Trying to understand how much your rent can go up? For tenants in Southern California, it’s confusing.
State law in California currently allows annual rent hikes of up to 8.8% for many apartments in L.A. and Orange counties.
However, different parts of SoCal — and other parts of the state — have very different rules on rent increases. Some cities have local forms of rent control. Others don’t.
Older buildings are more likely to be subject to caps on rent increases. Many newer buildings have no limits at all. The idea behind exempting newly built properties is to maintain incentives for developers to build new housing.
The Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act limits the kinds of rent control cities can impose on buildings constructed since 1995, and state lawmakers agreed to exclude buildings constructed within the last 15 years from statewide rent caps.
We know that finding the answers for your living situation isn’t easy. To sort it all out, we’ve put together a short guide on rent control laws across Southern California. They’re presented below, alphabetically.
Of course, we’re not lawyers. We can’t tell you exactly what’s legal and what’s not in your specific living situation. L.A. tenants who need further help can reach out to Stay Housed L.A., a partnership between local governments and legal aid organizations.
The city’s rent control law currently limits annual increases to 5%.
The city’s rent increase caps generally apply to rental housing built before Jan. 1, 1995, with exceptions for mobile homes, duplexes and single-family homes.
The city calculates allowable rent increases based on 50% of local inflation, or 4%, whichever is lower.
City councilmembers in Bell Gardens voted to implement local rent control in August 2022.
The city’s rent control law generally applies to apartments built before Feb. 1, 1995. Single family homes, condos and townhomes are generally excluded.
After freezing rent increases for the first two years of the pandemic, the city of Beverly Hills is now allowing annual rent increases of up to 3.2% in most rent-controlled housing.
However, landlords are allowed to raise the rent 3.9% on tenants who originally moved into their housing units at rents of $600 or less, and who live in buildings constructed before Sept. 20, 1978.
Details on how these complex rent increase rules work can be found on the city’s website. Beverly Hills’ rent control law generally applies to rental housing constructed before Feb. 1, 1995.
The city’s maximum allowable rent increase from Aug. 1, 2023 to July 31, 2024 is 3%.
The Cudahy city council passed a local rent control ordinance in June 2023.
Under Cudahy’s rent control law, landlords cannot raise rents by more than 3% per year. In years when inflation (as defined by the local consumer price index, the most commonly used measure of inflation) is running lower than 3%, landlords must base annual rent hikes on the lower inflation figure.
The city’s rent control ordinance generally applies to rental housing built before Feb. 1, 1995. The limits don’t apply to renters in single family houses, condos, or townhomes.
Tenants covered by rent control in Culver City can currently receive annual rent hikes of up to 4.25% during December 2023, and 4% during January 2024.
Culver City’s rent control law generally applies to rental housing units built before Feb. 1, 1995. The law generally exempts single-family homes as well as certain condos, townhomes and accessory dwelling units.
Inglewood’s rent control law, which originally took effect in 2019, currently allows annual rent increases of up to 10%. But the city’s rent hike limits can be much lower than that, depending on the size of the apartment building you live in, and how cheap your current rent is.
If you live in a building with five or more apartments, your landlord can generally raise your rent by no more than 3.8%. That figure is based on the local consumer price index from April 2023. The city updates its allowable rent increases each year based on those April inflation figures.
Have you received an illegal rent increase? L.A. County tenants needing legal help can reach out to StayHousedLA.org.
If you're facing eviction over a rent increase, read LAist's eviction guide for help on how to stay housed (also available in Spanish).
However, Inglewood allows landlords with smaller buildings to impose higher rent increases. If you live in a rent-controlled apartment building with four units or less, your landlord can currently raise your rent by 8.8%.
Additionally, Inglewood allows landlords to raise rents even more on tenants who pay 80% or less of the area’s “fair market rent.” Essentially, this means landlords can impose higher annual increases on those with cheaper rents. Details on what qualifies as “below fair market rent” can be found on the city’s website. Tenants below those limits can receive recent hikes of up to 8.8% in buildings with five units or more — or up to 10% in buildings with four units or less.
The city’s limits on annual rent increases generally exempt single-family homes, condos and any rental housing built within the last 15 years.
Currently, rent controlled apartments in L.A. are under a rent freeze and increases are not allowed. Starting Feb. 1, 2024, landlords will be allowed to raise rents by 4% on tenants covered by the city of L.A.’s rent control law. The city allows landlords to increase rents by another 1% if they pay for the tenant's gas, plus another 1% if they pay for the tenant's electricity, for a total allowable increase of 6% if they cover both utilities.
Despite the ongoing rent freeze, L.A. tenants are now filing record numbers of complaints about illegal rent hikes. If you believe you’ve received an illegal rent hike in a city of L.A. rent-controlled apartment, you can file a complaint with the city’s housing department here.
With the rent freeze drawing to a close, city council members fiercely debated what rent hikes should be allowed moving forward. Some wanted to continue the freeze another six months, while others said the financial impacts on small landlords have already been too severe. In the end, the council decided to let rent hikes resume in February, but at lower levels than originally scheduled.
The city’s rent control law generally covers rental housing units built before Oct. 1, 1978. Single family homes and condos are generally exempt.
Prior to the pandemic, when inflation was much lower, allowable rent increases in L.A. rarely rose above 3%. But under the city’s rent control rules, inflation can drive annual increases as high as 8%.
The city’s current limit on annual rent increases is 3.8%.
Maywood’s city council voted in July 2023 to implement a new rent control policy after the city’s temporary rent hike freeze expires on Sept. 28, 2023.
The new rent control rules in this southeastern L.A. city will limit annual increases to 4% or the annual change in the local consumer price index, whichever is lower.
Maywood’s rent control limits generally apply to rental housing built before Feb. 1, 1995. Single-family homes, condos and townhomes are generally not covered by the city’s rules.
The city’s current annual rent hike limit is 2.75%. Under the city’s rules, landlords can raise rents once per year, only after giving tenants a 30-day notice.
Voters in Pasadena passed Measure H in November 2022, bringing rent control to their city.
The city’s rent control rules generally apply to rental properties built before Feb. 1, 1995. Condos and single-family homes are generally exempt.
The city’s current limit on annual rent hikes is 4%.
In August 2022, Pomona City Council passed a rent control ordinance that limits annual rent hikes to no more than 4%, or the change in the local consumer price index, whichever is lower.
The city’s rent hike limits generally apply to rental housing built before Feb. 1, 1995. Single-family homes, condos and townhomes are generally exempt.
The city currently caps annual rent increases in rent-controlled housing at 2.54%. That limit is set to remain in place until at least the end of August 2024.
The city’s rules limit rent hikes to 80% of the local consumer price index or 3%, whichever is lower.
The law, adopted in late 2021, generally applies to apartment buildings built on or before Feb. 1, 1995.
Currently, the city generally limits annual rent increases to 2.8% for covered units, with a maximum increase of $67 per month.
Voters in Santa Monica approved a ballot measure in November 2022 lowering allowable annual rent hikes to 3%, or a maximum of $70 per month. Just before that vote, in September 2022, Santa Monica’s rent control board approved a 6% increase, with a cap of $140 per month. The ballot measure invalidated the higher increases.
Rent control in Santa Monica generally applies to apartments built before April 10, 1979.
The city currently allows increases of up to 2.5% in rent-controlled housing. This allowable increase is set to continue through Aug. 31, 2024.
Similar to the city of L.A., the city of West Hollywood banned rent increases in rent-controlled units due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But that ban is now expired.
The city’s rent control rules generally apply to rental properties with two or more units that were first occupied before July 1, 1979. Typically, the city calculates allowable increases using a formula based on 75% of the local consumer price index.
Annual rent hikes of up to 3% are now allowed in rent-controlled housing in unincorporated parts of L.A. County.
There are 88 incorporated cities in L.A. County. But many areas are not incorporated and are instead subject to rules passed by county elected leaders. One in 10 county residents lives in an unincorporated area, including places like East Los Angeles, Florence-Graham and Altadena.
Many renters in these areas are subject to rent control rules that are specific to unincorporated parts of the county. Rents were frozen for rent-controlled buildings in unincorporated L.A. County during the COVID-19 pandemic, but that ban expired on March 31, 2023.
The county’s rules generally apply to rental housing in unincorporated areas built before Feb. 1, 1995.
Many incorporated cities in L.A. do not have local forms of rent control. For a 2022 story about inflation and rising rents, we interviewed tenants in Burbank facing rent hikes of 10%. Those tenants were receiving such large increases in part because they lived in a city that does not impose local limits on annual rent hikes.
Even if your city lacks rent control, you may still be covered by a 2019 law called the California Tenant Protection Act (also known as AB 1482). That law is meant to stop landlords from passing on very large rent increases to tenants across the state who live in areas without local rent control.
There are some exceptions — newly built housing is not covered by this law. That means if you live in an apartment built within the past 15 years, these limits do not apply to your situation. But if your building is older than that, your unit is likely subject to the Tenant Protection Act’s limits on annual rent hikes.
The state law's rent increase limit is 8.8% for L.A. and Orange counties starting Aug. 1.Typically, local rules take precedence over the state law, so if you live somewhere with stricter rent control, your landlord will have to comply with the lower local caps on rent increases.
The allowed increases under the Tenant Protection Act change each year. The rate is determined by the local consumer price index from April. State law sets the maximum allowed rent increase at 5% plus the local consumer price index (which was 3.8% in the L.A. area this April) — or 10%, whichever is lower.
When COVID-era inflation was running high, the law’s 10% maximum annual rent hike was in effect. But since inflation has cooled, the annual limit for L.A. and Orange counties has fallen slightly.
Since Aug. 1, 2023, landlords are not allowed to raise rents more than 8.8% on any tenants in L.A. or Orange counties covered by this law. That 8.8% limit will remain in effect for all rent hikes over the next year, until the threshold resets again on Aug. 1, 2024.
This story was originally published July 20, 2022 and has been updated multiple times with new information.
