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Your guide to renting in this complicated — and expensive — place.
The amount LA landlords can raise your rent goes down slightly in August
A residential building in L.A. Many tenants in the region are subject to a max 8.9% rent increase starting Aug. 1.
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Daniel Hanscom
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Getty Images/iStockphoto
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Topline:
Allowable rent increases in Southern California will tick downward tomorrow under a state law that covers many local tenants.
The details: Starting Friday, the ceiling on annual rent hikes under the California Tenant Protection Act of 2019 will be 8% across the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area. That’s a slight decline from the 8.9% limit that has been in effect since Aug. 1, 2024.
How the limits work: The state law, also known as AB 1482, covers renters living in apartments constructed more than 15 years ago. Newer properties are not covered. Neither are single-family homes and condos, unless they’re owned by a corporate entity.
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The context: The law is also trumped by local rent control laws, which tend to impose tougher limits. For example, current rent control limits in the city of L.A. range between 3% and 5%. Other cities in the region with limits below the state law’s cap include Santa Monica, Pasadena and Santa Ana.
Why now? The statewide caps reset in August of each year, and they’re determined by recent regional inflation data. April’s consumer price index for the L.A. area rose by 3%. The California law allows landlords to tack on an extra 5% to that figure, bringing the new limit to 8%. Inflation was running higher last year, which is why state law previously allowed increases of up to 8.9%.
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