California’s New Rent Control Bill: What You Should Know
Within the next few weeks, the governor of California is expected to enact rent control throughout the state by signing Assembly Bill 1482.
Should this happen, the state would begin to regulate how much a tenants rent can increase every year, limiting it to 5 percent, plus the local rate of inflation. Once signed, the bill would take effect January 1 and expire in 2030 – unless extended by lawmakers.
The legislation, often referred to by the media as a “rent cap” bill—not a rent control bill is designed to prevent the significant rent hikes that California residents have been dealing with over the past few decades.
Lawmakers have stated that in the end, the positive impacts of Assembly Bill 1482 will hinge on public awareness of the new rules, as well as the effective enforcement of them. Here are some of how this new law would work for current tenants across the state.
What types of buildings would be impacted?
Rent control would be applied to multi-families buildings, such as condos, apartment buildings, and some duplexes, as well as single-family homes that are owned by a real estate investment trust or corporation. However, it would exempt duplexes and dorms where the owner lives in one of the units.
Would my apartment be rent-controlled?
This really depends on where you live. If you reside in a city that does not already have a local rent control law and your rental unit is at least 15 years old, the answer is probably “yes.”
However, it should be noted that the state law would exempt buildings that were constructed in the last 15 years. This 15 year rule is a rolling date, meaning units built in 2006 would be covered in 2021, units built in 2007 would be covered in 2022, and so on.
Which communities have local rent control laws?
In Los Angeles County, the cities of Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Los Angeles, Culver City, Inglewood, and unincorporated neighborhoods of Los Angeles County have local rent control laws.
How much would my rent go up?
If you live in a city that does notalready have a local rent control law, rent increases would be limited to 5 percent, plus local inflation. That said, they could never increase more than a total of 10 percent.
To help tenants whose landlords might have gone on a rent hike binge in anticipation of the bill, the law would be retroactive to March 15, 2019. Whatever amount you paid as of that date is that amount by which the increase would be based on moving forward.
Equally as important as the rent cap, renter advocates say, is a provision that would require landlords to show “just cause”—such as failure to pay rent—when evicting tenants. That would end the ability that landlords have now, in most parts of the state, to evict tenants without giving an explicit reason.
For tenants who have lived at the property for at least one year, landlords would have to give the renter the opportunity toremedy the violation.Other examples of just cause include committing a crime on the property or violating the terms of the lease.