For tenants who are not under the 1979 rent control law but live in a multi-unit building built after 1979 with a certificate of occupancy older than 15 years, they’re now under 1482. That means 15 before the date you’re reading this website.

Tenants in a single family home (SFH) or condo owned by an LLC (Limited Liability Company) or a real estate investment trust or a corporation are also covered under 1482. If the owner of the SFH is a person, then the unit is exempt from 1482, but the owner must notify the tenant(s) of this exemption in writing. For all rental agreements entered into or renewed after July 1, 2020, this notice must be in the rental agreement.

The notice should read:

“This property is not subject to the rent limits imposed by Section 1947.12 of the Civil Code and is not subject to the just cause requirements of Section 1946.2 of the Civil Code. This property meets the requirements of Sections 1947.12 (d)(5) and 1946.2 (e)(8) of the Civil Code and the owner is not any of the following: (1) a real estate investment trust, as defined by Section 856 of the Internal Revenue Code; (2) a corporation; or (3) a limited liability company in which at least one member is a corporation.”

A single family home is exempt if the owner lives with the tenant (lodger). A duplex may be exempt from the law if the owner continually occupies one of the units as the owner’s principal place of residence and has lived there since the beginning of the tenant’s tenancy. Another situation in which the unit may be exempt is if the owner/occupant rents or leases no more than two units or bedrooms, including, but not limited to, an accessory dwelling unit.

Units Not Covered:

• Hotels or hostels or other short-term stay housing

• Non-profit hospital, religious facility, extended care facility, licensed elderly care facility, or adult residential facilities provided by State social services

• Student dormitories

• Single Family Home or Duplex where the landlord lives on the property. (This includes Accessory Dwelling Units and in-law units)

• Affordable housing, subsidized housing, (including THC, TNDC, CHP, Mercy, etc.) HUD housing, or deed-restricted housing

• Mobile homes

Rent Increase Protections 

AB 1482 limits rent increases to 5% + CPI (Consumer Price Index) for SF, but caps them at 10%. You can find the CPI here: www.dir.ca.gov/OPRL/CAPriceIndex.htm. After going to that site, use the Consumer Price Index calculator.

Note that a landlord could give up to two rent increases a year, but the total of both added together cannot exceed 10% or 5% plus the CPI.

A landlord cannot bank on back rent increases under 1482. When the last tenant moves out, the landlord can raise the rent up to market. 

Just Cause

Just cause only applies to all apartments covered by AB 1482 where the tenants have lived for 12 months or more. If a tenant moves in and then moves in with a roommate during that first year, all the tenants have to live there for 12 months in order to be covered under just cause, or one of the tenants has to have lived there for 24 months.

HOWEVER, SF passed a just cause law that covers almost all buildings in SF and supersedes 1482’s just cause and put all tenants who are now under 1482 under the local SF rent ordinance’s just cause, which does not have the above-mentioned one- or two-year residency rule. The law only applies to San Francisco. Call our counseling line (Monday through Thursday, 1-5pm, 415-703-8644) for clarification on this. For the just causes that now apply in SF, see the eviction section.

Enforcement

Unfortunately, there is no enforcement mechanism in AB 1482, so the default would be going to court. If a tenant has a complaint that’s under $12,500, they can go to Small Claims Court. For an illegal rent increase under 1482, a tenant can file at the Rent Board.