Does Torrance Have Local Rent Control, or Just AB 1482?

Published August 10, 2026

Torrance has no permanent citywide rent stabilization ordinance. Rent increases here are governed by California Civil Code 1947.12, and the city's one rent related ordinance, Chapter 16, stopped operating on December 31, 2019.

Last verified: August 10, 2026

Torrance has no permanent citywide rent control or rent stabilization ordinance. Rent increases on covered Torrance rentals are limited by state law only, under California Civil Code 1947.12, the Tenant Protection Act known as AB 1482. For increases taking effect on or after August 1, 2026, the Los Angeles area cap is 8.7 percent.

What the state cap actually is

Civil Code 1947.12 limits an annual increase to 5 percent plus the regional change in the cost of living, or 10 percent, whichever is lower. It is measured against the lowest gross rent charged in the prior 12 months.

For Torrance the applicable index is the CPI-U for Los Angeles, Long Beach and Anaheim. Section 1947.12(g)(3)(B) keys the calculation to the April figure, and the new number takes over for increases effective on or after August 1. The April 2026 figure was 3.7 percent, which produces the 8.7 percent ceiling now in force.

Two other rules matter and get missed often. Rent cannot be raised in more than two increments over any 12 month period for the same tenant. And the statute is scheduled to remain in effect until January 1, 2030, when it repeals by its own terms.

Which Torrance rentals are exempt

Section 1947.12(d) exempts several categories. The ones that come up in the South Bay:

• New construction. Housing issued a certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years. This is a rolling window, not a fixed date, and it does not apply to mobilehomes.
• Separately alienable single family homes and condos. Exempt when the owner is not a corporation, a REIT, or an LLC with a corporate member, and only when the required written notice has been served on the tenant. Miss the notice and you lose the exemption.
• Owner occupied duplexes. Two units in one structure where the owner has lived in one as a principal residence since the tenancy began and still does. Neither unit can be an ADU.
• Deed restricted affordable housing and dormitories operated by a school or institution of higher education.

The eviction side is separate

The cap and the eviction rules are different statutes. Civil Code 1946.2 requires just cause once a tenant has continuously and lawfully occupied the property for 12 months, with a 24 month wrinkle where an adult was added to the tenancy later. It splits grounds into at fault reasons such as nonpayment, lease breach and nuisance, and no fault reasons such as owner move in, withdrawal from the market, a government habitability order, or substantial remodel.

A no fault termination triggers relocation assistance equal to one month of the rent in effect when the notice was issued, payable within 15 calendar days.

The 2019 Chapter 16 ordinance, and why it no longer applies

Torrance did act once. On October 29, 2019 the City Council adopted urgency Ordinance No. O-3854, which added Chapter 16 to Division 4 of the Torrance Municipal Code. It temporarily prohibited no fault evictions of the property AB 1482 was about to cover, which the city's own announcement described as built before January 1, 2005, carrying its own exemption list similar to AB 1482's.

The reason was timing. AB 1482 had just passed and would not take effect until January 1, 2020, and the Council was responding to a wave of no fault notices in the gap. The prohibition ran through December 31, 2019 and no further.

That window closed more than six years ago. The chapter still appears in the published code, but its operative prohibition has expired and it restricts nothing today. Anyone quoting Chapter 16 as live Torrance rent control is quoting a two month bridge measure. The Torrance Municipal Code is current through Ordinance 3966, passed May 19, 2026, and nothing has replaced it.

Mobile home parks

Torrance has 10 registered mobile home parks with about 1,086 spaces, roughly 1.85 percent of the city's housing stock, per the August 9, 2022 staff report to Council.

Council studied a Mobile Home Rent Stabilization Ordinance through 2022 after residents at Skyline Mobile Home Park at 2550 Pacific Coast Highway raised space rent increases of roughly 15.9 percent across nine months. In November 2022 the Council declined to adopt the ordinance and instead accepted a voluntary rent limit agreement offered by the park's ownership. No mobile home rent stabilization ordinance has been adopted in Torrance since.

Note the city's own position in that staff report: AB 1482 does not reach mobile home park space rents. Space rent tenancies where the resident owns the coach sit under the Mobilehome Residency Law, not under 1947.12. If you own or rent in a Torrance park, the governing document is the park's own agreement, not a city ordinance.

What about the LA County and City of LA rent ordinances

Neither reaches Torrance. The Los Angeles County Rent Stabilization Ordinance applies to unincorporated county areas. The City of Los Angeles RSO applies inside City of LA boundaries. Torrance is an incorporated city with neither. Owners with scattered South Bay portfolios get caught by this regularly, because a duplex in unincorporated county territory and a duplex in Torrance follow different rulebooks.

FAQ

Is there rent control in Torrance, California?

No. Torrance has no permanent citywide rent control or rent stabilization ordinance. Rent increases are limited by state law under Civil Code 1947.12, capped at 5 percent plus regional CPI or 10 percent, whichever is lower.

How much can a landlord raise rent in Torrance in 2026?

For increases taking effect on or after August 1, 2026, the ceiling for the Los Angeles area is 8.7 percent, which is 5 percent plus the 3.7 percent April 2026 CPI-U change. That figure updates every August 1. Exempt properties, including qualifying single family homes and housing under 15 years old, are not subject to it.

Does the 2019 Torrance no fault eviction ordinance still apply?

No. Ordinance No. O-3854 added Chapter 16 to Division 4 of the Torrance Municipal Code on October 29, 2019, bridging the gap before AB 1482 took effect, and its prohibition ran only through December 31, 2019. Statewide just cause under Civil Code 1946.2 took over on January 1, 2020.

Does Torrance regulate mobile home park space rent?

Not through a rent stabilization ordinance. The City Council studied one in 2022 after steep increases at Skyline Mobile Home Park, then declined to adopt it in November 2022 in favor of a voluntary rent limit agreement offered by the park's ownership. No mobile home rent stabilization ordinance has been adopted in Torrance since.

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Rent caps, CPI figures and exemption tests change. Confirm current figures with a licensed professional before serving a rent increase or a termination notice.

Topics: Torrance, rent control, AB 1482, California Civil Code 1947.12, South Bay landlords, tenant protections, mobile home parks, property management

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