Los Angeles rent increase rules (2026)

Which rule covers your unit?

The RSO covers apartments, condos, townhomes, duplexes, two or more houses on one lot, and some ADUs, if the building was first built on or before October 1, 1978. A single-family home alone on its lot and housing built later are generally not under the RSO. LAMC § 151.02 If you're unsure, look up the address on the city's RSO overview or call LAHD.

Unincorporated Los Angeles County, such as East Los Angeles or Altadena, has a separate county ordinance with a much lower cap (1.919% for July 2026 to June 2027 for most units). Other cities in the county, such as Santa Monica, Pasadena, or West Hollywood, have their own rules too. See the list.

RSO units: 3% for July 2026 to June 2027

• The allowable increase is 3% for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, the same as the year before. Source: LAHD
• Rent can go up once every 12 months.
• A new formula adopted in late 2025 sets the yearly increase at 90% of CPI, with a floor of 1% and a ceiling of 4%. It also ended the extra 1% each for owner-paid gas and electricity for increases effective on or after February 2, 2026.
• Units must be registered with LAHD every year, including the rent registry information. Keep registration current before raising rent. You may pass part of the registration fee to the tenant with 30 days' notice.
• When a tenant moves out voluntarily or is evicted for cause, you can generally set the new tenant's starting rent. It then stays under the RSO.

Non-RSO units: the state cap

Most rentals in LA that aren't under the RSO are covered by AB 1482: rent can rise no more than 8.7% over 12 months for increases effective Aug 1, 2026 to Jul 31, 2027, based on the lowest rent charged in the prior 12 months. Civ. Code § 1947.12 Check whether your unit is exempt.

Calculate your maximum increase

Increases over the cap can cost relocation money

For units not under the RSO, if you propose an increase over 12 months greater than the lower of 5% plus CPI, or 10%, the tenant can choose to move out and receive relocation assistance. This applies even to units that are exempt from the state cap, such as a home with the exemption notice. LAMC § 165.09

• The payment is three times the HUD fair market rent for a similar-sized unit in the LA area, plus a moving allowance.
• For a single-family home (not a condo) owned by a natural person who owns no more than four other units in the city, it's one month's rent.
• Request and move-out deadlines are set by LAHD's rules. Check current amounts and deadlines with LAHD before proposing a large increase.

Rent increase notice timing

State law sets the notice period for all units: at least 30 days for an increase of 10% or less over 12 months, 90 days for more, plus 5 days if mailed. Civ. Code § 827 Create a notice.

Just cause for every LA rental

• RSO units are protected by the RSO's own eviction rules.
• Other units are covered by the Just Cause Ordinance once the first lease ends or 6 months after it began, whichever comes first, much sooner than the state's 12 months. LAMC ch. 16, art. 5
• No-fault evictions, such as owner move-in or a remodel, require relocation assistance.
• Landlords of non-RSO units pay a yearly Just Cause enforcement fee.

Owner move-in in Los Angeles

These rules are for RSO units. Non-RSO units under the Just Cause Ordinance have similar but not identical requirements, so check with LAHD.

• The owner, spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, or grandparents, or a resident manager, can move in. The owner must hold at least 25% of title for their own move-in, or a natural person must hold at least 50% for a family member's move-in. Corporations can't use it.
• The person must move in within 3 months and intend to stay at least 2 years.
• Before serving notice, file a Declaration of Intent to Evict with LAHD, serve a copy with the notice, and file the notice with LAHD within 3 business days.
• With limited exceptions, it's not allowed if a comparable unit is vacant, or for tenants of 10 years or more who are 62 or older or disabled, or who are terminally ill.

Source: LAHD owner move-in bulletin

Relocation amounts, July 2026 to June 2027

For no-fault evictions, including owner move-in, LA requires these amounts per unit, paid within 15 days of the notice or placed in escrow:

The "Mom & Pop" amount is for owner or family move-in when the building has four or fewer units, the landlord owns no more than four units plus one single-family home, the provision hasn't been used in the past three years, and the relative moving in owns no residential property in LA. For a non-RSO single-family home, the Just Cause Ordinance requires one month's rent instead, but only if the owner is a natural person (including through a trust or entity they control) who owns that home and no more than four other units in the city. Condos don't qualify. Source: LAHD relocation bulletin

Notices LA landlords must give

• Notice of Renters' Protections: give it to tenants and post it in a common area, for tenancies started or renewed on or after January 27, 2023.
• Right to Counsel notice: since August 20, 2025, post it, give it at the start of the tenancy, and attach it to any eviction notice.
• RSO units: post the RSO notification at the property and give each tenant the yearly registration certificate.

Forms are on LAHD's website. LA's rules change often. Confirm with LAHD or a landlord-tenant attorney before raising rent above the cap or ending a tenancy.

Other city guides: San Diego, Sacramento. Moving back in yourself? See owner move-in in California.