AB 1482 Rent Increases in 2026: What LA Landlords Can Actually Charge

Last updated: July 2026 · By Taylor Avakian, Apartment Building Broker, The Group CRE

If your LA building isn't under the City's Rent Stabilization Ordinance, don't assume you can raise rent by whatever the market will bear. California's statewide rent cap — AB 1482 — almost certainly applies, and for the Los Angeles area the 2026 ceiling is 8.7%. Here's exactly what you can charge, which buildings are exempt, and how AB 1482 stacks up against the LA City and County rent-control rules.

How much can you raise rent under AB 1482 in 2026?

AB 1482 caps annual rent increases at 5% plus the regional change in the cost of living (CPI), or 10% — whichever is lower. The CPI piece is measured each April and resets every August 1.

For the Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim area, the April 2026 CPI came in at 3.7%, so the cap is 8.7% for any increase that takes effect August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027. The year before (August 1, 2025–July 31, 2026) it was 8.0%.

What that looks like in dollars: on a $2,000/month unit, an 8.7% increase is $174 — new rent $2,174. Because 8.7% is below the 10% hard ceiling, the ceiling doesn't bind in LA this year; the regional CPI does all the work.

One caution: the CPI differs by region. Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, and "all other California areas" each have their own number, so if you own outside LA County, use that region's figure — not 8.7%.

What is AB 1482, exactly?

AB 1482, the California Tenant Protection Act of 2019, is the statewide floor for rent regulation. It does two things: it caps annual rent increases (above) and it requires "just cause" to end most tenancies. It applies broadly to residential rentals that aren't already covered by a stricter local ordinance — and it's currently scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2030 unless the Legislature extends it.

Think of AB 1482 as the backstop: if no tighter local rule covers your building, this one does.

Is my building covered by AB 1482 or exempt?

AB 1482 covers most multifamily housing more than 15 years old, on a rolling basis — the 15-year window moves forward every year, so a building's "new construction" exemption expires as it ages. As of 2026, that's roughly units with a certificate of occupancy issued on or before about 2011; anything newer is still exempt.

Common exemptions:

• New construction — housing with a certificate of occupancy issued within the last 15 years (rolling).
• Single-family homes and condos — exempt only if the owner is not a corporation, REIT, or an LLC with a corporate member, and the owner gives the tenant the specific statutory exemption notice (Civil Code §§1946.2(e)(8)(B)(i) and 1947.12(d)(5)(B)(i)). Miss that notice and the unit is treated as covered.
• Deed-restricted affordable housing, certain owner-occupied situations, dorms, and a few others.

If you own a single-family rental or a condo, the exemption notice is the detail that trips people up — no notice, no exemption.

AB 1482 vs. LA City RSO vs. LA County — which one applies?

When more than one rule could apply, the stricter one wins. In practice:

• Pre-October 1978 buildings in the City of LA are under the RSO — a 3% flat cap right now, not 8.7%. AB 1482's higher number is irrelevant there.
• Unincorporated LA County buildings fall under the County RSTPO (roughly 1.93% base for 2025–2026), not AB 1482.
• Newer LA City buildings and most everything not under a local ordinance default to AB 1482 — that's where 8.7% actually applies.

So the 8.7% headline is real, but it only reaches the slice of your portfolio that isn't already under a tighter City or County cap. For the full City-vs-County picture, see my breakdown of LA City vs. LA County rent increase rules.

How often can you raise rent, and what notice do you need?

AB 1482 lets you raise rent no more than twice in any 12-month period, and the two increases combined can't exceed the annual cap. You can't get around the cap with one big jump, either. On top of that, state law requires 30 days' written notice for increases of 10% or less and 90 days' notice for anything above 10% (rare under AB 1482, since the cap itself is usually under 10%).

Just cause and no-fault relocation

Once all tenants have lived in the unit 12 months (or at least one tenant has been there 24 months), you need just cause to end the tenancy. Just cause splits into two buckets:

• At-fault — nonpayment, lease violations, nuisance, and similar.
• No-fault — owner move-in, withdrawal from the rental market, government order, or substantial remodel. No-fault terminations require relocation assistance equal to one month's rent (or a waiver of the final month's rent), provided within 15 days of the notice.

What this means if you own — or you're selling

Here's the part most owners miss: a buyer underwrites an AB 1482 building very differently than a hard rent-controlled one. An 8.7% headline cap sounds generous, but no one models 8.7% forever — CPI moves, and the realistic long-run number is closer to 5–7%. What actually drives value is the gap between your in-place rents and market, and how cleanly your rent history lines up with the AB 1482 cap for each year. If you've over-raised — say, applied last year's 8.0% when a unit had already taken an increase in the same 12 months — that surfaces in diligence and costs you at closing.

If you're weighing a sale, get a valuation that reflects your building's actual rent-regulation status, not a generic cap-rate guess. See my guide to valuing an LA apartment building, and for the broader rulebook start with the LA Landlord Hub.

Want a straight read on where your rents sit against the cap and what your building would actually trade for? Reach out — I'll run the numbers.

Taylor Avakian
Apartment Building Broker, The Group CRE
1880 Century Park E Suite 800, Los Angeles, CA 90067
Phone: 916-996-4421 | Email: taylor@lyonstahl.com

This is general information for LA multifamily owners, not legal advice. Rent-cap and just-cause rules turn on building-specific facts — confirm your property's status with LAHD, the CAA, or counsel before issuing any notice.