New rent hike limits are in place for LA and OC renters. Here’s how to fight an illegal increase

Many renters in Los Angeles and Orange counties got a slight reprieve in 2023 from large rent hikes. Starting Aug. 1, 2023 the maximum allowable rent increase under a key statewide tenant protection law declined from 10% to 8.8%.

The change is due to the state’s Tenant Protection Act. Passed in 2019, the law puts a ceiling on how much landlords can raise rents each year. It covers many, but not all, rentals in California.

Under the law, allowable rent increases rise along with inflation. The higher inflation gets, the more landlords can raise rents — which is why the law’s maximum allowable rent hike of 10% has been in effect for the past 12 months.

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Then, lower inflation figures dampened allowable rent increases in L.A. and Orange counties. The region’s new 8.8% rent hike limit will remain in place until July 31, 2024.

Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles staff attorney Jonathan Jager said, “Rents are not allowed to increase more than 5% plus the change in the consumer price index,” a common measure of inflation. And they can never go beyond 10%.

Wondering what to do if you’re facing a large rent increase that may be illegal? Keep reading for details.

How the rent hike limit works

Here’s how the calculation works. You start with the consumer price index for the L.A. metro area, which was 3.8% in April. That month is used each year to calculate the law’s new rent hike limits, which go into effect every August. Add 3.8% to the law’s additional 5% increase, and that brings the total to 8.8%.

Back in April 2022, the consumer price index for the L.A. area was 7.9%. When the additional 5% was added to that number, it triggered the law’s maximum allowable rent hike of 10%.

Even with allowable rent hikes slightly down from last year, Jager predicts many renters will struggle to keep up with 8.8% increases.

“Even though inflation is going down, wages haven't risen,” he said. “Tenants are still looking at relatively large rent increases.”

How to know if you have additional rent protections

The Tenant Protection Act generally applies to apartment buildings constructed more than 15 years ago. If you live in a newer building, your landlord is allowed to raise your rent even higher. The law is superseded in about a dozen Southern California cities by stronger local rent control laws that further limit annual rent increases. Here’s our guide to figuring out the rules in your area.

If all of this sounds very confusing, that’s because it is. Tenants have their work cut out trying to figure out if their housing is covered by state or local rent control laws, to calculate the maximum allowable rent increase in their area, and to know how to protect their rights.

It also doesn’t help that no branch of California state government has taken responsibility for posting up-to-date information about the law’s rent hike restrictions. When lawmakers passed the Tenant Protection Act, they did not explicitly task any state agency with putting out reliable information about the law’s annual rent hike limits.

Russ Heimerich, a spokesperson for the agency overseeing the state’s Housing and Community Development department, said, “Enforcement of most landlord-tenant issues — including rent increases — is a civil matter, and so does not go before any state department or agency.”

When we asked multiple state spokespeople about new local limits under the Tenant Protection Act, they pointed us to a website run by a nonprofit called TenantProtections.Org that allows users to look up rent increase limits based on their ZIP code. But as recently as July 19, that website was incorrectly telling users that rent hikes of up to 10% are allowed in Los Angeles next month.

Tenant advocates say state agencies should do more to clear up this confusion.

“It certainly feels like the state is patting itself on the back for passing a tenant protection law, and then doing none of the legwork to make sure that people are aware of how the law affects them,” said Jager with the Legal Aid Foundation of L.A.

What to do if you receive an illegal rent hike 

Though state government resources are lacking, renters in L.A. County and the city of L.A. can find information about the 8.8% limit on local government websites. Locally, an LAist review found many other cities have not posted timely information about the new rules.

Landlords must give tenants a 30-day notice for any rent hike of up to 10%. If you’re an L.A. or Orange County renter covered by the Tenant Protection Act and your landlord gives you a rent increase starting on Aug. 1 that exceeds 8.8%, you are not legally obligated to pay the higher amount.

Jager said tenants facing unlawful rent hike demands can continue paying their previous rent. If for example you receive an unlawful 10% rent hike, you don’t have to pay an 8.8% increase until your landlord gives you a proper 30-day notice within the legal limits of the state law, he said. Jager noted that landlords can always try to file an eviction case in situations like this, but tenants can use the Tenant Protection Act as a legal defense against eviction.

If you still have any questions about how these rent increase rules apply to your housing, you can reach out to StayHousedLA.org, a coalition of legal aid organizations funded by the city and county of L.A.