Statewide Rent Cap (Civil Code § 1947.12)

Civil Code § 1947.12 is the rent-cap half of California's AB 1482 Tenant Protection Act. For covered housing, a landlord may not raise the gross rental rate more than 5% plus the percentage change in the regional Consumer Price Index (CPI), or 10%, whichever is lower, over any 12-month period. The companion just-cause rule at § 1946.2 governs evictions.

The cap is fact-specific: it depends on the unit's age, the local CPI figure, and any earlier increases in the same 12 months. It is also distinct from stricter local rent control ordinances, which can set lower limits. Checking the correct number for a specific address is exactly what GoCodebook does.

The formula is 5% + local CPI, then take the lower of that result or 10%. The CPI used is the percentage change from April of the prior year to April of the current year in the regional index for the metro area where the unit sits, published around mid-May. For example, with an April CPI change of 1.3%, the allowable increase is 6.3% (5% + 1.3%). If 5% + CPI ever exceeds 10%, the increase is still capped at 10%.

The cap applies to the gross rental rate over any 12-month period, and a landlord may impose no more than two increases in that window, with the combined total still under the cap. Rent charged above the limit is not enforceable, and under the SB 567 amendments a willful overcharge can expose a landlord to damages of up to three times the excess.

The cap reaches most residential rentals statewide, but key exemptions apply: housing issued a certificate of occupancy within the last 15 years (a rolling date), single-family homes and condos not owned by a corporation or REIT when the required written notice is given, and owner-occupied duplexes. Units under stricter local rent control governed by the Costa-Hawkins Act follow that local rule instead.

Because eligibility turns on build date, ownership and notice, two similar units on the same street can have different caps. GoCodebook checks the property facts and returns the cited rule for that unit.

The § 1947.12 rent cap controls how much rent can rise; the separate just-cause rule controls when a tenancy can end. Both come from AB 1482, and both were tightened by SB 567 in 2024.

A city's own rent control ordinance can be stricter than the statewide cap. Where local control applies, the lower local ceiling generally governs — another reason to confirm both layers before raising rent. Ask GoCodebook for the exact allowable increase at an address.