Costa-Hawkins: Limits on Local Rent Control

What it requires

• Set initial and later rents freely on units with a certificate of occupancy issued after February 1, 1995, units a city already exempted as new construction by then, and separately saleable units such as single-family homes and condos, subject to exceptions.
• Set a new rent when a unit turns over, unless you ended the prior tenancy with a no-cause notice or a change in terms, or ended a government rent-subsidy contract, which locks the rent for three years in rent-controlled cities.
• Turnover rent resets don’t apply if the unit had serious code violations cited at least 60 days before the vacancy and still unabated.
• Give tenants 90 days’ notice before ending a Section 8 or similar subsidy contract. They pay only their share of the rent during that time.
• Since 2024, rent-control cities may require an owner to let a tenant with a mobility disability move to an available comparable unit on an accessible floor, under set conditions (AB 1620).

Owner checklist

• Check the certificate of occupancy date
• Confirm separate-sale status for houses and condos
• Document why the prior tenant left before resetting rent
• Clear cited code violations before re-renting