California rent increase 2026 Every cap, every city, every statute. AB 1482 is 8.8% statewide. Six California cities have stricter local caps that bind first. Notice rules layer on top.

TL;DR — the 2026 numbers

Stricter of state vs local applies. Run the California calculator for your specific unit:

• Statewide AB 1482: 8.8% (Cal. Civ. Code §1947.12 — 5% statutory + 3.8% regional CPI April 2024 to April 2025).
• LA RSO: 3.0% through June 30, 2026; ~2.8% projected from July 1, 2026 onward (LAMC §151.06 as amended by Ordinance 188558).
• San Francisco: 1.6% for rent year 2026-27, March 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027 (S.F. Admin. Code Ch. 37 §37.3(a)(1)(B)).
• Berkeley: 1.0% for calendar year 2026 (BMC §13.76.110 + Berkeley Rent Board Regulation 1271).
• Oakland: 1.7% for July 2025-June 2026, set by Oakland Rent Adjustment Program annual schedule (Oakland Municipal Code §8.22).
• Santa Monica: 0.8% for September 2025-August 2026 (Santa Monica Charter Article XVIII §1805).
• West Hollywood: 0.75% for September 2025-August 2026 (West Hollywood Municipal Code §17.36).

Step 1 — pick the operative cap for your unit

California rent-control coverage is layered. Run this decision tree:

1. Is the unit covered by a local ordinance? LA RSO covers most pre-Oct-1-1978 buildings of 2+ units in LA city limits. SF covers most pre-June-1979 buildings of 2+ units in SF city limits. Berkeley covers all pre-1980 rental units in Berkeley. Oakland, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills each have their own coverage rules. If your unit is locally covered, the local cap binds — Cal. Civ. Code §1947.12(b)(1)(B) defers to stricter local ordinances.
2. Is the unit Costa-Hawkins exempt? Cal. Civ. Code §1954.53 exempts certificates-of-occupancy after February 1, 1995, most single-family homes (with caveats for AB 1482 below), and condominium units. Costa-Hawkins-exempt units can decontrol on vacancy but recontrol on the new tenancy under the same ordinance.
3. Is the unit AB 1482-eligible? If the unit is not covered by a stricter local ordinance and is not Costa-Hawkins exempt for AB 1482 purposes, AB 1482 (8.8% for 2026) applies. The most common AB 1482 exemptions are: single-family rentals owned by natural persons (with §1947.12(d)(5) exemption notice served), buildings less than 15 years from initial certificate of occupancy, deed-restricted affordable units, and units already covered by stricter local rent control.

Most unit types fall into one of three buckets: (a) AB 1482 only at 8.8%; (b) AB 1482 + a local ordinance, in which case the stricter binds; (c) fully exempt. The California calculator walks all three cases automatically given (city, building age, current rent, last-increase date).

Step 2 — recognize the four reset cycles

The seven 2026 California regimes use different annual reset cycles. This is where landlords with multi-jurisdiction portfolios trip:

• AB 1482 (statewide). Rolling 12-month window from the prior increase. There is no calendar reset; each unit's clock runs independently.
• LA RSO. July 1 to June 30. The cap is announced by LAHD bulletin in late June.
• San Francisco. March 1 to February 28/29. The cap is set by the SF Rent Board for "rent year XXXX-XX" each year and announced in late February.
• Berkeley. Calendar year January 1 to December 31. The AGA is published in November of the prior year.
• Oakland. July 1 to June 30. Set by Oakland Rent Adjustment Program.
• Santa Monica / West Hollywood. September 1 to August 31. Each city's Rent Control Board sets the AGA in summer.

Step 3 — pick the right notice period

Cal. Civ. Code §827(b) is the statewide notice-period floor:

• 30 days if the increase is under 10% of the lowest rent charged in the prior 12 months.
• 90 days if any single increase is at or above 10%, OR cumulative increases over the prior 12 months sum to 10% or more.
• +5 days for service by mail under Cal. Civ. Code §1013.

The cumulative trigger is the trap. See the 90-day notice rule explainer for worked examples and the §827(b) anchor-rent rule.

Step 4 — apply banking rules where they exist

Three of the seven 2026 California regimes allow some form of banking; four forfeit:

• SF — banking allowed under SF Rent Board Rules §4.12, with 7%/year and 10%/notice ceilings. Itemize on the notice.
• Berkeley — accumulation allowed under BMC §13.76.110, with a Rent Board petition gate above the original-rent level. Itemize on the notice.
• AB 1482, LA RSO, Oakland, Santa Monica, West Hollywood — forfeit. Unused capacity does not carry forward.

Full breakdown at the banking provision explainer.

Step 5 — generate the right notice

For the statewide AB 1482 cap with no local overlay, use the California notice generator. For locally covered units use the jurisdiction-specific generator: LA RSO, San Francisco, Berkeley. Each output is a printable PDF with §827(b) compliance plus the local-ordinance disclosures specific to that jurisdiction.

Related resources

• Four California rent caps in 2026 — a head-to-head walk — long-form blog post comparing AB 1482, LA RSO, SF, and Berkeley.
• Why Berkeley's AGA dropped to 1.0% for 2026 — deep-dive on the BMC §13.76 anchor-period math.
• AB 1482 90-day notice rule — when 90 days vs 30 is required.
• AB 1482 banking provision — does California allow saving unused increases (and which cities do).
• Just-cause eviction under AB 1482 — the linked rule landlords serving increases need to know.
• Compare California cities side-by-side — the cap-vs-cap comparison hub.
• Open rule-set — machine-readable JSON of every cap and statute we track.

Run the California calculator (free)

Common questions