How much can rent be raised under AB 1482?

Under Civil Code section 1947.12, no more than 5% plus the regional change in the Consumer Price Index, or 10%, whichever is lower, in any 12-month period. The increase is measured against the lowest rent charged in the prior 12 months and may be spread over no more than two increases in that period. Because the CPI portion varies by region and year, the exact ceiling changes with location and time, but it can never exceed 10% total.

What is just cause for terminating a tenancy?

Under section 1946.2, it is a legally recognized reason a landlord must have to end a tenancy after the tenant has occupied the unit for 12 months (or 24 months in some multi-tenant situations). It is either at-fault — nonpayment, lease breach, nuisance, waste, or criminal activity — or no-fault, such as owner move-in, taking the unit off the market, a government order, or a substantial remodel. The lease simply expiring is not just cause on its own.

What is relocation assistance?

When a landlord ends a tenancy for a no-fault reason under section 1946.2, the landlord must give the tenant relocation assistance equal to one month's rent. It can be paid directly or provided by waiving the tenant's final month of rent. This requirement applies only to no-fault terminations — owner move-in, market withdrawal, government order, or substantial remodel — not to at-fault terminations where the tenant caused the grounds for ending the tenancy.

Are single-family homes covered?

Sometimes. A single-family home or condominium owned by a natural person is exempt from the rent cap and just-cause rule, but only if the owner is not a corporation, real estate investment trust, or an LLC with a corporate member, and only if the owner gives the tenant the specific written exemption notice the statute requires. If the landlord fails to provide that exact notice, the exemption does not apply and the property is treated as covered. Generic lease language is not enough.

When does AB 1482 expire?

The Tenant Protection Act took effect on January 1, 2020 and is scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2030, unless the Legislature extends it. Until then it applies statewide as a floor of protection. Candidates should know both the effective date and the sunset date, since the Act's temporary nature is a tested detail. Local ordinances operate independently of the sunset and would remain in force even if the state Act lapsed.

How does AB 1482 interact with local rent control?

The state Act is a floor, not a ceiling. Where a local rent-control ordinance restricts increases to less than the AB 1482 cap, or requires just cause that is more protective than state law, the stricter local rule governs those units. Costa-Hawkins still limits what local ordinances can cover — for example, exempting single-family homes and post-1995 construction from local rent control — so the state and local layers interact. When both apply, the tenant gets the more protective rule.

California Tenant Protection Act: Rent Cap & Just Cause

TL;DR

The California Tenant Protection Act of 2019, enacted as Assembly Bill 1482, created two statewide protections for most residential tenants: a cap on annual rent increases and a requirement that landlords have "just cause" to end a tenancy. The rent cap lives in Civil Code section 1947.12 and limits increases in any 12-month period to 5% plus the regional change in the Consumer Price Index, or 10%, whichever is lower. The just-cause rule lives in Civil Code section 1946.2 and, once a tenant has lived in a unit for 12 months (or 24 months where multiple tenants are involved), bars termination unless the landlord states an allowable reason. Just-cause reasons split into at-fault grounds, such as nonpayment or lease violations, and no-fault grounds, such as an owner move-in or withdrawal of the unit from the market; no-fault terminations require the landlord to pay one month's rent in relocation assistance. The Act took effect on January 1, 2020 and is scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2030. It covers most units more than 15 years old, but single-family homes and condos owned by individuals are exempt only if the landlord gives the specific statutory notice. Where a local rent-control ordinance is stricter, the local rule governs.

What the Tenant Protection Act does

Assembly Bill 1482 added a statewide floor of tenant protection that applies even where no local rent-control ordinance exists. Before it, a landlord outside a rent-controlled city could raise rent without a statutory ceiling and could end a month-to-month tenancy with proper notice and no stated reason. The Act changed both. It caps how fast rent can rise and it requires a landlord to have a recognized reason to terminate a longer-term tenancy. The two protections are codified separately — the rent cap in Civil Code section 1947.12 and the just-cause rule in section 1946.2 — but they were enacted together and generally apply to the same units.

Coverage is broad but not universal. The Act reaches most residential rental units, with the key exclusion being newer construction: units issued a certificate of occupancy within the last 15 years are exempt, on a rolling basis, so a building ages into coverage over time. Certain other housing is excluded, such as deed-restricted affordable units and some owner-occupied arrangements. The interaction with existing local law matters too, which is why this topic connects to our guide to the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, the state law that limits how far local rent control can reach.

The rent cap under section 1947.12

Section 1947.12 sets the annual ceiling on rent increases for covered units. In any 12-month period, a landlord may not raise the rent by more than 5% plus the percentage change in the regional Consumer Price Index, and in no event by more than 10% total. Whichever of those two figures is lower is the maximum. The increase is measured against the lowest rent charged during the prior 12 months, and a landlord may reach the allowable maximum in no more than two separate increases in a 12-month period. The CPI component uses the index for the region where the property is located, so the exact ceiling varies by area and year.

The cap does not apply to vacant units. When a tenancy ends and a new tenant moves in, the landlord may reset the rent to market — a feature often called vacancy decontrol — and the cap then governs increases during the new tenancy. This preserves a landlord's ability to reprice at turnover while limiting increases on a sitting tenant. Discounts, concessions, and credits are generally excluded from the base rent calculation unless the tenant agreed to them in the lease. Because the cap works alongside security-deposit and other tenancy rules, it connects to our guide to security deposits under Civil Code 1950.5.

Just cause under section 1946.2

Section 1946.2 requires a landlord to have just cause to terminate a tenancy once the tenant has continuously occupied the unit for 12 months — or, where additional adult tenants moved in later, once one tenant has lived there 24 months or all have lived there 12 months. The mere expiration of a lease is not just cause. The statute divides just cause into two categories. At-fault just cause covers tenant conduct: nonpayment of rent, breach of a material lease term, nuisance, waste, criminal activity on the premises, refusing to sign a similar renewal lease, or refusing lawful entry. No-fault just cause covers situations unrelated to tenant conduct: an owner or close relative moving in, withdrawal of the unit from the rental market, compliance with a government order or local ordinance requiring the tenant to vacate, or a substantial remodel or demolition. "Substantial remodel" is a defined statutory term and requires more than ordinary repairs or cosmetic work.

The critical distinction is that a no-fault termination requires the landlord to assist the tenant financially. Under section 1946.2, the landlord must provide relocation assistance equal to one month's rent, either as a direct payment or by waiving the final month's rent, when ending a tenancy for a no-fault reason. Single-family homes and condominiums owned by natural persons — not by a corporation, real estate investment trust, or an LLC with a corporate member — are exempt from both the rent cap and the just-cause rule, but only if the landlord delivers the specific written notice the statute requires, using the exact language in sections 1946.2 and 1947.12; generic lease boilerplate does not qualify. Fair-housing rules still apply to every termination, which is why this topic connects to our guide to the Unruh Civil Rights Act.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much can rent be raised under AB 1482?: Under Civil Code section 1947.12, no more than 5% plus the regional change in the Consumer Price Index, or 10%, whichever is lower, in any 12-month period. The increase is measured against the lowest rent charged in the prior 12 months and may be spread over no more than two increases in that period. Because the CPI portion varies by region and year, the exact ceiling changes with location and time, but it can never exceed 10% total.
What is just cause for terminating a tenancy?: Under section 1946.2, it is a legally recognized reason a landlord must have to end a tenancy after the tenant has occupied the unit for 12 months (or 24 months in some multi-tenant situations). It is either at-fault — nonpayment, lease breach, nuisance, waste, or criminal activity — or no-fault, such as owner move-in, taking the unit off the market, a government order, or a substantial remodel. The lease simply expiring is not just cause on its own.
What is relocation assistance?: When a landlord ends a tenancy for a no-fault reason under section 1946.2, the landlord must give the tenant relocation assistance equal to one month's rent. It can be paid directly or provided by waiving the tenant's final month of rent. This requirement applies only to no-fault terminations — owner move-in, market withdrawal, government order, or substantial remodel — not to at-fault terminations where the tenant caused the grounds for ending the tenancy.
Are single-family homes covered?: Sometimes. A single-family home or condominium owned by a natural person is exempt from the rent cap and just-cause rule, but only if the owner is not a corporation, real estate investment trust, or an LLC with a corporate member, and only if the owner gives the tenant the specific written exemption notice the statute requires. If the landlord fails to provide that exact notice, the exemption does not apply and the property is treated as covered. Generic lease language is not enough.
When does AB 1482 expire?: The Tenant Protection Act took effect on January 1, 2020 and is scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2030, unless the Legislature extends it. Until then it applies statewide as a floor of protection. Candidates should know both the effective date and the sunset date, since the Act's temporary nature is a tested detail. Local ordinances operate independently of the sunset and would remain in force even if the state Act lapsed.
How does AB 1482 interact with local rent control?: The state Act is a floor, not a ceiling. Where a local rent-control ordinance restricts increases to less than the AB 1482 cap, or requires just cause that is more protective than state law, the stricter local rule governs those units. Costa-Hawkins still limits what local ordinances can cover — for example, exempting single-family homes and post-1995 construction from local rent control — so the state and local layers interact. When both apply, the tenant gets the more protective rule.

Bottom Line

The California Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482) gives most residential tenants two statewide protections. Civil Code section 1947.12 caps annual rent increases at 5% plus regional CPI, or 10%, whichever is lower, measured against the lowest rent in the prior 12 months and reachable in no more than two increases. Civil Code section 1946.2 requires just cause to terminate after 12 months' occupancy (24 in some multi-tenant cases), splitting reasons into at-fault and no-fault, with no-fault terminations requiring one month's rent in relocation assistance. The Act runs from January 1, 2020 to a January 1, 2030 sunset, covers units more than 15 years old on a rolling basis, and exempts individually owned single-family homes and condos only when the landlord gives the exact statutory notice. Stricter local ordinances govern where they apply. For related topics, see our guides to Costa-Hawkins, security deposits, and the Unruh Civil Rights Act.

Source: California Civil Code §§ 1946.2 (just cause) and 1947.12 (rent cap), Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482). Civil Code § 1947.12 (FindLaw) · Civil Code § 1946.2 (leginfo) · AB 1482 overview (Berkeley Rent Board)