Details
A California rent increase notice has to give you a minimum amount of time before the new rent starts, and that minimum is set by Civil Code 827: 30 days for smaller increases and 90 days for larger ones. The notice rules sit alongside the statewide rent cap explained in the AB 1482 rent cap guide, but they answer a different question. The cap decides how much rent can rise. Section 827 decides how much warning you get.
Quick answer: A California landlord must give at least 30 days’ notice for a rent increase of 10% or less and at least 90 days’ notice for an increase of more than 10%. The 10% is measured by adding up every increase in the prior 12 months and comparing the total to the lowest rent charged in that period. If the notice is mailed to a California address, add 5 calendar days. Correct notice does not make an increase above the AB 1482 cap legal.
The 30-day and 90-day California rent increase notice rules
Section 827(b) sets three tiers. The notice may be delivered personally or mailed, and mailing is governed by Code of Civil Procedure 1013, which extends notice periods by 5 calendar days when both the mailing and the address are in California and 10 days when either is elsewhere in the United States.
| Type of increase | Minimum notice, personal delivery | Mailed within California | Mailed from or to elsewhere in the U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% or less, counting all increases in the prior 12 months | 30 days | 35 days | 40 days |
| More than 10%, counting all increases in the prior 12 months | 90 days | 95 days | 100 days |
| Increase caused by an income or family-composition recertification | 30 days | 35 days | 40 days |
CCP 1013 adds 12 calendar days instead of 5 when the address is in the Secretary of State’s Safe at Home confidential address program. These are minimums. A landlord may always give more notice than the law requires.
How the 10% line is measured
The 10% test is cumulative. Under 827(b), you add the new increase to any other increases in the 12 months before it and compare the total to the lowest rent charged during those 12 months. Two small raises can therefore add up to a 90-day notice.
Say you rent a house that is properly exempt from the state rent cap, and your rent was $2,000 in January 2026.
- On February 1, 2026 it goes to $2,100. That is 5% over the lowest rent, so 30 days’ notice is enough.
- Your landlord then wants $2,250 starting October 1, 2026. On its own that step is about 7.1% over $2,100. But measured the way the statute requires, the total is $250 over the $2,000 low point — 12.5% — so the second notice needs at least 90 days.
The example uses an exempt house on purpose. For a unit covered by the state cap, the whole 12-month total can never pass 10%, as the next section explains.
Counting the days: worked examples
Count from the date of service. Hypothetical dates for a notice given on September 1, 2026:
| Scenario | Days required | Earliest date the new rent can start |
|---|---|---|
| 8% increase, handed to you personally on Sept 1 | 30 | October 1, 2026 |
| 8% increase, mailed from and to California addresses on Sept 1 | 30 + 5 = 35 | October 6, 2026 |
| 15% increase on an exempt unit, handed to you on Sept 1 | 90 | November 30, 2026 |
| 15% increase on an exempt unit, mailed within California on Sept 1 | 90 + 5 = 95 | December 5, 2026 |
If a notice served on September 1 by mail says your 8% increase starts October 1, it gives 30 days instead of the 35 the mail rule requires.
A correct notice does not make an over-cap increase legal
This is the most common misunderstanding. The rent cap in Civil Code 1947.12 and the notice rule in 827 are separate requirements, and a landlord has to satisfy both. Section 1947.12(e) says any increase under the cap must be noticed under 827. Nothing in 827 lets a landlord exceed the cap by giving more notice.
For a unit covered by the cap, the most rent can rise over 12 months is 5% plus the regional CPI change, and never more than 10%. For increases taking effect from August 1, 2026, that is 8.1% to 8.8% depending on the county. A lawful increase on a covered unit is therefore always 10% or less, and needs 30 days’ notice (35 if mailed within California). A 90-day notice on a covered unit is a signal to check whether the increase is above the cap.
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Say a covered apartment in Los Angeles rents for $2,400 and the landlord serves a 90-day notice raising it to $2,700 from December 1, 2026. The notice period is fine. The amount is not: the Los Angeles cap for that date is 8.7%, so the maximum is $2,608.80, and the extra $91.20 a month is an overcharge under 1947.12(k). The county-by-county numbers are in How much can a landlord raise rent in California in 2026? and the rent increase calculator.
Units under a local rent control law follow the local cap, and the local ordinance may add its own notice or filing steps. Check the city guide for Los Angeles, San Francisco or Oakland.
The recertification exception
Some rents move with the household rather than the market. Where an increase results from a change in the household’s income or family composition identified through a recertification, 827 allows 30 days’ notice even if the increase is more than 10%. This mostly comes up in subsidized or income-restricted housing, much of which is also outside the state rent cap under the affordable-housing exemption in 1947.12(d)(1).
What to do if a notice is late, short or wrong
Start with the facts you can pin down, in writing:
- When and how it was served. Note the date you received it and whether it was handed to you or mailed. Keep the envelope if it came by mail.
- The math. Find the lowest rent charged in the 12 months before the new rent starts, add up every increase in that period, and work out the percentage. Over 10% means 90 days.
- Whether the cap applies. If your unit is covered, compare the new rent to the maximum for your county. The exemption checklist helps settle that question.
- A written response. A short letter or email to the landlord naming the problem — too few days, or an amount over the cap — and the date or amount you believe is correct creates a record.
Many tenants in this position keep paying the current rent in full and on time while the question is sorted out, because unpaid rent is grounds for a three-day notice to pay or quit under CCP 1161(2). If the dispute is about money already paid above the cap, 1947.12(k) allows recovery of the overcharge, and a money claim of up to $12,500 by an individual can go to small claims court; see the small claims guide. Tenants in cities with a rent board can also ask the board how local rules apply.
Questions people ask
How much notice does a landlord need to raise rent in California?
At least 30 days if the increase, combined with others in the last 12 months, is 10% or less of the lowest rent in that period; at least 90 days if it is more than 10%. Add 5 days if the notice is mailed within California.
Does mailing a rent increase notice add time?
Yes. CCP 1013 extends the period by 5 calendar days when the notice is mailed within California, 10 days when either address is elsewhere in the U.S., and 12 days for a Safe at Home address.
Can a landlord raise rent more than 10% with 90 days’ notice?
Only if the unit is not covered by the state rent cap or a local rent control law. For a covered unit, the cap limits the amount no matter how much notice is given.
Can a landlord raise rent twice in 12 months?
Under the state cap, rent can rise in no more than two increments over 12 months, and the total still cannot exceed the cap. For notice purposes, both increases are added together to decide whether 30 or 90 days applies.
Related California renter guides
- 2026 rent increase limits by county
- Rent increase calculator by county
- AB 1482 explained: California’s statewide rent cap
- Is my rental exempt from the rent cap?
- Lease termination notice: 30-day vs 60-day rules
- California small claims court guide
This page explains what the cited California law says. It is not legal advice. Last verified September 28, 2026.