Maximum Rent Increase Wizard
Answer one question at a time. You’ll get the maximum new rent for a California rental, the math, the notice period — and a warning if an emergency price cap is in effect.
Loading the wizard…
The wizard finds your county from the ZIP code, picks the CPI region and the right August-to-July period for the date you plan to raise rent, checks the exemptions in Civil Code § 1947.12(d), and shows the maximum rent under the cap: the lesser of 5% plus the regional CPI change, or 10%. It also checks emergency price-cap orders in our data file for your county on today’s date.
What does the wizard check?
- The cap: 5% + regional CPI, up to 10%, applied to the lowest rent in the prior 12 months.
- Two increases in 12 months: flags when no further increase is allowed.
- Exemptions: the six categories in § 1947.12(d), one question at a time.
- Emergency orders: active orders are applied automatically — even to exempt properties — with a banner and a source link. Expired orders are kept in the data but not applied.
- Notice period: 30 days for increases of 10% or less, 90 days for more.
- Local rent control: flags cities with their own rules and points to the rent board. It does not calculate local limits.
What does it not cover?
- Mobilehome-park rentals, local rent-control limits, subsidized-housing rules and lease terms.
- Units not rented or advertised in the prior year during an emergency (a different, FMR-based rule applies).
- Periods before August 1, 2025 and after July 31, 2027, until figures are added.
Where do the numbers come from?
The CPI figures are the Attorney General’s published maximums (oag.ca.gov/rentcaps), which rely on Bureau of Labor Statistics regional indexes. Emergency-order details come from the proclamations and ordinances linked in the result. Only San Diego’s CPI has been cross-checked against BLS; other regions rely on the Attorney General’s chart
Frequently asked questions
Is the result legal advice?
No. The wizard is an educational estimate based on the answers you give and on data we maintain. It does not apply local ordinances, lease terms or your full circumstances. Confirm with an attorney or your local rent board before serving a notice.
Why does the wizard ask about exemptions?
Several property types are exempt from the AB 1482 cap — for example, certain single-family homes and condos, buildings with a certificate of occupancy issued in the last 15 years, and owner-occupied duplexes. The questions follow Civil Code § 1947.12(d) one at a time. Even an exempt property can be covered by an emergency price cap or local rules.
Does an emergency order really apply to exempt properties?
Penal Code § 396 limits rent increases during a declared emergency in the affected area and is separate from AB 1482. The wizard therefore applies active orders to exempt properties as well, and it shows the source for each order.
Is my information stored?
No. Everything runs in your browser. The wizard loads three small data files from this site and does not send your answers anywhere.
This tool provides general information and an estimate only. See the full disclaimer.