Raising Rent Under AB 1482 in 2026: The Exact Los Angeles Cap and Notice Rules

Published July 15, 2026

The 2026 AB 1482 cap for LA area rentals is 8.7 percent, 5 percent plus a 3.7 percent CPI figure, through July 2027.

For most covered rentals in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area, the Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482, Civil Code section 1947.12) caps the allowable rent increase at 8.7 percent for the period running August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027. That number comes from the statute's formula, 5 percent plus the regional April to April Consumer Price Index change, capped at 10 percent total, and this year's April CPI-U figure for the LA area came in at 3.7 percent.

How the cap actually works

Civil Code section 1947.12 limits annual rent increases on covered units to the lower of two numbers: 10 percent, or 5 percent plus the percentage change in the applicable regional Consumer Price Index over the prior 12 months. California is split into CPI regions for this purpose, and the South Bay falls under the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim region. Each spring, once the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the April CPI figure, that number gets locked in for the 12 month period beginning August 1 of that year. For 2026, the LA region's April CPI-U change was 3.7 percent, so 5 percent plus 3.7 percent gives the 8.7 percent ceiling that applies from August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027.

A critical point owners get wrong: the cap is a ceiling, not a target. A landlord is legally allowed to charge up to 8.7 percent, but plenty of owners charge less, especially on renewals with a good, long-tenured tenant, because the cost of turnover (vacancy, make ready, re-leasing) often outweighs the marginal rent gain from pushing to the legal maximum. There is no requirement to charge the full cap, and no penalty for charging less.

What is actually covered

AB 1482 does not apply to every rental in the South Bay. The most common exemptions owners should know:

• Single family homes and condos are exempt only if the property is not owned by a real estate investment trust, a corporation, or an LLC with at least one corporate member, and the landlord gave the tenant the specific written exemption notice required by Civil Code section 1947.12(d)(5)(B). Leave that notice box blank on the lease and most attorneys will tell you the exemption is not properly claimed.
• A duplex where the owner occupies one unit as a principal residence at the start of the tenancy is exempt.
• New construction is exempt for 15 years from the certificate of occupancy.
• Properties already subject to a stricter local rent control ordinance, such as the City of Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance, follow that local cap instead where it is more restrictive.

If a unit is not exempt, the 8.7 percent statewide-formula cap for the LA region applies regardless of what the lease says.

Notice periods, separate from the cap

How much notice you owe a tenant is governed by Civil Code section 827, not by 1947.12 itself, and it depends on the size of the increase relative to what the tenant paid in the trailing 12 months. An increase of 10 percent or less requires at least 30 days' written notice before the effective date. An increase of more than 10 percent, which will not happen on a covered unit because AB 1482 already caps it at 8.7 percent this cycle, requires at least 90 days. In practice, almost every AB 1482 covered increase in the LA region this cycle only needs the 30 day notice, since 8.7 percent is under the 10 percent notice threshold.

What this means for you

Before sending an increase notice, confirm three things: whether the unit is actually covered by AB 1482 or falls under an exemption you have properly documented, which CPI region applies (LA region for South Bay properties), and that your notice states the new rent and effective date with at least 30 days' lead time. Most disputes we see are not about the math, they are about a missing exemption notice or a notice sent with too little lead time.

If you would rather not track CPI publication dates and notice deadlines yourself, that is what we do.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm with a licensed professional before you act.

Sources

1. California Civil Code section 1947.12, California Legislative Information
2. California Civil Code section 827, California Legislative Information
3. California Civil Code section 1946.2, California Legislative Information
4. CPI Update 2026: New Allowable Increases Under State Law (A.B. 1482) as of August 1st, Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles
5. All CPI figures for 2026 AB 1482 rent increases now available, California Apartment Association
6. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Los Angeles area

Last verified: July 2026.

Topics: playbook, AB 1482, rent increase, Tenant Protection Act, Los Angeles, compliance

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