California multifamily developer guides
Rent Control & Tenant Protections
AB 1482 caps and just cause, Costa-Hawkins exemptions and vacancy decontrol, local ordinance layers, federal preemption for HUD-insured assets, and the Ellis Act exit — what actually binds rents in a California underwrite.
AB 1482 and Costa-Hawkins: modeling rent caps and exemptions
Statewide caps of 5% + CPI (max 10%), a rolling 15-year new-construction exemption, and full mark-to-market on vacancy — the baseline every California rent roll is modeled against.
Read the guide →Local ordinances vs. state and federal law: which layer wins
Every asset sits under a stack — federal, state, local. Underwrite the most restrictive rule at each layer, and know which layers preempt the others.
Read the guide →Ellis Act withdrawals: the exit ramp and its long tail
You can always leave the rental business — all units, proper notice — but the statute attaches up to a decade of rollbacks, re-offer rights and replacement consequences to the site.
Read the guide →Just-cause eviction under Civ. Code § 1946.2: operating inside the rules
After 12 months of occupancy, every covered termination needs a statutory cause — and every no-fault notice owes one month's rent in relocation assistance within 15 days.
Read the guide →Substantial-remodel evictions: the narrow lane for renovation-driven turnover
Permit-required structural, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical work that forces 30+ consecutive days of vacancy — nothing less clears the bar, and since SB 567 the notice has to prove it.
Read the guide →Vouchers and source-of-income rules: Section 8 in a market-rate underwrite
"No Section 8" is off the table in California — so the underwrite turns on what the PHA will actually pay (rent reasonableness and the payment standard) and what inspections will cost.
Read the guide →More developer guides
- Density Bonus & Zoning Incentives
- Entitlements & Streamlined Approvals
- Demolition, Replacement Housing & Relocation
- Impact Fees, Exactions & Special Taxes
- CEQA & Environmental Review
- Affordable Housing Finance: LIHTC, Bonds & Rental Subsidies
- Building Codes & Construction Standards
- Subdivision, Condo Maps & Development Agreements
- Site Selection & Development Due Diligence
Every rule cited in these guides links to the verbatim statute or regulation in the California Code Library and the federal housing-law library.
Apply these rules to a real parcel
Ask the AI how rent regulation play out in a specific city or county — grounded in the code text.