Davis CA rent increase 2026 Davis is in Yolo County — evictions go to Yolo County Superior Court (725 Court St, Woodland CA 95695), not Sacramento County. Davis has no local rent control for standard residential units; the City Council has never enacted a rent stabilization ordinance for apartments or single-family rentals. California’s statewide AB 1482 (Tenant Protection Act) caps annual increases at 5% plus the Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade MSA CPI-W — approximately 2.7% for the prior 12 months — yielding a 2026 cap of approximately 7.7% for covered buildings (completed 2009 or earlier). SB 267 (effective January 1, 2025) caps all security deposits at 1 month’s rent; 21-day single-trigger return deadline; 2× wrongful-withholding penalty. Davis’s rental market is defined by UC Davis (one of the nation’s top public research universities; ~30,000+ enrolled students; ~24,000 campus employees; largest Yolo County employer by a wide margin), Measure J’s growth control ordinance (since 2000, peripheral development requires a citywide voter vote — severely constraining new housing supply), and vacancy rates that historically fall below 2% near campus — among the tightest in California.

AB 1482 California Tenant Protection Act — how it applies in Davis 2026

California’s AB 1482 (Tenant Protection Act of 2019), codified at Civil Code §§1946.2 and 1947.12, is the statewide rent and eviction protection law that applies to Davis in the absence of any local ordinance for standard residential units. Davis has no local rent control for apartments or single-family homes — meaning AB 1482 is both the ceiling and the floor for covered buildings.

The 2026 Davis AB 1482 cap: ~7.7%

The AB 1482 annual cap formula is: CPI-W (applicable MSA, prior 12 months) + 5%, not to exceed 10%. For Davis landlords, the applicable CPI-W is the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for the Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area — the same MSA index used for Sacramento, Elk Grove, West Sacramento, and other Sacramento region cities. For the 12-month period applicable to 2026 increases, this CPI-W measured approximately 2.7%, yielding a cap of:

2.7% (Sacramento MSA CPI-W) + 5.0% (AB 1482 statutory floor) = 7.7% maximum allowable rent increase for covered Davis buildings in 2026.

For a covered Davis 1BR unit renting at $1,800/month (a representative campus-area rent), the AB 1482 maximum for 2026 is $1,800 × 1.077 = $1,938.60. For a $2,000/month unit, the maximum is $2,000 × 1.077 = $2,154.00. For a more affordable South Davis unit at $1,600/month, the maximum is $1,600 × 1.077 = $1,723.20. The cap resets annually based on the then-current CPI-W reading.

The 12-month rolling measurement rule

Under AB 1482, a landlord may not impose more than two rent increases per any rolling 12-month period, and the combined total of those increases may not exceed the annual cap (~7.7% in 2026). This prevents a landlord from splitting a large increase into two tranches within the same year to circumvent the cap. For the common Davis academic-year lease (August 1 to July 31), this means one increase per year at or below the cap upon renewal. For month-to-month tenancies, the same 12-month rolling limit applies regardless of how many separate notices are served.

Davis landlords should also note that because many leases start on August 1 (the standard academic-year start), rent increases for a large cohort of Davis tenants will be implemented simultaneously. This concentration of lease renewals in July–August creates a distinct annual pattern: the highest landlord-tenant communication and notice volume occurs in June and July each year in Davis, ahead of the August 1 lease starts.

Which Davis buildings are covered by AB 1482

The 15-year age threshold is the primary coverage test for 2026:

• Covered: Residential rental buildings that received a certificate of occupancy in 2009 or earlier. Davis’s rental stock is predominantly older than most Sacramento-area suburbs. The majority of apartment complexes near UC Davis campus — the primary demand driver in the Davis rental market — were constructed in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Given Measure J’s constraint on peripheral development since 2000 and limited infill apartment construction within the existing city, very few large apartment developments have been completed since 2010. This means a significantly higher share of Davis’s rental units are within AB 1482 coverage compared to Sacramento suburbs like Elk Grove or Roseville where substantial 2010s construction occurred.
• Not covered (new construction exemption): Buildings receiving certificates of occupancy in 2010 or later. These are rare in Davis’s private rental market; most “new” Davis student housing constructed since 2010 is UC Davis on-campus university-owned housing rather than privately-owned rental properties. Some infill apartment projects in central Davis completed post-2010 are outside AB 1482’s cap.
• Single-family home and condo exemption: A single-family home (detached) or individually owned condominium is exempt from AB 1482 if the lease (or addendum at lease renewal) includes a written disclosure per Civil Code §1946.2(e)(8)(B)(i) and (ii) informing the tenant that the unit is exempt from AB 1482’s just-cause eviction and rent cap provisions. Without this specific written notice — present in the original lease and each renewal — even a freestanding Davis single-family home may be treated as covered. Many Davis landlords rent detached single-family homes (particularly in North Davis and South Davis) to faculty, staff, or graduate student families; these landlords should audit all leases for the AB 1482 exemption disclosure.
• Owner-occupied small building exemption: An owner-occupied building with two or fewer units — where the owner actually resides in one of the units as a natural person (not a corporate entity) — is exempt from AB 1482. Davis has a significant number of owner-occupied duplexes near campus where a homeowner rents out one unit while living in the other.

AB 1482 just-cause eviction protections

For tenants who have occupied a covered unit for at least 12 months of continuous tenancy, the landlord must have a legally recognized cause to terminate the tenancy. Causes are divided into:

At-fault just causes (no relocation assistance required):

• Non-payment of rent (after proper 3-day notice)
• Material breach of the lease (after notice and opportunity to cure)
• Maintaining, committing, or permitting nuisance
• Unlawful use of the unit
• Criminal activity at the property
• Assignment or subletting in violation of the lease
• Failure to deliver possession after written notice of vacating
• Criminal conviction involving threat to health or safety

No-fault just causes (1-month relocation assistance required):

• Owner or qualified family member move-in
• Withdrawal from the rental market (Ellis Act, Government Code §7060)
• Demolition or substantial remodel requiring permits and vacancy
• Government order to vacate

No-fault termination: relocation assistance requirement

For any no-fault termination under AB 1482, the landlord must provide the tenant with one month’s rent as relocation assistance. Critically, this payment must be tendered simultaneously with the termination notice — not after the tenant leaves, and not promised for later delivery. A termination notice for owner move-in, demolition, or Ellis Act withdrawal served without simultaneously tendering the relocation payment is legally void under Civil Code §1946.2(d). Given UC Davis School of Law’s presence in Davis and the law school clinic’s history of representing Davis tenants, any procedural defect in a Davis eviction notice is more likely to be caught and litigated than in other Sacramento-area markets.

The SFH/condo exemption notice: practical requirements

Civil Code §1946.2(e)(8)(B)(i) and (ii) require that the exemption notice for single-family homes and condos be in substantially the following form:

“This property is not subject to the local rent control ordinance of [city/county], if any. State law limits the rent that can be charged to the amount provided in Civil Code Section 1947.12. 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.”

Without this notice in the lease, the SFH/condo exemption does not apply. Davis landlords renting single-family homes — many of whom are individual homeowners renting to UC Davis faculty or graduate student families — should audit all leases and addenda for this disclosure. The UC Davis law school clinic presence makes the risk of a tenant successfully invoking AB 1482 protections against a landlord who failed to include this notice higher in Davis than in most comparable California markets.

SB 267 — California’s 2025 security deposit reform for Davis landlords

SB 267, signed by Governor Newsom on September 12, 2024, and effective January 1, 2025, made a significant change to California Civil Code §1950.5 that directly affects every Davis residential landlord:

The 1-month universal cap

Beginning January 1, 2025, no California residential landlord may require a security deposit exceeding one month’s rent for an unfurnished unit. The prior small-landlord exception — which allowed landlords with two or fewer units to collect up to two months’ rent as a deposit — expired on December 31, 2024. The 1-month cap now applies universally to all new leases and all lease renewals.

For Davis, this change is particularly significant because a large portion of Davis landlords are individual homeowners renting out one or two properties — often a second home or a home adjacent to their primary residence near campus. Many of these small-scale Davis landlords historically relied on the small-landlord exception to collect a larger deposit as a hedge against student tenant damage risk. As of January 1, 2025, those landlords are limited to one month’s rent regardless of portfolio size.

For the academic calendar Davis market, the 1-month cap means that for a 1BR unit renting at $1,900/month near campus, the maximum deposit is $1,900. For a 4BR house rented to a group of students at, say, $3,800/month total, the maximum deposit is $3,800 — regardless of the fact that four students are occupying the property. Landlords who historically collected larger deposits for group student occupancies must adjust their practices.

Pet deposits count toward the 1-month cap

SB 267 explicitly provides that pet deposits count toward the 1-month security deposit cap. A Davis landlord may not charge a $1,800 security deposit and then separately charge a $400 “pet deposit” — the total of all deposits (including the pet deposit) cannot exceed 1 month’s rent. Non-refundable pet fees are permissible if clearly disclosed as non-refundable in the lease and not structured as a deposit. Davis landlords who allow pets — a common provision in Davis where many tenants have dogs, cats, or other animals — should review their deposit and pet fee structures for SB 267 compliance.

21-day single-trigger return deadline

California’s security deposit return deadline is 21 calendar days after the tenant surrenders possession. “Surrender” is a single trigger: it occurs when the tenant returns all keys and access devices and provides notice of vacating (or the lease term ends and the tenant has vacated). Within 21 days, the landlord must either return the full deposit or provide a written itemized statement of deductions with supporting documentation.

The academic calendar creates a particularly demanding deadline environment in Davis. When the majority of Davis leases end on July 31, the surge of tenants vacating simultaneously in late July and early August means landlords must process a large volume of deposit returns within the 21-day window — all while the next group of tenants may be seeking possession of those same units for August 1 move-in. Davis landlords with multiple units should establish a systematic deposit return workflow to manage this simultaneous end-of-lease surge.

Wrongful withholding: 2× statutory penalty

Civil Code §1950.5(l) provides that if a landlord in bad faith fails to return the deposit or provide the itemized statement within 21 days, the tenant may recover: (1) two times the amount wrongfully withheld, and (2) reasonable attorney fees. For a Davis landlord who retains a $1,800 deposit (one month on a $1,800/month 1BR unit) without proper itemization, the exposure is $3,600 plus attorney fees. Given that UC Davis School of Law (King Hall) trains tenant attorneys and the law school’s legal services clinic has historically represented Davis tenants, the practical risk of a wrongful withholding claim being pursued in Davis is above average compared to other California markets of similar size.

The itemized statement must be specific: each deduction must be individually identified with a dollar amount and supporting documentation (receipt, contractor invoice, or written estimate). A blanket “cleaning and repairs $600” deduction without itemization does not comply. Davis landlords facing large student-driven cleaning costs should retain contractor invoices and photograph the unit at move-in and move-out.

Unlawful Detainer (eviction) process for Davis CA landlords

California evictions are governed by Code of Civil Procedure §§1159–1179a. Davis evictions must be filed in Yolo County Superior Court — not Sacramento County Superior Court. This is a critical and commonly misunderstood jurisdictional fact.

Critical jurisdiction note: Yolo County Superior Court, Woodland CA

Davis is located in Yolo County. Despite having a Sacramento area code (530), being part of the Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade Metropolitan Statistical Area, and having close physical proximity to Sacramento (12 miles east), Davis is jurisdictionally within Yolo County for all court purposes. Unlawful Detainer complaints for Davis properties must be filed at:

Yolo County Superior Court
725 Court St, Woodland CA 95695
Approximately 15–20 minutes from Davis via Interstate 80 west to County Road 102 north, or via CA-113 north to Woodland.

Filing a Davis eviction at Sacramento County Superior Court would be jurisdictionally improper and would result in dismissal or transfer, wasting time and filing fees. Davis landlords who have previously relied on Sacramento County court resources (or whose property managers incorrectly file in Sacramento) should ensure all future filings go to Woodland.

Step 1 — Serve the notice

For non-payment of rent: serve a 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit under CCP §1161(2). The notice must state: (a) the exact dollar amount of past-due rent, (b) the period covered, (c) the unit address, and (d) demand that the tenant either pay the full amount or vacate within 3 days. California counts calendar days for the 3-day period; if the third day falls on a court holiday or weekend, the deadline extends to the next court day. The tenant retains the right to pay the full past-due amount within the 3-day period; the landlord may not refuse payment within the notice period.

For material lease violations: 3-Day Notice to Perform Covenant or Quit. For incurable violations: 3-Day Notice to Quit (no cure option). For tenants in AB 1482-covered buildings with 12+ months of tenancy, the notice must state the just-cause ground. Any defect in the notice — wrong amount, missing just-cause statement, improper service — can provide a tenant with grounds to defeat the eviction at the Yolo County Superior Court hearing. Davis landlords should be particularly careful with notice preparation given the elevated tenant legal representation rates in this market.

Step 2 — File the Unlawful Detainer complaint

After the notice period expires without compliance, file an Unlawful Detainer complaint at Yolo County Superior Court, 725 Court St, Woodland CA 95695. The filing fee for UD cases is approximately $240–$370 depending on claim amount. Davis UD cases are processed by the Yolo County court system; hearings are scheduled at the Woodland courthouse.

Steps 3–6 — Summons, hearing, judgment, writ

The court issues a summons; the tenant must be served by a process server, sheriff’s deputy, or other authorized method. The tenant has 5 business days to file a written response after proper service. If no response, the landlord may request a default judgment for possession. If the tenant responds and requests a trial, a trial date is set within approximately 20 days. If the landlord prevails, a judgment for possession is entered. If the tenant does not vacate, the landlord requests a Writ of Possession; the Yolo County Sheriff then executes the lockout.

Typical uncontested UD timeline in Yolo County for Davis landlords: 4–7 weeks from notice service to lockout.

Above-average tenant legal representation in Davis evictions

Davis landlords should plan for a higher rate of contested evictions than landlords in comparable California markets. Three factors drive this:

• UC Davis School of Law (King Hall) trains tenant attorneys and has historically operated a legal services clinic that provides free legal representation to Davis tenants facing eviction. A tenant who receives free legal advice from a law student or supervising attorney is far more likely to file a written response to the UD summons and contest the eviction.
• ASUCD (Associated Students UC Davis) and UC Davis Student Services have maintained tenant advocacy resources and hotlines that direct tenants to legal resources. Student tenants in Davis are more likely than students in other markets to know their rights and contest improperly-served notices.
• Graduate student tenant sophistication: UC Davis graduate students — who make up a large portion of Davis’s renter population — are academically trained and often research their legal options before responding to an eviction notice. Graduate students in the law school, public administration program, or social sciences may have specific knowledge of tenant rights law.

Contested Davis eviction cases can extend to 3–6 months if the tenant raises habitability defenses, AB 1482 just-cause objections, improper notice arguments, or retaliatory eviction claims.

Self-help eviction: strictly prohibited

California Civil Code §789.3 prohibits self-help eviction. A Davis landlord may not change the locks, remove the tenant’s belongings, cut off utilities, or engage in harassment to force a tenant to leave without first obtaining a court judgment and Writ of Possession. Violations expose the landlord to $100 per day for each day of violation (minimum $250) plus actual damages and attorney fees. In a market with high tenant legal awareness and law school clinic resources, self-help eviction attempts in Davis are particularly likely to result in successful tenant litigation.

UC Davis — the dominant force in Davis’s rental market

The University of California, Davis — located at One Shields Ave, Davis CA 95616 — is the single most important factor in the Davis residential rental market. UC Davis shapes demand levels, tenant demographics, lease timing, vacancy rates, and even the legal sophistication of Davis tenants. No landlord in Davis can understand the market without understanding UC Davis.

Scale and significance

UC Davis is one of the nation’s top public research universities by multiple measures:

• Enrollment: approximately 30,000+ students total, combining approximately 21,000–22,000 undergraduates and 8,000–9,000 graduate and professional students. Graduate and professional students include law students (UC Davis School of Law / King Hall), veterinary students (School of Veterinary Medicine), medical students (UC Davis School of Medicine, whose preclinical years are on the Davis campus), and PhD and master’s students across hundreds of graduate programs.
• Employment: approximately 24,000 UC employees in the UC Davis academic division (the Davis campus; not including UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, which is a separate UC health system entity). This makes UC Davis the largest single employer in Yolo County by a very large margin. No other Yolo County employer comes close to UC Davis’s employment impact.
• Research funding: $900 million+ annually in external research funding (federal grants, industry contracts, foundation funding). This positions UC Davis among the nation’s top 15 research universities by research expenditure and creates thousands of research jobs (principal investigators, lab managers, research technicians, postdoctoral researchers) that generate rental demand.
• Academic rankings: #1 in the United States among public universities for veterinary medicine (UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine is considered the world’s premier veterinary school); top-ranked globally for agriculture and environmental sciences; strong in biological sciences, engineering, law, and public policy. These rankings attract high-quality graduate students and faculty from around the world, creating a sophisticated and financially varied tenant population.

Faculty and staff employment profile

UC Davis faculty and professional staff represent a significant and financially robust rental segment in Davis:

• Ladder-rank faculty (assistant, associate, and full professors): salary ranges from approximately $100,000 (new assistant professor) to $350,000+ (endowed chair professors in medicine, law, or engineering). Many faculty rent in Davis rather than own because they initially arrive on the tenure track with uncertainty about long-term tenure outcomes, or because they prefer to maintain liquidity while evaluating the housing market. Faculty who have recently relocated from the Bay Area or the East Coast often rent while acclimating to the Sacramento region’s housing market. Faculty rental demand is concentrated in North Davis, central Davis, and Aggie Square-adjacent neighborhoods.
• Professional staff and administrators (directors, department managers, senior analysts): salaries in the $65,000–$120,000+ range. Staff who work on campus frequently prefer to live in Davis because the 0–5 mile commute (bike-commutable for most of the campus) eliminates car dependence and reduces transportation costs. This proximity premium is real and visible in Davis rental demand data: units within easy biking distance of campus command substantially higher rents than comparable units farther from campus.
• Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers: earnings of approximately $30,000–$45,000 for graduate student researchers and teaching assistants (UAW Local 5810 / UAW Local 2865 contracts). Postdoctoral researchers earn approximately $55,000–$75,000 depending on funding source and years of experience. These earners typically seek 1BR or shared housing and form the core of campus-adjacent rental demand in the $1,200–$1,800/month per-unit range (often shared among two or more occupants).
• Visiting scholars and short-term appointees: UC Davis hosts hundreds of visiting scholars, sabbatical visitors, and short-term research appointees each year. These tenants typically seek furnished or partially furnished units for 3–12 month terms, creating demand for furnished rental stock at a premium above standard unfurnished rents.

The bike commute premium

Davis is unusual among California cities for its cycling infrastructure. The city has an extensive network of bike lanes, bike paths, and bike underpasses that make cycling the primary mode of transportation for a large portion of UC Davis students and many staff and faculty. The UC Davis campus is flat, compact, and entirely within a 1–2 mile radius of most campus parking. Cycling to campus from most of Davis takes 5–20 minutes depending on starting location.

This cycling culture creates measurable rent premiums for units closest to campus. Units within 0.5–1 mile of UC Davis main campus entry points (the Tercero underpass, the A St / Russell Blvd intersection, the core of the Bike Barn area) command a $150–$300/month premium over otherwise comparable units farther from campus. Units that offer secure bike parking — covered, locked individual bike storage or secure bike corrals — command an additional premium of $50–$100/month. Landlords near campus who provide secure bike storage should explicitly market this feature.

Academic-year lease timing: a defining feature of the Davis market

The UC Davis academic calendar shapes the Davis rental market in ways that differ fundamentally from most California residential markets:

• August 1 lease start: the dominant lease start date in Davis. UC Davis New Student Orientation typically occurs in mid-to-late September (fall quarter), but students and their families begin arriving in late July and August to settle in before the academic year begins. A large majority of Davis leases start on August 1 and end on July 31.
• September 1 lease start: also common for graduate students and returning students who begin searching later in the cycle.
• January–March signing for August starts: In the campus-adjacent Davis market, competition for high-demand units means students typically begin searching for housing 4–6 months before the August 1 move-in. Units within 1 mile of campus often “go off market” by February or March for the following August. Landlords in the campus core area may find themselves receiving applications for the next academic year while current tenants are still in place.
• June–July turnover surge: When spring quarter ends and students vacate in June, Davis experiences its highest tenant turnover volume. Davis landlords with multiple units face a concentrated period of move-outs, cleaning, repairs, and move-ins compressed into 4–8 weeks. This is when the SB 267 21-day deposit return clock pressure is at its peak in Davis.
• Summer vacancy risk for non-August units: Landlords who need June or July occupancy — rather than August 1 start — face elevated vacancy risk because students have already signed leases months in advance for August. Units that become available in June are “off cycle” relative to the student demand calendar and may sit vacant for 1–2 months before the August surge.

Student co-signers and tenant screening

Most Davis landlords require co-signers for student tenants who lack independent income history. The UC Davis Student Services office provides a landlord/tenant hotline and publishes a list of off-campus housing resources. ASUCD (Associated Students UC Davis, the student government) maintains an off-campus housing directory. Landlords screening student tenants should establish a consistent co-signer policy and apply it uniformly to avoid fair housing discrimination claims.

Sutter Davis Hospital — Davis’s other major employer

Sutter Davis Hospital, located at 2000 Sutter Pl, Davis CA 95616, is Davis’s only acute care hospital and the city’s second-largest major employer after UC Davis. Sutter Davis is part of the Sutter Health network, one of Northern California’s largest healthcare systems.

Scale and services

Sutter Davis Hospital operates with approximately 48 licensed acute care beds and holds a Level II Trauma designation, making it a critical regional trauma center serving Yolo County. The hospital provides a full range of acute care services including emergency medicine, surgical services, obstetrics, intensive care, and diagnostic imaging. Note: UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento (the Level I Trauma Center for the region) is a separate entity located 15 miles east in Sacramento and is not part of Sutter Davis Hospital.

Employment profile and rental market impact

Sutter Davis Hospital employs approximately 600–800 total employees across all roles:

• Physicians and hospitalists: $200,000–$400,000+ depending on specialty; many physicians maintain primary residences outside Davis but some prefer Davis proximity for call schedule convenience
• Registered nurses (RN): $80,000–$130,000 depending on experience and shift; strong Davis rental demand segment in the $1,700–$2,200/month range for 1BR or shared 2BR units
• Licensed vocational nurses (LVN) and medical assistants: $45,000–$65,000; core Davis rental tenant demographic in the $1,500–$1,900/month range
• Allied health professionals (physical therapists, respiratory therapists, imaging technologists, lab technicians): $55,000–$95,000; stable rental segment
• Administrative and support staff: $40,000–$70,000; often prefer South Davis or central Davis units for price efficiency

Sutter Davis Hospital employees who rent in Davis typically look for units in central Davis or South Davis within a reasonable commute of the hospital’s location near 2nd Street and Sutter Place. The hospital’s proximity to the UC Davis main campus means some hospital employees also benefit from Davis’s walkable downtown and cycling infrastructure.

UC Davis School of Medicine pipeline

UC Davis School of Medicine conducts preclinical medical education on the Davis campus (with clinical rotations at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento). Medical students during their preclinical years (typically years 1–2) live in Davis and rent in the campus-adjacent market. Third- and fourth-year students doing clinical rotations often relocate to Sacramento. This creates a two-year rental cycle for medical students that partially overlaps with the UC Davis campus demand timeline.

Measure J — Davis’s growth control and its impact on rental housing supply

No discussion of the Davis rental market is complete without understanding Measure J and its successor measures, which have fundamentally shaped Davis’s housing supply for more than 25 years.

What Measure J/R/D does

Measure J (approved by Davis voters in 2000) established that any residential development on land outside the city’s existing urban boundaries — what planners call “peripheral development” or “greenfield development” — requires approval by a citywide vote before the City Council can approve it. This means that developers who wish to build new housing on farmland or undeveloped land outside Davis’s existing footprint must not only navigate the normal entitlement process, but must actually place a measure on the Davis municipal ballot and win a majority vote.

Measure R (2010) and Measure D (2020) renewed Measure J’s voter-approval requirement as each 10-year term expired, demonstrating sustained voter support for the growth control approach across multiple political cycles and generations of Davis residents. Measure D extended the requirement through 2030.

Effect on housing supply: severe constraint since 2000

The practical impact of Measure J/R/D has been to prevent most large-scale peripheral residential development that would otherwise have occurred in Davis during the same period that saw explosive suburban growth in Sacramento, Elk Grove, Folsom, Roseville, Rancho Cordova, and West Sacramento. While those communities added thousands of housing units through the 2000s and 2010s, Davis’s housing stock grew only modestly through infill development within the existing city boundaries.

Key consequences for the rental market:

• Vacancy rates consistently below 2% near UC Davis campus — some years below 1% within the campus core. This is among the tightest rental market vacancy in California outside of the Bay Area’s core cities and certain Los Angeles neighborhoods.
• Rent premiums relative to surrounding area: Davis 1BR rents ($1,500–$2,500 depending on submarket and distance to campus) are significantly higher than rents in Woodland (the Yolo County seat, 15 miles north) or Winters (a small Yolo County city 15 miles southwest). Davis rents are comparable to some Sacramento neighborhoods despite Davis having a smaller commercial employment base.
• Most rental stock is old: Because very little apartment construction has occurred since 2000, a large majority of Davis rental apartments were built before 2009 — meaning a high proportion of Davis rental stock is within AB 1482’s coverage. Unlike suburban Sacramento markets where 2010s apartment construction is common, Davis has relatively little new-construction-exempt inventory.
• UC on-campus housing as relief valve: UC Davis has constructed significant on-campus apartment-style housing in recent years (including Orchard Park, West Village, and other student housing communities) partly in response to Measure J’s constraint on private market supply. This UC-owned housing is generally outside the private landlord market and creates some downward pressure on off-campus vacancy — but has not been sufficient to bring Davis vacancy rates to a more normal range.

Measure J and AB 1482 interaction for landlords

The combination of Measure J-constrained supply and AB 1482’s rent cap creates a distinctive landlord situation in Davis. On one hand, tight vacancy means strong baseline demand that supports rent levels. On the other hand, AB 1482’s cap (approximately 7.7% in 2026) limits how quickly landlords can raise rents on long-term tenants in covered units. For Davis landlords with older apartment stock (pre-2009), AB 1482 is the binding constraint on rent increases; the market would in many cases support higher increases if the cap did not exist. This gap between market rents and AB 1482-capped rents is most pronounced for long-term tenants who have been in place for multiple years: their below-market rent (due to cumulative cap limitations) can represent thousands of dollars per year in forgone income relative to what a new-tenancy market rent would command.

Davis rental market overview — by neighborhood 2026

Davis’s rental market is compact relative to most Sacramento-area cities — the city covers approximately 10 square miles of developed area — but highly differentiated by distance from UC Davis campus. The campus proximity premium is the dominant pricing driver.

UC Davis campus core (within 0.5–1 mile)

The highest-demand and highest-rent submarket in Davis. This area encompasses the Russell Blvd corridor, A Street, B Street, 3rd Street, Sycamore Lane, and other streets immediately surrounding the UC Davis campus perimeter. Apartments in this zone are predominantly older stock (1960s–1990s) and are almost entirely covered by AB 1482. Units here are frequently occupied by multiple roommates; a “1BR” in student context sometimes means a room within a larger unit rented under a master lease. 1BR equivalent rents: $1,700–$2,500. Secure bike parking commands a premium. Near-campus vacancy rates in peak years can fall below 1%; units that come available in mid-year are absorbed within days.

Central Davis (downtown to 5th Street corridor)

Central Davis extends from the campus perimeter east and south to approximately 5th Street and the downtown commercial core (G Street, E Street). This area includes the Davis Amtrak station (Capitol Corridor service to Sacramento and the Bay Area), the Saturday Farmers Market at Central Park, Davis Food Co-op, and the majority of Davis’s independent restaurants and retail. This submarket is popular with UC Davis staff, faculty, graduate students, and Sutter Davis Hospital employees who value walkable access to downtown services. 1BR rents: $1,600–$2,200. Mix of older and some newer infill units; AB 1482 coverage varies by building vintage.

North Davis (Covell Blvd and northward)

North Davis, north of Covell Blvd, is characterized by residential neighborhoods developed primarily in the 1980s and 1990s. Primarily single-family homes and smaller apartment buildings. This submarket attracts faculty, senior staff, and families with school-age children (Davis Joint Unified School District schools in North Davis are well-regarded). The North Davis neighborhoods near Covell Blvd and the Nugget Markets center feature some of Davis’s most substantial single-family rental stock. 1BR rents: $1,700–$2,300. Pre-2009 stock is covered by AB 1482; SFH landlords should confirm the AB 1482 exemption notice is in their leases. Car access to campus is 2–3 miles (a longer but bikeable distance on Davis’s flat terrain).

South Davis (Mace Ranch / Wildhorse)

South Davis encompasses the Mace Ranch master-planned community (developed primarily in the early 2000s — some post-2009 construction exists here) and the Wildhorse area (near the Wildhorse Golf Club, developed in the 1990s–2000s). South Davis is the most car-dependent part of Davis — campus is 3–4 miles away, a longer bike commute that reduces the student demand premium relative to campus-core areas. Mace Ranch has newer housing stock and some units may fall outside AB 1482 (if completed after 2009). 1BR rents: $1,500–$2,000. Strong Sutter Davis Hospital employee demand given South Davis’s proximity to the hospital. Wildhorse attracts professional and faculty renters seeking quiet residential neighborhoods.

East Davis (Mace Blvd / I-80 corridor)

The eastern edge of Davis, near the Mace Blvd / Interstate 80 interchange, features primarily apartment complexes and some commercial-adjacent residential development. This area offers the quickest Interstate 80 access for Davis residents commuting to Sacramento. Tenant profile: UC Davis staff and Sutter Davis Hospital employees who commute by car; some student demand from graduate students with vehicles. 1BR rents: $1,500–$2,000. Mix of pre- and post-2009 stock; AB 1482 coverage varies.

Davis vs. Yolo County neighbors and Sacramento metro comparison

Davis, West Sacramento, and Woodland are all in Yolo County and share the same Yolo County Superior Court (725 Court St, Woodland CA 95695) for unlawful detainer filings. Davis’s higher rents relative to Woodland and West Sacramento reflect the UC Davis demand premium. Sacramento has an additional local rent stabilization ordinance for pre-1995 multi-unit buildings under the Sacramento RSO that is stricter than AB 1482 for covered units; Davis has no equivalent local ordinance.