California AB 1482 Just-Cause Eviction 2026: Complete Landlord Guide (Civil Code §1946.2)

1. The Two Halves of AB 1482

The Tenant Protection Act of 2019 — Assembly Bill 1482, effective January 1, 2020 — created two parallel obligations that apply to the same broad category of California residential rentals. Both are codified in Division 3, Part 4 of the Civil Code:

• Civil Code §1947.12 (the rent cap): limits the annual rent increase to 5% plus the applicable regional CPI-W, capped at 10%, for covered units.
• Civil Code §1946.2 (just-cause eviction): prohibits a landlord from terminating or declining to renew a tenancy in a covered unit unless at least one of the enumerated just-cause grounds exists and is properly documented and noticed.

Most California landlords spend their energy on the rent cap and overlook §1946.2 — until a termination notice is challenged. That oversight is expensive. A defective termination notice based on a non-qualifying ground can expose a landlord to treble actual damages, a three-month-rent statutory floor, and mandatory attorney fees. For a tenant who was paying $2,600 per month in a desirable neighborhood and finds replacement housing at $3,500 per month, the running actual damage is $900 per month; over two years, that is $21,600 in differential rent alone before trebling. Understanding §1946.2 is not optional for California landlords with covered buildings.

AB 1482 is set to sunset on January 1, 2030, unless the Legislature renews it. The Legislature renewed AB 1482 in 2023 with SB 567, which tightened the substantial remodel and OMI provisions described below. Plan for the 2030 sunset as a political event, not a guaranteed outcome.

2. Which Buildings and Tenancies Are Covered

The just-cause requirement under §1946.2 applies to the same universe of buildings as the rent cap under §1947.12, with one important additional threshold:

Building Age Test (15-Year Rolling Exemption)

A residential building is covered only if its certificate of occupancy was issued 15 or more years before the date of the termination notice. This is a rolling date: in 2026, buildings are covered if they were completed in October 2010 or earlier; in 2027, the cutoff moves to October 2011. New construction is exempt for its first 15 years regardless of ownership or location.

Exempt Property Types

The following types of residential property are exempt from §1946.2 even if the building-age test is met:

• Single-family homes and condominiums, if (1) the owner or the owner’s immediate family member was the last residential occupant of the unit before the current tenancy, OR the unit is separately alienable from other dwellings on the same parcel, AND (2) the landlord has given the tenant a written notice of exemption in a form substantially conforming to §1946.2(e)(8)(B)(ii) within 30 days of the commencement of the tenancy or January 1, 2020, whichever is later. Failure to provide the exemption notice on time means the unit is NOT exempt, even if it is a single-family home or condo that would otherwise qualify.
• Owner-occupied duplexes, where the owner occupies one of the two residential units as their primary residence at commencement of the tenancy being terminated and has done so continuously for at least 12 months prior to the notice.
• Buildings permitted within the last 15 years (as described above).
• Transient accommodations (hotels, motels) and other residential facilities subject to the Mobilehome Residency Law, Recreational Vehicle Park Occupancy Law, or Floating Home Residency Law.
• Housing restricted to income-qualifying tenants (deed-restricted affordable housing, Section 8 project-based housing) where termination is governed by separate federal or state program requirements.
• Dormitories owned and operated by postsecondary educational institutions.

The Occupancy Threshold

Even where the building is covered, §1946.2(d) provides that the just-cause requirement does not apply until the tenant has continuously occupied the unit for 12 months. During the first 12 months of any individual tenant’s occupancy, the landlord may terminate a month-to-month tenancy with a proper 30-day or 60-day notice and without stating a cause.

3. The 12-Month and 24-Month Thresholds

The occupancy thresholds in §1946.2 are more nuanced than they appear, and landlords who understand them avoid inadvertent just-cause obligations.

The 12-Month Individual Rule

A landlord may terminate a month-to-month tenancy in the first 12 months without cause. That 12-month clock runs from the day the tenant first took possession, not from the start of any particular lease. If a tenant begins on a 6-month fixed-term lease, continues month-to-month for another 6 months without a break, and the landlord then serves a notice, the tenant has been in continuous occupancy for 12 months and just-cause now applies — the fact that the tenancy began under a fixed-term lease and converted to month-to-month does not restart the clock.

For fixed-term leases during the first 12 months: the landlord may decline to renew at the end of the term without stating cause. But if the landlord allows the tenant to hold over as month-to-month after the lease expires, the clock continues from original occupancy and just-cause kicks in at 12 months of continuous possession.

The 24-Month All-Occupant Rule

Civil Code §1946.2(b)(1)(E) creates an additional threshold: if ALL of the adults listed on the lease or rental agreement have continuously occupied the unit for 24 months, just-cause applies even if any individual tenancy began less than 24 months ago. This rule is designed to prevent landlords from cycling in a new co-tenant to reset the occupancy clock, then terminating the original long-term tenant.

Practical scenario: Tenant A has occupied a unit for 18 months. Tenant B joins the unit on a new co-tenancy agreement in month 19. In month 22, the landlord argues that because Tenant B has only been in occupancy for 3 months, the just-cause requirement does not apply and the landlord can serve a no-cause notice on both. Under §1946.2(b)(1)(E), this argument fails if Tenant A has been in the unit for 22 months: all tenants must have been in occupancy for 24 months for the extended rule to apply, but the base 12-month rule already protects Tenant A (who has occupied for 22 months), so just-cause is still required for Tenant A.

The First-Year Termination Notice Periods

Even during the first 12 months of tenancy (the no-just-cause window), the landlord must serve a proper written notice. Civil Code §1946 and §1946.1 govern these notice periods:

• 30 days for month-to-month tenancies where the landlord has not accepted rent for 12 or more months of the last 12 months of the tenancy.
• 60 days for month-to-month tenancies where the landlord has accepted rent for 12 or more months of the last 12 months (a practical rule: after 12 months of rent acceptance, 60-day notice is required even in the absence of a just-cause requirement; note that once a tenant has been in occupancy 12 months, the just-cause requirement also kicks in, meaning the two thresholds roughly align).
• Week-to-week tenancies: 7 days.

4. Fault Just-Cause Grounds (No Relocation Required)

Civil Code §1946.2(b)(1) lists eight grounds for fault-based termination. For all eight, no relocation assistance is required. But each ground has procedural requirements — mostly notice-to-cure obligations — that must be followed or the termination is defective.

(A) Nonpayment of Rent

The most common ground. The landlord must serve a 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit under Code of Civil Procedure §1161(2). Service must comply with CCP §1162: personal delivery to the tenant, substituted service on a person of suitable age and discretion at the premises plus mailing, or posting-and-mailing if the tenant is absent and the address is unknown. The notice must state the specific amount of rent due, the period for which it is due, and the address for payment. Under California law, the landlord must accept a partial tender of rent if tendered during the 3-day period (though a partial payment does not prevent a subsequent notice for the remaining balance). Many leases include grace periods; §1946.2 does not override a contractual grace period, so a landlord who serves the 3-day notice on day 1 of a 5-day grace period may face a procedural challenge.

(B) Breach of a Material Term of the Lease

The tenant has violated a material term of the rental agreement or lease. The landlord must first serve a 3-Day Notice to Cure or Quit identifying the specific breach and the specific corrective action required. If the tenant cures within 3 days, the tenancy continues. If not, the landlord may serve a separate Notice to Quit and proceed to unlawful detainer. The breach must be “material” — courts have rejected terminations based on technical or minor violations (a small unauthorized pet that caused no damage; a visitor who stayed slightly longer than the lease’s guest limitation). Unauthorized subletting or assignment is separately enumerated in §1946.2(b)(1)(G) and is subject to a separate analysis.

(C) Nuisance

The tenant is maintaining, committing, or permitting the existence of a nuisance. No notice to cure is required; the landlord may serve a 3-Day Notice to Quit directly. Nuisance includes conditions that interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of neighboring units (excessive noise, offensive odors, recurring disruptive behavior) as well as unlawful activities that affect the property or neighborhood. The nuisance must be ongoing or recurring; a single incident generally does not qualify.

(D) Waste

The tenant is committing waste — intentional or negligent destruction or substantial deterioration of the property. No notice to cure. A 3-Day Notice to Quit suffices. Common examples: punching holes in walls, dismantling plumbing fixtures, damaging appliances or cabinetry beyond normal wear and tear. Ordinary wear and tear is not waste and cannot support a §1946.2(b)(1)(D) termination.

(E) Refusal to Execute a New Lease on Materially Similar Terms

This ground applies when an existing written lease expires and the landlord offers a new lease at or below the legal maximum rent with materially similar terms, but the tenant refuses to sign within a reasonable time. The landlord must demonstrate: (1) a valid offer of a new written lease; (2) that the offered rent does not exceed the legal maximum under §1947.12; (3) that the lease terms are materially similar to the prior lease (a landlord cannot use this ground to impose materially different terms); and (4) that the tenant refused to sign within a reasonable time after the offer. This ground is infrequently used because most covered tenants are on month-to-month agreements after their initial lease expires.

(F) Criminal Activity

The tenant or any member of the tenant’s household has committed or permitted criminal activity on the residential property or on the common areas of the building, or has committed criminal activity off-site when the criminal activity is connected to the tenancy. No notice to cure. A 3-Day Notice to Quit is proper. Criminal activity off-site must have a nexus to the tenancy — a drug conviction for an offense committed a mile away with no building connection has been challenged. A criminal conviction is not required; the landlord may serve the notice if there is a reasonable basis to believe criminal activity connected to the tenancy has occurred, but a contested unlawful detainer will require evidence.

(G) Assignment or Subletting in Violation of the Lease

The tenant has assigned the tenancy or sublet the unit in violation of a lease provision that restricts or prohibits assignment or subletting. A 3-Day Notice to Cure or Quit is typically required (because the subletting might be curable by the tenant removing the unauthorized subtenant), though some courts have held that certain subletting violations are uncurable. Landlords should give the cure notice first to avoid procedural challenges.

(H) Repeated Refusal to Allow Landlord Access

The tenant has repeatedly refused the landlord’s right of entry after proper 24-hour written notice under Civil Code §1954. A single refusal of access is generally insufficient; the landlord must demonstrate a pattern of repeated denials after proper notice. §1954 governs the conditions for landlord entry (emergencies, repairs, inspections, showing to prospective tenants or buyers); a tenant who refuses entry when those conditions are not met is exercising lawful rights, not committing a ground for eviction. The ground requires both proper notice and tenant refusal.

5. No-Fault Just-Cause Grounds (Relocation Required)

Civil Code §1946.2(b)(2) lists four no-fault grounds. For all of them, the landlord must pay the tenant one month’s current rent as relocation assistance, either concurrent with the notice or within 15 days of service. If relocation is not paid on time, the notice is void. No exception.

(A) Owner or Qualifying Family Member Move-In (OMI)

The landlord intends the unit to be occupied as the primary residence of the owner, the owner’s spouse or domestic partner, the owner’s children or grandchildren (including stepchildren and children of domestic partner), the owner’s parents or grandparents, the owner’s siblings (including step-siblings and half-siblings), or the corresponding relatives of the owner’s domestic partner.

The notice must identify the specific person who will move in and state that the unit will be that person’s primary residence. A generic statement that “the owner or a family member may occupy the unit” is defective; the notice must be specific.

Post-termination obligations: the owner or family member must actually move into the unit within 90 days of the tenant vacating. They must then occupy the unit as their primary residence for a minimum of 12 continuous months. If the landlord re-rents the unit within 12 months of the tenant vacating, the landlord must first offer the displaced tenant the right to return at the same rent (with only any lawful rent increase that would have applied during the displacement); failure to do so converts the original termination into a wrongful eviction.

The 18-month cooling-off rule: a landlord who evicted one tenant under OMI may not evict a different tenant in the same building under OMI until at least 18 months have elapsed from the prior OMI termination. This prevents a landlord from cycling through a building one unit at a time under OMI claims.

(B) Withdrawal from the Rental Market

The owner intends to permanently withdraw all rental units in the building from the residential rental market. This ground is entangled with the state Ellis Act (Government Code §7060 et seq.), which provides a separate procedural framework for removing rental housing from the market. Under the Ellis Act, landlords must file with the local city or county rent board (where one exists), provide tenants with 120-day notice (1-year for tenants who have resided in the unit for 1+ year and are at least 62 years old or have a disability), and pay enhanced relocation assistance in some jurisdictions. Once a building has been withdrawn under the Ellis Act, the owner is prohibited from re-renting any unit at market rate for 5 years (right of return for displaced tenants at the prior rent); units cannot be re-rented for 10 years without first offering the right of first refusal. Relocation under AB 1482 alone (1 month’s rent) is a floor; the Ellis Act may require more.

(C) Compliance with a Government Order to Vacate

The building has been ordered to be vacated by a governmental agency (typically a city or county building or health department) for habitability deficiencies. Whether relocation assistance is 1 month or 3 months’ rent depends on causation:

• If the condition requiring vacation was caused by the landlord’s failure to maintain the property (deferred maintenance, unpermitted modifications, neglected repairs), relocation must be 3 months’ current rent.
• If the condition was caused by an unforeseeable event outside the landlord’s control (fire from an adjacent building, earthquake, flood), relocation is 1 month’s rent.

The distinction between landlord-caused and not-landlord-caused conditions is often contested. Building department orders frequently do not specify causation; the landlord who disputes paying 3 months’ rent must be prepared to demonstrate that the condition was not attributable to their own deferred maintenance.

(D) Intent to Demolish or Substantially Remodel

The landlord intends to demolish the building or substantially remodel the unit in a manner that requires the tenant to vacate. “Substantially remodel” has a specific statutory definition (discussed in detail in Section 9 below). Relocation is 1 month’s rent, concurrent with notice. If the unit is re-rented within 12 months of the tenant vacating without first offering the tenant the right to return at the prior rent, the termination is wrongful.

6. Relocation Assistance: Amounts, Timing, and Failure

Relocation assistance for no-fault evictions under §1946.2(b)(2) operates under strict timing rules that, if not followed, void the entire termination notice.

Amount

The standard relocation amount is one month’s current rent — the rent the tenant is actually paying under the tenancy at the time the notice is served. This is not a market-rate calculation; it is the actual contractual rent. For a tenant who has been in a rent-stabilized unit for many years and is paying well below market, the 1-month relocation may seem nominal relative to the displacement cost, but that is the statutory floor. The only statutory exception to the 1-month amount is the government-order/landlord-negligence scenario (3 months, as described above); other jurisdictions (SF, LA, Oakland) may impose higher relocation amounts under their local ordinances for local-ordinance-covered units.

Timing

Relocation assistance must be paid to the tenant:

• Concurrent with the service of the written termination notice; or
• Within 15 calendar days of service of the termination notice.

Payment cannot be conditioned on the tenant actually vacating or signing any acknowledgment. Handing the relocation check to the tenant at the time the notice is served is the cleanest approach. Payment by mail within 15 days of service also satisfies the requirement; certified mail with return receipt is advisable for documentation.

Failure to Pay

If relocation assistance is not paid within 15 days of serving the termination notice, the notice is legally void as a matter of law. The tenant may remain. The landlord cannot then file an unlawful detainer based on the defective notice. The landlord must serve a new, compliant notice and tender relocation assistance at that time. There is no way to cure a late relocation payment by paying after the 15-day window while relying on the original notice date.

Waiver

A tenant cannot waive the right to relocation assistance through any provision in the original lease or rental agreement. Any pre-dispute waiver clause in a lease purporting to waive relocation assistance under §1946.2 is unenforceable. However, a tenant may waive relocation assistance after the termination notice has been served, in a separate writing entered into at arm’s length — for example, as part of a negotiated voluntary move-out agreement. Even in that case, the waiver must be in writing, post-notice, and reflect genuine voluntary consent.

7. Notice Content, Format, and Service

For any §1946.2 termination to support an unlawful detainer, the notice must be written, must state the specific ground for termination, and must comply with applicable notice period requirements.

What the Notice Must State

• The specific §1946.2(b) ground being invoked (e.g., “nonpayment of rent,” “owner occupancy,” “substantial remodel”).
• For fault grounds requiring cure: the specific breach and the specific cure required.
• For owner move-in: the name of the specific owner or family member who will occupy and their relationship to the owner.
• For no-fault grounds: the amount of relocation assistance being paid and the method of payment (or a statement that relocation is being paid concurrent with this notice).
• For substantial remodel: a statement that the work requires permits, that the tenant must vacate for at least 30 days, and the expected duration of the project.

Notice Periods

Service

Termination notices must be served in compliance with Code of Civil Procedure §1162: (1) personal delivery to the tenant; (2) substituted service on a person of suitable age and discretion at the premises PLUS mailing a copy to the tenant at the premises; or (3) if both the tenant and a person of suitable age cannot be found at the premises, posting on a conspicuous place at the premises PLUS mailing a copy. For 3-day notices, the three-day period begins the day following service.

8. Owner Move-In: The Most Litigated Ground

Owner move-in evictions under §1946.2(b)(2)(A) generate more litigation than any other AB 1482 just-cause ground. The combination of an objective requirement (actual occupancy for 12 continuous months), a fraud penalty (treble damages), and a right-of-return mechanism creates high stakes on both sides.

The Intent Requirement

The landlord must have a genuine intent to occupy at the time the notice is served. Fraudulent intent at the time of the notice — serving an OMI notice as a pretext to obtain a vacated unit and then re-let it at a higher market rent — is the classic wrongful eviction pattern. Evidence of fraudulent intent includes: the owner advertising the unit before the displaced tenant’s 12-month occupancy period has elapsed; the owner failing to actually move in within 90 days; the owner moving in briefly and then re-letting within 12 months; and communications (emails, texts, statements to neighbors) showing the owner’s plan to flip the unit to market rate.

The 90-Day Move-In Requirement

The owner or qualifying family member must physically move in within 90 days of the tenant vacating. “Moving in” means establishing the unit as their primary residence — not storing boxes there or visiting occasionally. If the 90-day window passes without genuine occupancy, the displacement is retroactively wrongful from the date the tenant vacated.

The 12-Month Minimum Occupancy Requirement

The owner or family member must maintain the unit as their primary residence for at least 12 continuous months. If they vacate before 12 months, the original displacement is wrongful and the displaced tenant is entitled to the right-of-return remedy plus damages. A college student who uses the unit as a school-year residence but returns to parents’ home each summer may not satisfy the “primary residence for 12 months” standard. Disputes about whether an owner genuinely established primary residence often turn on practical indicators: California driver’s license address, voter registration, utility billing, auto insurance registration, doctor and dentist address of record.

Right of Return if Re-Let Within 12 Months

If the owner or family member vacates before 12 months and the unit is re-rented, or if the unit is re-rented without the occupant fulfilling the 12-month requirement, the landlord must:

1. Offer the displaced tenant the right to return to the unit at the same rent that tenant was paying at time of displacement, adjusted only for any lawful rent increase that would have applied during the displacement period.
2. If the landlord re-lets the unit at a higher rent without making this offer, the original eviction is a wrongful eviction and the displaced tenant is entitled to statutory damages.

Penalty for OMI Fraud

Civil Code §1946.2(h) specifies that a tenant wrongfully displaced under a fraudulent OMI notice may recover: treble actual damages OR three months’ rent, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees and costs. Courts have held that “treble actual damages” includes the ongoing rent differential, so the exposure compounds monthly. A landlord who fraudulently displaces a tenant paying $2,400 per month in San Jose in a market where comparable housing costs $3,200 per month has a $800/month actual damage base; trebled = $2,400/month; over 24 months = $57,600 in trebled rent differential alone, plus attorney fees that regularly exceed $30,000–$50,000 in contested cases.

9. Substantial Remodel: What Qualifies and What Does Not

The “substantial remodel” ground under §1946.2(b)(2)(D) requires satisfying the statutory definition precisely. Broadly scoped remodel notices that do not meet the definition create wrongful eviction exposure.

Statutory Definition

Under Civil Code §1946.2(b)(2)(D) as amended by SB 567 (2023), “substantial remodel” means the replacement or substantial modification of any structural, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical system (the four covered categories) that requires a permit from a governmental agency, OR the abatement of hazardous materials including lead-based paint, mold, or asbestos in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws, where:

• The work cannot be reasonably accomplished in a safe manner with the tenant in place; and
• The work requires the tenant to vacate the residential real property for at least 30 days.

What Qualifies

• Complete replacement of all plumbing throughout a multi-unit building (requires permit; cannot be done safely with occupants; 4-8 weeks typical)
• Seismic soft-story retrofit with new shear walls or steel moment frames (structural; permitted; must vacate during steel placement)
• Complete electrical system replacement including new panel and all branch circuits (electrical; permitted; must vacate)
• HVAC system replacement combined with asbestos abatement in ductwork (mechanical + hazardous materials; permitted; must vacate)
• Removal of lead paint from interior surfaces where children reside, under EPA RRP Rule procedures (hazardous material abatement)
• Major structural repair following a fire, earthquake, or foundation failure (structural; permitted)

What Does NOT Qualify

• New paint and carpet (“cosmetic remodel” regardless of cost or scope)
• New kitchen appliances (even stainless steel suite replacement)
• New kitchen cabinets and countertops (cosmetic, not structural)
• New bathroom vanity, toilet, or tile (cosmetic unless plumbing system replacement)
• New windows and exterior doors (not structural, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical)
• New flooring (hardwood, tile, LVP) throughout the unit
• Landscaping or exterior painting
• New water heater replacement (unless combined with whole-building plumbing system replacement)

Permit Requirement Before Notice

SB 567 added a critical procedural requirement: the landlord must have obtained (not merely applied for) the permit before serving the §1946.2(b)(2)(D) notice. A termination notice based on a “planned” substantial remodel where permits have not yet been issued is defective. The landlord must wait for permit approval before serving the notice.

Re-Rental Rule

If the landlord re-lets the unit within 12 months of the tenant vacating, the landlord must first offer the displaced tenant the right of first refusal at the prior rent (adjusted only for any lawful increase). Failure to make this offer constitutes a wrongful eviction. The 12-month window applies from the date the tenant physically vacated, not from the date the remodel work is completed.

10. Wrongful Eviction Remedies Under §1946.2(h)

Civil Code §1946.2(h) provides a private right of action for tenants who have been wrongfully displaced. The remedies are cumulative:

Actual Damages

All economic losses caused by the wrongful displacement: the ongoing monthly rent differential between the displaced unit and replacement housing; moving and storage costs; the costs of temporary housing during the transition; and any consequential damages flowing from the displacement (employment disruption from a forced relocation, medical costs for stress-related conditions in documented cases). Actual damages accumulate monthly as long as the tenant is paying more than they were paying in the displaced unit.

Treble Damages for No-Fault Fraud

Where the landlord served a no-fault just-cause notice (OMI, substantial remodel) without genuine intent to comply with the statutory requirements, the actual damages are trebled. This is not discretionary; treble damages are available as a matter of right where fraud, misrepresentation, or bad faith is demonstrated. The treble-damages calculation applies to all actual damages, not just the rent differential.

Statutory Minimum

Even where actual damages are minimal (for example, the tenant relocated to equivalent-cost housing), the statute provides a minimum recovery of three months’ rent as a floor. This minimum ensures that wrongful eviction is financially meaningful even in the absence of large demonstrable actual damages.

Reinstatement

A tenant who brings a wrongful eviction action within 30 days of displacement may seek injunctive relief including reinstatement to the unit if it is still available. Courts have issued reinstatement orders where landlords have advertised or re-let the unit in violation of right-of-return obligations within 12 months of the displacement.

Attorney Fees

Attorney fees are mandatory for the prevailing tenant in a wrongful eviction action under §1946.2(h). Given that landlord-tenant attorneys typically charge $300–$450 per hour in the Bay Area and LA markets, and that litigated wrongful eviction cases regularly involve 100–150 hours of attorney time, the fee exposure is $30,000–$67,500 per case — before any damages. Attorney fees alone are often larger than the statutory damages in straightforward cases.

11. Interaction With Local RSOs (SF, LA, Oakland, Berkeley)

AB 1482 §1946.2 expressly does not displace or limit local just-cause eviction laws that provide greater tenant protections. Civil Code §1946.2(i): “Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of a local government to enact or maintain just cause for eviction or tenant protection laws that provide additional tenant protections.”

San Francisco (Admin. Code §37.9)

San Francisco’s just-cause ordinance covers pre-1979 units in multi-unit buildings. Its OMI provisions impose stricter requirements than AB 1482: the owner must occupy the unit as their principal residence for at least 36 months (versus 12 under AB 1482); tenant notice must specify all persons who intend to occupy; an elderly tenant (62+) or disabled tenant who has been in the unit for 10+ years has enhanced protection against OMI displacement; the landlord may be prohibited from using OMI if the building has had a prior eviction under §37.9 in the prior 6 months. Where both AB 1482 and SF Admin. Code apply to the same unit (possible for pre-1979 buildings that also meet the AB 1482 age test), the landlord must satisfy the more protective standard — which is the SF ordinance’s 36-month occupancy requirement, not AB 1482’s 12 months.

Los Angeles (LAMC §151.09)

LA’s RSO just-cause protections cover buildings built 1978 or earlier (and since 2020, certain units built through 2005 under the Measure ULA expansion). LA’s just-cause grounds largely parallel AB 1482 but with city-specific procedures administered by LAHD. LA imposes higher relocation assistance than the AB 1482 1-month floor: for no-fault evictions under the LA RSO, relocation assistance is scaled by tenancy length, income level, and unit size, and regularly reaches 3–6 months’ rent for long-term tenants. For LA RSO-covered buildings, landlords must use LAHD’s prescribed notice forms for OMI and other no-fault grounds.

Oakland (OMC §8.22.360)

Oakland’s just-cause ordinance predates AB 1482 and covers pre-1983 multi-unit buildings. Oakland’s OMI provisions require the owner to actually occupy the unit as their principal place of residence for 36 continuous months (versus 12 under AB 1482). Oakland also imposes a stricter prohibition on re-renting: if the unit is re-rented within 36 months of an OMI eviction at a rent higher than the displaced tenant was paying, the landlord must pay the displaced tenant the rent differential for the entire 36-month period. Oakland’s relocation amounts for no-fault evictions also exceed AB 1482’s 1-month floor.

Berkeley (BMC §13.76.130)

Berkeley’s just-cause ordinance covers all rental units except owner-occupied single-family homes and duplexes. Berkeley’s list of just-cause grounds is similar to AB 1482 but administered through the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board. OMI requires 36 months of intended continued occupancy; Berkeley imposes additional just-cause protections for tenants over 60 and tenants with disabilities. Berkeley relocation assistance for no-fault evictions typically exceeds 1 month’s rent for long-term tenants and is set by the BRSB schedule.

AB 1482 Only: Sacramento, San Jose, San Diego, Fresno

In cities without a local RSO, AB 1482 §1946.2 is the only just-cause protection. Sacramento, San Jose, San Diego, Fresno, and other non-RSO California cities fall into this category. Landlords in these cities must satisfy AB 1482 §1946.2 but do not face the stricter local-ordinance requirements that apply in SF, LA, Oakland, and Berkeley. See the California three-layer rent cap triage guide for a map of which city-level protections apply where.

12. Interaction With the AB 1482 Rent Cap

The rent cap and just-cause provisions of AB 1482 are designed to work together, but their thresholds are not perfectly aligned. Several practical points:

• Both apply to the same building stock. Buildings with a 15-year-old certificate of occupancy are subject to both the rent cap (§1947.12) and just-cause (§1946.2), assuming no applicable exemption. A landlord who is calculating the annual allowable increase for a covered building should simultaneously verify whether any planned termination is subject to just-cause requirements.
• Just-cause has a 12-month tenancy threshold; the rent cap does not. The rent cap applies from the first month of tenancy in a covered building; just-cause does not apply until 12 months of continuous occupancy. During the first 12 months, the landlord is constrained on rent increases but not on lease termination (for month-to-month tenancies).
• Single-family home exemptions require a timely written notice. An SFR owner who provided the exemption notice within 30 days of tenancy is exempt from both the rent cap and just-cause. An SFR owner who failed to provide the exemption notice is subject to both. This exemption notice is not optional; it must be given in the prescribed form. See the four California rent caps guide for the exemption notice form and requirements.
• Just-cause grounds that reference “materially similar terms” integrate with the rent cap. The lease-refusal ground (§1946.2(b)(1)(E)) requires that the offered new lease have a rent “at or below the legal maximum allowed under Section 1947.12.” A landlord who offers a new lease at above the legal max and then terminates when the tenant refuses has not satisfied this ground; the termination is improper. Use RentCeiling to verify the legal maximum before drafting a new lease offer.

For per-unit legal maximum rent increase calculations for any covered California building in 2026, including all five CPI-W regions (SF-Oakland-Hayward, LA-Long Beach-Anaheim, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Sacramento MSA, and San Diego), use RentCeiling’s free calculator. Know your legal max before serving any rent increase or termination notice.

13. Frequently Asked Questions