Why this matters
San Diegans, similar to residents in other communities, are grappling with a worsening housing and homelessness crisis.
For the next year, many rental housing providers in the San Diego region won’t be able to raise the rent as high as they have been.
That’s because, as of Thursday, the new cap on rent increases for the San Diego region is 8.6% — a decrease from last year’s limit of 10%. The change comes from a cost-of-living adjustment set by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, meaning inflation has slowed down in the region.
How to calculate a rent increase
Take the new rent and subtract the old rent from it. Then, divide that amount by the old rent. In the example below, a tenant received notice their rent was increasing from $2,150 to $2,500.
$2,500 – $2,150 = $350 / $2,150 = .1627 or a 16.3% increase
The California Tenant Protection Act, passed in 2019, set a limit on how much landlords can raise the rent in a 12-month period. It set a 10% maximum cap, or 5% plus the percentage change in the cost of living, whichever is lower. Every year, that calculation is determined in April and the change takes effect August 1.
The new 8.6% cap will remain in effect in San Diego until the next adjustment in August 2025.
Who is impacted?
The rent cap applies to most rental housing in California that is older than 15 years, including single-family homes and condos owned by corporations, mobile homes rented from a mobile home park’s management, and housing rented by Section 8 voucher holders, according to California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
Whether voucher holders are protected has been a real sticking point across the state. An inewsource investigation revealed half of the county’s six public housing agencies, which are responsible for managing millions of dollars in federal money to help low-income families pay rent, weren’t checking whether rent increases exceeded the cap set by state law.
Since then, housing agencies with the city, county and Oceanside have changed policies to ensure compliance. Officials with three other public housing agencies — in Carlsbad, Encinitas and National City — said they were already checking to ensure landlords were following the state’s law.
Questions about a rent increase?
Does something about a recent hike seem off? Is the amount too high? Insufficient notice? We want to hear from you. Send an email to codydulaney@inewsource.org.
After inewsource’s reporting, roughly 30,000 low-income families across San Diego County now have been promised the same protections from excessive rent increases guaranteed to other California tenants.
Rental housing providers who want to increase the rent generally must provide tenants a 30-day notice, but that requirement jumps to 90 days if they intend to raise the rent above the 10% maximum cap on exempt properties, when law allows it. And that notice must be in writing, delivered to the tenant personally, put on the door or sent in the mail.
For a list of tips on how to spot an illegal rent increase, click here.
Correction: Monday, Aug. 26
Landlords are required to provide 90 days’ notice for any residential rent increase that exceeds the state’s 10% maximum cap, not a lower threshold as mistakenly reported in an earlier version of this story.
Type of Content
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
