Information, not legal advice. Not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. We are not a law firm and cannot answer questions about your own situation.
Cap Lookup: California
This page does one sum. Type a rent and pick a county, and it returns the figure Civil Code 1947.12 sets for a 12-month increase, worked from the statute’s formula and the Attorney General’s table. It does not know your unit, so it applies none of the exemptions: the list sits above the sum for that reason, and it is the part to read first.
The statute’s sentence
Civ. Code 1947.12(a)(1): “an owner of residential real property shall not, over the course of any 12-month period, increase the gross rental rate for a dwelling or a unit more than 5 percent plus the percentage change in the cost of living, or 10 percent, whichever is lower, of the lowest gross rental rate charged for that dwelling or unit at any time during the 12 months prior to the effective date of the increase.”
At most two increases in 12 months for the same tenant ((a)(2)). A new tenancy starts at any rent ((b)). The increase itself goes out under Civil Code 827 ((e)). The section is repealed Jan 1, 2030 ((o)). Civ. Code 1947.12
Who is outside the cap
- Housing issued a certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years, unless it is a mobilehome ((d)(4)).
- A single-family home or condo, in the statute’s words housing “alienable separate from the title to any other dwelling unit”, when the owner is not a real estate investment trust, a corporation, a limited liability company with a corporate member, or mobilehome park management, and the tenant has the statute’s written notice ((d)(5)). The notice begins “This property is not subject to the rent limits imposed by Section 1947.12 of the Civil Code”, and for a tenancy begun or renewed on or after Jul 1, 2020 it goes in the rental agreement.
- A two-unit building where the owner lived in one unit as their principal residence at the start of the tenancy and still does, neither unit an accessory dwelling unit or a junior one ((d)(6)).
Subdivision (d) lists more. These are the three that reach owners of one to four units; the whole list is at the link above. This page applies none of them: the figure below is the statute’s figure for a unit the cap reaches.
The sum
Not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.
The table behind the sum
Attorney General, “Limits on Rent Increases”, for increases taking effect Aug 1, 2026 to Jul 31, 2027:
| Region | Figure |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles and Orange Counties | 8.7% |
| Riverside and San Bernardino Counties | 8.1% |
| San Diego County | 8.2% |
| Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo Counties | 8.8% |
| All other counties | 8.6% |
Source: the Attorney General’s table. The figures are the table’s, not ours; we do not compute them.
What this page cannot tell you
- Whether the cap reaches your unit. The exemptions above are not applied here.
- Whether a city or county sets a lower figure. The Attorney General’s page also lists local caps; this page does not use them. State law only.
- Whether this would be the second increase inside 12 months, or what the lowest rent charged in those 12 months was for your unit. Those are your records.
- The figure for an increase taking effect before Aug 1, 2026 or after Jul 31, 2027. That is a different year’s table.
- Whether the increase notice is right. That is Civil Code 827, not this page.
- Anything about your own situation. The line at the top says why.
The price tag
For an owner who goes over: the excess back, fees at the court’s discretion, and up to three times the excess on a finding of willfulness, oppression, fraud or malice; three years to bring it ((k)).
What we keep
Nothing. We do not store what you type.
Next
Washington and Oregon, where the statute also sets a yearly figure, are next. No date.
The Attorney General’s chart twice cites “Civil Code section 1974.12”. The cap is 1947.12.