and so on – on 30 days’ written notice served in the manner set out for other notices. Subdivision (b) carves out rent specifically, layering on the 30-day/90-day split tied to the size of the increase and allowing service by personal delivery or by mail under Code of Civil Procedure Section 1013.
The practical takeaway: use a rent increase notice when the only thing changing is the dollar amount of rent, and a broader change-of-terms notice when you are altering other lease conditions. Do not bundle a large, non-rent term change into a rent notice without giving the correct notice for each, and remember that on a fixed-term lease you generally cannot change the rent or the terms mid-term at all unless the lease itself allows it – the change waits for renewal or a switch to month-to-month.
When Not to Raise the Rent: Retaliation, Just Cause, and Filing
Retaliation is unlawful. Under Civil Code Section 1942.5, a rent increase, service reduction, or eviction served within 180 days after a tenant exercises a protected right is presumed retaliatory. Protected acts include making an oral or written complaint about habitability to the landlord or a government agency, requesting or making repairs the landlord failed to make, a code-enforcement citation that resulted from the tenant’s complaint, filing or participating in a habitability lawsuit or arbitration, and lawfully organizing or joining a tenant association. A retaliatory increase is void, and a landlord who acts with fraud, oppression, or malice can be liable for the tenant’s actual damages plus penalties of $100 to $2,000 for each retaliatory act, plus the tenant’s attorney’s fees.
A rent increase is not an eviction. On a unit covered by AB 1482’s just-cause provisions (Civil Code Section 1946.2), you cannot use a rent increase – or an unlawful one – as a back-door way to force a tenant out; terminations have their own just-cause and relocation rules. If a lawful increase takes effect and the tenant pays only the old amount, the shortfall becomes unpaid rent you would address separately with a pay-or-quit notice; the increase itself is never grounds to evict.
Do you file it with an agency? No. For a standard Section 827 or AB 1482 increase, there is no state filing – you serve the written notice on the tenant and keep your dated proof of service. The exception is local rent control: some cities require you to register the unit or file certain notices with a local rent board before an increase is valid, so if your unit sits under a local ordinance, confirm that city’s filing and registration rules first.
California Statutory Requirements
- At least 30 days’ written notice for an increase of 10% or less in 12 months (Civil Code Section 827(b)).
- At least 90 days’ notice for an increase above 10%.
- Add 5 calendar days if served by mail (Code of Civil Procedure Section 1013).
- Increase within the AB 1482 cap – 5% plus regional CPI, 10% maximum – unless the unit is exempt (Civil Code Section 1947.12).
- No more than two increases in any 12-month period.
Service Methods Permitted
- Personal delivery to the tenant.
- Substituted service on a person of suitable age at the residence, plus a mailed copy.
- Posting on the unit plus a mailed copy, if the tenant cannot be found.
- Mailing adds 5 calendar days, or 10 if out of state, to the notice period (CCP Sections 1162 and 1013).
Common Mistakes
- Giving 30 days when the increase exceeds 10% and 90 are required.
- Forgetting the 5-day mail extension, so the effective date lands too early.
- Exceeding the AB 1482 cap, or serving more than two increases in 12 months.
- Improper service – skipping the mailed copy on substituted or posted service.
- Claiming an exemption without giving the tenant the required written notice of it.
Best Practices
- Check the local ordinance first – Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and Berkeley can cap you below the state limit.
- Document the cap math from the lowest rent charged in the prior 12 months.
- State the current rent, the new rent, the effective date, and the statute on the notice.
- Serve by a Section 1162 method and keep dated proof of service.
Bottom line
In California, a rent increase is lawful only when it fits the AB 1482 cap (5% plus CPI, 10% max), gives the right notice – 30 days at or below 10%, 90 days above, plus 5 for mail – and is served under Section 1162. Miss any of those and the notice is unenforceable.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much notice is required for a California rent increase?
California Civil Code Section 827(b) requires at least 30 days’ written notice for a rent increase of 10% or less in any 12-month period, and at least 90 days for an increase above 10%. If you serve by mail, add 5 calendar days under Code of Civil Procedure Section 1013.
Is there a cap on rent increases in California?
Yes. Under the Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482, Civil Code Section 1947.12), increases on covered units are capped at the lesser of 5% plus the regional change in the cost of living or 10% total over 12 months, with no more than two increases in that period. Newer buildings and most single-family homes not owned by a corporation are exempt but must receive written notice of the exemption.
How must the notice be served?
Use one of the methods in Code of Civil Procedure Section 1162: personal delivery to the tenant; substituted service on someone of suitable age at the residence plus a mailed copy; or posting on the unit plus a mailed copy. Mailing adds 5 days, or 10 if out of state, to the notice period.
What happens if the tenant doesn’t pay the new rent?
A rent increase is not, by itself, grounds for eviction. If a properly served, statute-compliant increase takes effect and the tenant pays only the old amount, the shortfall is unpaid rent you can address with a pay-or-quit notice. But if the increase was defective – wrong notice period, bad service, or over the cap – the tenant can raise that as a defense.
Can the tenant refuse the increase?
A tenant cannot veto a lawful increase but is not bound by an unlawful one. An increase that exceeds the Section 1947.12 cap, skips the required 30- or 90-day notice, or is improperly served is unenforceable, and the tenant may keep paying the prior lawful rent.
What are common mistakes that invalidate the notice?
The usual errors are giving 30 days when 90 are required, forgetting the 5-day mail extension, exceeding the AB 1482 cap, serving more than two increases in 12 months, and improper service under Section 1162. Any one of these can void the notice.
Can a landlord raise rent during a fixed-term California lease?
No. A landlord cannot raise the rent mid-term on a fixed-term lease unless the lease itself allows it. The increase takes effect when the term ends or at renewal, with the Section 827 notice and the AB 1482 cap applying to month-to-month tenancies.
How is the California rent cap (AB 1482) calculated?
For a covered unit, the annual increase is capped at the lesser of 5% plus the regional change in the cost of living or 10% total, measured from the lowest rent charged in the prior 12 months (Civil Code Section 1947.12). Start from that lowest rent, add 5% plus your area’s published CPI change, and stop at 10% if the total is higher. Because the CPI figure is regional and updates each year, confirm the current number – the California Apartment Association publishes a calculator – before you set the new rent.
Which units are exempt from the AB 1482 rent cap?
Common exemptions include housing with a certificate of occupancy issued within the last 15 years (a rolling window), most single-family homes and condominiums that are not owned by a corporation, a real estate investment trust, or an LLC with a corporate member, and a two-unit property where the owner lives in one unit. A single-family or condo exemption only holds if the landlord gave the tenant the specific written notice of exemption the statute requires. AB 1482 is currently set to sunset on January 1, 2030.
Does local rent control override the California state cap?
Yes. Many California cities – including Los Angeles (RSO), San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Santa Monica, and San Jose – run their own rent-control programs with caps that are usually lower than the AB 1482 limit and with their own notice and registration rules. Where a local ordinance applies, you must follow whichever rule is more protective of the tenant, so check your city’s ordinance and current allowable increase before setting any increase.
Is the 10% notice threshold measured per increase or cumulatively?
Cumulatively. Civil Code Section 827 requires 90 days’ notice when the increase, by itself or when combined with all other increases in the prior 12 months, is greater than 10%. So two smaller increases that together exceed 10% within a rolling 12-month period require 90 days’ notice, not 30 – and AB 1482 still limits a covered unit to two increases in that period.
Do I have to file the rent increase notice with any agency?
For a standard Section 827 or AB 1482 increase, no – you serve the written notice on the tenant and keep your proof of service; there is no state filing. Some local rent-control cities do require you to register the unit or file certain notices with a local rent board, so if your unit is under a local ordinance, check that city’s filing rules.
Can a landlord raise rent in retaliation in California?
No. Under Civil Code Section 1942.5, a rent increase within 180 days after a tenant exercises a protected right – such as complaining about habitability to the landlord or a government agency, requesting repairs, or organizing with other tenants – is presumed retaliatory. A retaliatory increase is unlawful and can expose the landlord to the tenant’s actual damages plus penalties of $100 to $2,000 per act and attorney’s fees.
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