AB 1482: California Statewide Rent Control and Just-Cause Eviction Explained

California Tenant Defense System | Justice Foundation

The Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482) established the first statewide rent control and just-cause eviction protections in California history. If your unit is covered — and millions of California rental units are — you have significant protections that most tenants don’t fully understand or assert. This post breaks down exactly what AB 1482 provides and how to use it.

What Units Are Covered

AB 1482 covers most multifamily residential units in California built before January 1, 2005. Exempt units include: single-family homes (unless owned by a corporation, LLC, or REIT), condominiums sold separately from other condominiums, buildings built within the last 15 years, and units already covered by local rent control that is more protective than the statewide standard. The “single-family home” exemption requires that the landlord provide you written notice of the exemption at the beginning of the tenancy or within 90 days of the law’s applicability — failure to provide that notice may eliminate the exemption.

The Rent Cap

For covered units, annual rent increases are capped at 5% plus the local Consumer Price Index (CPI), with a maximum of 10% regardless of CPI. This cap applies to each 12-month period and resets annually. Landlords cannot bank unused increase amounts from prior years — if they didn’t raise rent one year, they cannot raise it by more than the current year’s cap the following year.

Just-Cause Eviction Protections

After a tenant has lived in a covered unit for 12 months (or the first tenant has been there 12 months and any additional tenants 24 months), the landlord can only evict for one of 15 “just causes” — 7 “at-fault” causes (nonpayment of rent, breach of lease, nuisance, criminal activity, etc.) and 8 “no-fault” causes (owner move-in, substantial renovation, demolition, etc.). No-fault evictions require payment of one month’s rent as relocation assistance.

Asserting Your AB 1482 Rights

AB 1482 protections are automatic — you don’t need to register or apply. If your landlord attempts a rent increase exceeding the cap or an eviction without just cause, you assert the protections as a defense. The Justice Foundation kit includes AB 1482 coverage analysis worksheets, rent increase calculation tools, and just-cause eviction defense letters for every covered situation.