Rent regulation & tenants
AB 1482 (Tenant Protection Act)
California's statewide rent cap (5% + CPI, max 10%) and just-cause eviction law, codified at Civil Code §§ 1947.12 and 1946.2; sunsets January 1, 2030.
Definition
The Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482) is California's statewide rent-and-eviction floor: Civil Code § 1947.12 caps annual increases on covered occupied units at 5% plus regional CPI, never more than 10%, and § 1946.2 requires just cause to terminate a tenancy after 12 months of occupancy.
Coverage has two big carve-outs: units with a certificate of occupancy issued within the prior 15 years — a rolling exemption that expires unit by unit — and separately alienable single-family homes and condos held by non-corporate owners who serve the required exemption notice. Deed-restricted affordable housing runs on its own regime. Both sections sunset January 1, 2030 unless extended.
Why it matters in an underwrite
AB 1482 is the default growth assumption for any covered California unit without stricter local control: sitting-tenant growth is bounded at 5% + CPI (≤10%), while turnover always resets to market. The 15-year exemption is the underwriting subtlety — a 2015-vintage building rolls into coverage in 2030 — so newer-vintage holds should model the roll-in year and both sides of the 2030 sunset. And inherited leases routinely lack the single-family exemption notice, which means the cap applies until the notice is cured prospectively.
Sources & related guides
See also
See the term in the law itself
Read the controlling text in the Code Library, or ask the AI how it applies to your project.
Last reviewed 2026-07-29. General information, not legal advice.