Los Angeles Rent Increase Rules 2026–27: The 3% RSO Cap, the 8.7% State Cap and How to Check Your Notice
If your landlord in Los Angeles just raised the rent, the first question is not "how much?" but "which law covers my unit?" The answer decides whether the most your rent can rise this year is 3%, 8.7%, or whatever the market will bear.
Most L.A. renters fall under one of two systems. Older apartments are usually covered by the City's Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO), which allows a 3% increase for July 2026 through June 2027. Many newer buildings and some houses fall under California's statewide cap, the Tenant Protection Act (often called AB 1482), which allows up to 8.7% in Los Angeles County for increases starting August 1, 2026. Some units aren't covered by either.
This guide shows how to tell which rule applies, what changed in 2026, how much notice you're owed, and what to do about an illegal increase.
Last checked October 2026. Sources: the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) Allowable Rent Increase Bulletin, RSO Overview and Renter Protections pages; the California Attorney General's rent cap page; and California Civil Code section 1947.12. This is general information, not legal advice.
The Short Version
Your unit | Yearly limit | Period |
RSO unit (most L.A. apartments built on or before Oct. 1, 1978) | 3% | July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027 |
Covered by state law (AB 1482) | 8.7% (5% + 3.7% regional CPI, never more than 10%) | Increases starting Aug. 1, 2026 – July 31, 2027 |
Exempt from both | No cap, but notice rules still apply | — |
Notice: at least 30 days' written notice for increases of 10% or less in a year; 90 days for more than 10%.
RSO changes in 2026: a new formula (1% to 4%), no extra utility increase, and no extra rent for adding a dependent.
Help: LAHD hotline (866) 557-RENT [7368].
Step 1: Find Out Which Rules Cover Your Unit
Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO)
According to LAHD, the RSO generally applies to rental property in the City of Los Angeles first built on or before October 1, 1978, including:
apartments and duplexes;
two or more single-family homes on the same parcel;
rooms in hotels, motels, rooming houses or boarding houses rented by the same tenant for more than 30 consecutive days;
residential units attached to commercial buildings;
ADUs and junior ADUs on covered properties; and
mobile homes and RVs in mobile home parks.
Condos and townhomes can also be RSO units, but LAHD notes their rent amount isn't regulated for tenancies that began after December 31, 1995.
A single-family home alone on its lot is generally not an RSO unit. Neither are most buildings built after October 1978. Those may fall under state law instead.
How to check: RSO landlords must register units with LAHD every year and give tenants an annual registration statement, sometimes called the RSO certificate. If you've never received one, call LAHD's hotline to confirm whether your building is covered.
The Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482)
Under Civil Code section 1947.12, the state cap applies to most rental housing in California, with these main exceptions:
Newer housing: units with a certificate of occupancy issued within the past 15 years (mobile homes are an exception to this exception).
Single-family homes and condos owned by individuals, if the owner is not a real estate investment trust, a corporation, or an LLC with at least one corporate member, and you were given a written notice using the exact wording in the statute saying the property is exempt. No proper notice, no exemption.
Owner-occupied duplexes, where the owner lived in one unit when your tenancy began and still lives there (as long as neither unit is an ADU).
Deed-restricted or subsidized affordable housing and school or college dormitories.
Units under local rent control that's stricter, which is why RSO units follow the RSO's 3% instead.
The Attorney General's office notes that the state cap covers single-family homes and condos owned by corporations, and housing rented by Section 8 voucher holders.
The Just Cause Ordinance is not a rent cap
Since January 27, 2023, L.A.'s Just Cause Ordinance (JCO) has protected most non-RSO tenants from eviction without a legal reason. But LAHD is clear that the JCO doesn't regulate rent increases. If you're under the JCO, your rent limit, if any, comes from state law.
Step 2: Know the Limit for Your Unit
RSO units: 3% through June 2027
LAHD's Allowable Rent Increase Bulletin sets the RSO increase for July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, at 3%. The bulletin notes the increase can be applied only once every 12 months, isn't cumulative and isn't retroactive. In other words, a landlord who skipped last year's increase can't add it to this year's.
What changed in 2026. The City Council amended the RSO, effective February 2, 2026. According to LAHD:
New formula: the yearly increase is now 90% of the average Consumer Price Index, with a floor of 1% and a ceiling of 4%. Under the old rules, the range was 3% to 8%.
No utility add-on: landlords used to be able to add extra percentage points when they paid for gas or electricity. That's no longer allowed.
No increase for dependents: adding a dependent to your household can no longer trigger an extra 10% increase. Adding another adult tenant who isn't a dependent still can: up to 10% per additional tenant, with a matching rent reduction when that tenant moves out. The landlord must give notice of that increase within 60 days of learning about the new tenant.
For context, LAHD's chronology shows the RSO increase was 4% for July 2024–June 2025 and 3% for July 2025–June 2026.
Other allowed charges. LAHD's bulletin also lists:
a security deposit increase at the same percentage as the annual rent increase;
a monthly surcharge of $2.83 to pass through half of the city's SCEP inspection fee; and
a monthly surcharge of $1.61 to pass through half of the RSO registration fee.
Landlords can apply to LAHD for larger increases tied to approved capital improvements, major renovations, seismic retrofits, required rehab work, or a showing that the property's net operating income is too low. These require LAHD approval, so ask to see the approval if one is cited.
When the rent can reset. An RSO landlord can raise the rent to market when a tenant moves out voluntarily, is evicted for non-payment or a lease violation, is evicted under certain city orders, or accepts a buyout agreement. A new tenant then starts at that new rent, and the 3% limit applies to future increases.
State-law units: 8.7% for increases starting August 1, 2026
Under Civil Code section 1947.12, a covered landlord can't raise the rent over any 12-month period by more than 5% plus the change in the regional Consumer Price Index, or 10%, whichever is lower. The CPI figure for increases starting on or after August 1 is the April-to-April change.
For Los Angeles and Orange counties, the Attorney General lists:
8.7% for increases starting between August 1, 2026, and July 31, 2027; and
8% for increases starting between August 1, 2025, and July 31, 2026.
A few rules make the math stricter than it looks:
The cap is measured against the lowest rent charged in the 12 months before the increase. Discounts or concessions you accepted are excluded from that calculation, and the lease must list them separately.
A landlord can raise the rent in no more than two increments in 12 months, and the total still can't exceed the cap.
When a new tenant moves in after the previous one leaves, the landlord can set the starting rent freely. The cap applies to increases after that.
Step 3: Check the Notice
Both LAHD and state law require written notice before a rent increase takes effect:
30 days for an increase of 10% or less within 12 months;
90 days for an increase of more than 10% within 12 months.
For RSO units, an increase of more than 3% in a year is already over the limit unless LAHD approved it.
L.A. landlords also must give tenants who move in or renew on or after January 27, 2023, a Notice of Renters' Protections, and post it in a common area. LAHD updates it every July 1 when the RSO percentage changes.
If Your Increase Looks Illegal
Don't ignore it. Write down the dates, the old and new rent, and keep the notice.
Use LAHD's RSO rent increase calculator if you're in an RSO unit.
Call LAHD at (866) 557-RENT [7368] or contact LAHD through housing.lacity.gov.
Put your concern in writing to the landlord, explaining which law you believe applies.
Get legal help before withholding any rent. Non-payment can lead to an eviction case even if you're right about the increase.
Remedies under state law. For units covered by Civil Code 1947.12, a landlord who collects more than the legal maximum can be sued for the excess, plus attorney's fees and costs at the court's discretion. If the landlord acted willfully or with oppression, fraud or malice, a court can award up to three times the overcharge. Such a lawsuit must be filed within three years. The Attorney General and the city attorney can also enforce the law. Any lease clause waiving these rights is void.
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