Why is getting the rent control status of your unit correct so important? 

Navigating the world of rental property management comes with a maze of legal responsibilities—and one of the most critical factors to understand is whether your property is subject to rent control. For landlords, this isn’t just a legal technicality. Rent control can significantly impact how much you can charge for rent, when and how you can increase it, and even your ability to evict tenants. Failing to understand your property’s rent control status can lead to costly legal missteps, compliance issues, and potential tenant disputes. 

Why Rent Control Status Matters in Automated Legal Workflows

Joiner’s real estate management platform streamlines critical landlord functions—automating everything from rent increase notices and notices of entry to cure-or-quit and pay-or-quit notices. Each of these documents is generated with built-in legal disclosures tailored to your property’s specific requirements. One key factor that shapes these legal templates? Rent control status. Whether or not a unit is subject to rent control directly impacts what language and requirements must be included in the notices you serve. That’s why accurately identifying rent control status isn’t just important—it’s essential for compliance and avoiding legal risk.

Disclaimer & Legal Guidance

This post is designed to help you assess whether your rental unit falls under rent control by summarizing key aspects of applicable laws. However, it is not a substitute for legal advice. Because rent control regulations vary widely by city and sometimes county —and because a unit not covered by the California statewide law may still fall under one of the local tenant or just cause eviction laws—it’s important to consult the relevant local statutes or seek advice from a qualified attorney to make a definitive determination. Joiner partners with BrightWork Law PC, a firm known for delivering efficient, cost-effective legal counsel tailored to the needs of property owners and managers across California. If you are not sure about the status of your unit we recommend that you contact BrightWork or any other law firm.

California Statewide Rent Control and Just Cause Coverage

California Statewide Rent Control Application

If California’s statewide rent control applies to a unit then the maximum amount that the rent may be increased in any 12 month period is the lower of 5% plus the change in cost of living (as measured according to the statute – generally CPI-U between publish dates ) or 10%. A unit is covered unless it meets an exemption, the following are exempt:

• Certain types of affordable housing.
• Dormitories owned and operated by an institution of higher education or a kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, school.
• Housing covered by local rent control that is more restrictive than the statewide rent control (with respect to rent increase amounts allowed).
• Housing that has been issued a certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years, unless the housing is a mobilehome.
• Residential real property, including a mobilehome, that is alienable separate from the title to any other dwelling unit, provided that the owner is not a REIT, corporation, or LLC in which one member is a corporation, or management of a mobilehome park; and legally required language stating this is included in the lease (this language is included in all Joiner’s California lease templates).
• Units in a duplex where the owner occupies one of the units on the property.

California Just Cause Application

The provisions related to eviction protections and limitations are found in Section 1946.2 of the California Civil Code, the “Just Cause Protections”. The Just Cause Protections only apply if a tenant has continuously and lawfully occupied a residential real property for 12 months (CC1946.2(a)). If an additional adult tenant is added to a lease prior to any tenant having continuously and lawfully occupied the property for 24 months then the Just Cause Protections will only apply after 12 months from the date such additional person is added or upon one or more of the tenants “continuously and lawfully” occupying the property for 24 months.

The “Just Cause Protections” do not apply to any of the following categories of property:

• Transient and tourist hotel occupancy
• Housing accommodations in a nonprofit hospital, religious facility, extended care facility, licensed residential care facility for the elderly, or an adult residential facility.
• Dormitories owned and operated by an institution of higher education or a kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, school.
• Housing accommodations in which the tenant shares bathroom or kitchen facilities with the owner who maintains their principal residence at the residential real property.
• Single-family owner-occupied residences, including both of the following:
  • A residence in which the owner-occupant rents or leases no more than two units or bedrooms, including, but not limited to, an accessory dwelling unit or a junior accessory dwelling unit.
  • A mobilehome.
• A property containing two separate dwelling units within a single structure in which the owner occupied one of the units as the owner’s principal place of residence at the beginning of the tenancy, so long as the owner continues in occupancy, and neither unit is an accessory dwelling unit or a junior accessory dwelling unit.
• Housing that has been issued a certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years, unless the housing is a mobilehome.
• Residential real property, including a mobilehome, that is alienable separate from the title to any other dwelling unit, provided that the owner is not a REIT, corporation, or LLC in which one member is a corporation, or management of a mobilehome park; and legally required language stating this is included in the lease (this language is included in all Joiner’s California lease templates).