Bay Area Rent Control: How Local Ordinances Change What AB 1482 Lets You Do (SF, Oakland, Berkeley, San Jose)
In the Bay Area, the statewide AB 1482 cap is often not the number that matters. Many older buildings in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and San Jose fall under local rent-control ordinances that cap annual increases far lower than the state limit, for example, Oakland's allowable increase is about 2.3% and Berkeley's is 1.0% for the current period, versus roughly 8.8% under AB 1482. Where a local ordinance applies, it generally controls, and it usually adds its own just-cause, registration, and relocation requirements.
Bay Area owners who quote the statewide rent cap often quote the wrong number. AB 1482 sets a high ceiling, around 8.8% in the San Francisco-Oakland region this year, but a large share of older apartment buildings sit under a local ordinance that caps increases far lower and adds rules the state law does not. For those buildings, the local ordinance is what governs.
AB 1482 is a floor for local rules, not a ceiling
The statewide Tenant Protection Act sets a maximum, but cities are free to impose stricter rent control. Where a local ordinance covers your building, its lower cap and additional requirements generally control. The practical question for most owners is not what the state allows, but whether their specific unit is covered locally.
Oakland
Oakland's Rent Adjustment Program limits annual increases on covered units. For the current period, the allowable increase is roughly 2.3%. Oakland also requires specific notices with any increase, allows limited banking of unused increases in some situations, and requires just cause to end a covered tenancy. We cover the Oakland rent-increase notice separately.
Berkeley
Berkeley's Rent Board sets an Annual General Adjustment, 1.0% for 2026, and runs one of the state's stricter programs, with unit registration, strong just-cause protections, and its own relocation requirements for certain terminations. Covered Berkeley units have little in common with the statewide 8.8% figure.
San Francisco
San Francisco's Rent Ordinance sets a low annual allowable increase, adjusted each year and tied to inflation, for covered units, along with strong just-cause protections and a formal petition process at the Rent Board. Owners frequently encounter it when a tenant files a petition; we cover responding to a San Francisco Rent Board petition separately.
San Jose
San Jose's Apartment Rent Ordinance caps annual increases on covered apartments below the statewide maximum and layers on just-cause requirements. As with the other cities, the current allowable figure is set locally and is worth confirming with the city before serving an increase.
The takeaway for owners
Before you raise rent or serve any notice on a Bay Area rental, confirm whether a local ordinance covers the building. If it does, the local cap, often a small fraction of the statewide number, controls, and the ordinance usually adds notice, registration, and relocation obligations that the state law does not. Assuming the statewide figure applies is one of the easier ways to serve an increase that will not hold up.