Updated August 2026 | Scott Engle, Broker DRE #01332676 | Realty Management Group | Serving San Diego County Since 2005
Last verified against primary sources: August 20, 2026. Every statutory citation on this page links to the official text.
Most San Diego landlord losses don't come from the market. They come from a single compliance mistake: a miscalculated rent increase, a missing exemption notice, an improperly served termination, or an undocumented deposit deduction. Any one of them can void an action, trigger refund liability that survives a property sale, or expose the owner to damages many times the rent increase that caused it. This checklist walks the highest-risk 2026 requirements a San Diego County landlord must meet, in plain language.
San Diego County landlords operate under two possible layers: California's statewide Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482), which applies almost everywhere, and, in three cities only, a local tenant protection ordinance on top of it. Getting both layers right is the difference between a compliant, profitable rental and a costly error. RMG provides flat-fee San Diego property management across the county.
2026–27 rent cap: The AB 1482 rent cap for San Diego County is 8.2% (5% + 3.2% CPI) for August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027. The cap resets every August 1. Always verify the current figure before serving a notice rather than assuming last year's number still applies.
Quick Answers
What is the maximum rent increase in San Diego in 2026? For AB 1482-covered properties, 8.2% for the August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027 window (5% plus the 3.2% San Diego-Carlsbad CPI change for the twelve months ending March 2026). The cap never exceeds 10% regardless of CPI. Civil Code §1947.12(a)(2) permits up to two increases in a twelve-month period for a continuing tenant, provided the cumulative total stays within the cap.
Which CPI index applies to San Diego County? The CPI-U for San Diego-Carlsbad, named for this county at Civil Code §1947.12(g)(1)(A)(iii). Not the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim index, which covers Los Angeles and Orange counties.
How much notice is required for a rent increase? 30 days written notice for an increase of 10% or less; 90 days for an increase over 10% (Civil Code §827). Add 5 days if served by mail. Because the current cap is under 10%, covered increases need 30 days.
When does just cause apply? Under state AB 1482, after 12 months of tenancy. In the City of San Diego, Chula Vista, and Imperial Beach, local ordinances apply stricter rules. In the City of San Diego, just cause applies from day one.
What is the maximum security deposit in California? One month's rent for most California residential landlords since July 1, 2024 under AB 12 (Civil Code §1950.5). A small-landlord exception allows up to two months for natural-person owners of no more than two properties totalling no more than four units.
Which San Diego cities have extra local rules? Three: the City of San Diego, Chula Vista, and Imperial Beach. As of our August 2026 review of the applicable municipal codes, we found no separate local tenant protection ordinance elsewhere in the county, including all unincorporated areas. Jurisdiction by jurisdiction detail is in our San Diego ordinance map.
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Section 1: The Rent Cap, Getting the Number and the Notice Right
AB 1482 (the Tenant Protection Act of 2019, Civil Code §1947.12) caps annual rent increases on covered properties at 5% plus the regional CPI, never exceeding 10%. For San Diego County that is 8.2% for August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027. The two most common failures here are using the wrong number and using the wrong index.
✓ Use the current cap. 8.2% from August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027. The cap recalculates every August 1 from new CPI data. Verify it before every increase rather than reusing last year's figure.
✓ Use the right index. Civil Code §1947.12(g)(1)(A)(iii) names the CPI-U for the San Diego-Carlsbad metropolitan area as the index covering San Diego County. The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim index covers Los Angeles and Orange counties and produces a different number. Current release: BLS San Diego CPI, March 2026.
✓ Know why San Diego uses March. The statute directs an April-to-April measure, and §1947.12(g)(3)(B)(ii) directs March-to-March where no April amount is published for the area. BLS publishes San Diego-Carlsbad bi-monthly on odd-numbered months only, so no April figure exists here. March-to-March is what the statute directs, not a workaround. A useful consequence: the March data releases in April, so next year's cap is knowable months ahead.
✓ Serve the correct notice period. 30 days for an increase of 10% or less; 90 days for over 10% (Civil Code §827). Add 5 calendar days if mailed within California. Do not rely on a text message or ordinary email alone to serve a rent increase notice; use a service method authorized by §827.
✓ State the required details. The notice must show the current rent, the new rent, the effective date, and be served by a legally valid method. Missing information, wrong dates, or improper service can invalidate the increase and expose you to refund claims months later.
✓ Two increases are permitted, not one. §1947.12(a)(2) allows up to two increments in a twelve-month period for a continuing tenant, but the cumulative total may not exceed the cap. Two increases of 4.1% are lawful. Two totalling 9% are not.
✓ Don't bank increases. Unused increases cannot be stacked and applied in a future year. Note that the 12-month occupancy threshold in Civil Code §1946.2 governs just cause for termination, not rent increases. A covered tenancy may receive a lawful increase before 12 months, subject to the cap and to §827 notice.
See the full cap math by rent level in the San Diego rent cap guide and the complete exemption framework in the AB 1482 exemptions guide.
Section 2: Just Cause, the State Rule and the Three City Exceptions
Just cause means a landlord must have a valid, legally recognized reason to end a tenancy. Under state AB 1482 (Civil Code §1946.2) this applies after 12 months of occupancy. Reasons fall into two categories: at-fault (nonpayment, lease violation, nuisance) and no-fault (owner move-in, substantial remodel, withdrawal from the rental market). No-fault terminations generally require relocation assistance.
✓ State rule (most of the county). Just cause required after 12 months. At-fault and no-fault categories apply; no-fault requires relocation assistance, typically one month's rent.
✓ City of San Diego. The Residential Tenant Protections Ordinance (SDMC §§98.0701–98.0709, Ordinance O-21647, effective June 24, 2023, amended by O-21769 on February 27, 2024) requires just cause from day one of tenancy, not after 12 months. No-fault relocation is two months' rent, three if the tenant is 62 or older or disabled, paid within 15 days, and the San Diego Housing Commission must be notified of both at-fault and no-fault terminations. The state form alone is not sufficient here.
✓ Chula Vista. The Residential Tenant Protection Ordinance (CVMC Chapter 9.65) adds just cause and relocation requirements, a $40 per square foot substantial-remodel minimum, and a requirement to notify the City within three business days of serving a no-fault termination notice or the notice is invalid. Under CVMC §9.65.040(C) the local exemption requires notice that also cites Chapter 9.65; the state form does not contain that language. Just cause attaches from day one, with no 12-month threshold.
✓ Imperial Beach. The Just Cause for Termination of a Residential Tenancy Ordinance (IBMC Chapter 9.90, adopted February 19, 2025, effective March 22, 2025) applies a stricter substantial-remodel definition than state law, so cosmetic work does not qualify as a no-fault basis. Additional relocation assistance is owed at properties of 15 or more units, and the owner must file the City's Mandatory Termination of Tenancy Form within three business days of serving any termination notice unless exempt under IBMC 9.90.040.
Serving only the state AB 1482 notice in one of these three cities, without the city-specific language, can void the notice entirely. See the full San Diego ordinance map.
Section 3: Exemptions, and the Notice That Makes or Breaks Them
Not every property is covered by the AB 1482 rent cap, but claiming an exemption requires meeting two conditions, and missing the second is the most common and costly exemption error.
✓ New-construction exemption. Housing issued a certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years is exempt, a rolling window, under §1947.12(d)(4) for the rent cap and §1946.2(e)(7) for just cause. As of 2026 that is roughly post-2011, and it moves every year.
✓ Single-family home and condo exemption. Available under §1947.12(d)(5) and §1946.2(e)(8) only if the property is not owned by a corporation, REIT, or an LLC with a corporate member, and the written exemption notice was properly provided. Family trusts with natural-person beneficiaries are permitted.
✓ The fatal gap. Even an eligible single-family home loses the exemption if the notice was not in the lease at signing. The statutory language is prescribed at §1946.2(e)(8)(B)(i), and boilerplate that gestures at the idea without it does not preserve the exemption. Without it, AB 1482 applies for the duration of that tenancy.
✓ An ADU on the lot can remove the exemption. The single-family exemption applies only to property alienable separate from the title to any other dwelling unit. Where the house and an ADU share one title and cannot be conveyed separately, that exemption generally does not apply. See the San Diego County ADU guide.
✓ Local overlay still applies. A property exempt from the state rent cap may still be subject to a local ordinance if it sits in the City of San Diego, Chula Vista, or Imperial Beach. In the City of San Diego and in Chula Vista, city-specific exemption language is required; the state notice alone is insufficient.
Section 4: Deposits and Documentation
✓ Deposit cap (AB 12). Since July 1, 2024, most California residential landlords may collect no more than one month's rent (Civil Code §1950.5). Small-landlord exception: a natural-person owner of no more than two residential properties totalling four or fewer units may collect up to two months. Military tenants: one month maximum.
✓ Deposit photos (AB 2801) phase in on two separate dates, not one. Since April 1, 2025, move-out photographs are required immediately after the tenancy ends and before any cleaning or repair, plus post-repair photographs where a deduction is claimed. That applies to all tenancies regardless of start date. Since July 1, 2025, move-in photographs are also required, but only for tenancies beginning on or after that date. Most published summaries collapse these into one date, which produces the wrong answer on move-in.
✓ Itemized statement within 21 days. Failure to meet the statutory documentation requirements can jeopardize your ability to retain deposit deductions and increases exposure to a tenant claim, regardless of the underlying damage.
✓ Move-in and move-out records. A documented condition baseline at move-in is what makes any later deduction defensible. It cannot be reconstructed after the fact.
Section 5: New and Current Laws Every 2026 San Diego Landlord Must Know
✓ AB 628, appliances (effective January 1, 2026). For leases entered into, amended, renewed, or extended on or after January 1, 2026, the landlord must provide and maintain a stove in good working order capable of safely generating heat for cooking, and a refrigerator in good working order capable of safely storing food (Civil Code §1941.1, as amended by AB 628). A separate 30-day deadline applies where either appliance is subject to a recall by the manufacturer or a public entity: it must be repaired or replaced within 30 days of receiving notice of the recall. The statute also permits a tenant and landlord to agree at signing that the tenant will provide their own refrigerator, subject to specific lease language and the tenant's right to later request a landlord-provided unit on 30 days written notice, and it lists housing types to which the new characteristics do not apply.
✓ AB 2801, deposit photo documentation. The two-date phase-in set out in Section 4.
✓ AB 2493, screening and application fees (effective January 1, 2025). Codified at Civil Code §1950.6. Written screening criteria must be provided to applicants and disclosed before any screening fee is collected. Applications are considered in the order received. The fee may not exceed the actual out-of-pocket cost of gathering information about the applicant. Refunds are due within seven days of selecting a tenant or thirty days of the application, whichever comes first, except that §1950.6(c)(2)(A)(iv) provides no refund is owed to an applicant considered and denied for not meeting the established criteria. A copy of the credit report must go to the applicant within seven days.
✓ AB 2747, rent reporting. Covered landlords must offer eligible tenants the option to have positive rental payment information reported to at least one nationwide consumer reporting agency, at lease signing and at least annually thereafter (Civil Code §1954.07, added by AB 2747). The exemption matters here. A landlord of a residential rental building containing 15 or fewer dwelling units is exempt unless both of the following apply: the landlord owns more than one residential rental building, and the landlord is a REIT, a corporation, or an LLC with at least one corporate member. Assisted housing developments are separately exempt. Most individually owned San Diego County rentals fall inside the exemption, but confirm your own ownership structure rather than assuming.
✓ AB 12, deposit cap. One month's rent maximum for most landlords, covered in Section 4.
This is not an exhaustive list of every California rental statute. It is the set most likely to affect a San Diego County residential landlord in 2026. Laws change; verify current requirements before acting.
The 2026 San Diego Landlord Checklist (Recap)
☐ Confirm whether your property is AB 1482-covered or exempt, and if exempt, that the written notice was in the lease at signing.
☐ Identify your jurisdiction: City of San Diego, Chula Vista, or Imperial Beach (local ordinance) versus everywhere else (state only). Check the parcel, not the mailing address.
☐ Use the correct cap: 8.2% for August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027, verified against the current San Diego-Carlsbad CPI.
☐ Confirm cumulative increases in the prior twelve months stay within the cap, whether taken in one increment or two.
☐ Serve the correct notice: 30 days (10% or less) or 90 days (over 10%), plus 5 if mailed, with all required details, in writing.
☐ Confirm just-cause grounds before any termination: day one in the City of San Diego and Chula Vista, 12 months under state law.
☐ Cap the deposit at one month (AB 12) and document with timestamped photos on the correct AB 2801 schedule.
☐ Verify a working stove and refrigerator at each new or renewed lease (AB 628).
☐ Provide written screening criteria to applicants before collecting any fee (AB 2493).
☐ Determine whether you are a covered landlord under Civil Code §1954.07, and if so, offer the rent-reporting option at signing and at least annually.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the maximum rent increase in San Diego for 2026?
For AB 1482-covered properties, 8.2% for the August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027 window, calculated as 5% plus the 3.2% San Diego-Carlsbad CPI change for the twelve months ending March 2026, with a hard ceiling of 10%. Civil Code §1947.12(a)(2) permits up to two increases in a twelve-month period for a continuing tenant, provided the cumulative total stays within the cap. Verify the current figure before serving any notice; the cap resets every August 1.
Which CPI index applies to San Diego County under AB 1482?
The CPI-U for the San Diego-Carlsbad metropolitan area, named for San Diego County at Civil Code §1947.12(g)(1)(A)(iii). Not the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim index, which covers Los Angeles and Orange counties. Because the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes San Diego-Carlsbad bi-monthly on odd-numbered months only, no April figure exists for the area, and Civil Code §1947.12(g)(3)(B)(ii) directs the March-to-March measure in that circumstance.
How much notice must I give for a rent increase in California?
30 days written notice for an increase of 10% or less, and 90 days for an increase over 10%, under Civil Code §827. Add 5 calendar days if served by mail within California. Because the 2026 to 2027 AB 1482 cap is below 10%, covered increases require 30 days. Do not rely on a text message or ordinary email alone to serve the notice; use a service method authorized by §827.
Can I raise rent in the first 12 months of a tenancy in California?
Yes, subject to the cap and to Civil Code §827 notice. The 12-month occupancy threshold in Civil Code §1946.2 governs just cause for termination, not rent increases. Civil Code §1947.12(b) allows the owner to set the initial rate freely for a new tenancy; subdivision (a) then governs subsequent increases.
When can I evict a tenant in San Diego?
Under state AB 1482 you need just cause, at-fault or no-fault, after 12 months of tenancy. In the City of San Diego, just cause applies from day one under SDMC §§98.0701 through 98.0709. No-fault terminations generally require relocation assistance: one month's rent under state law, two months within the City of San Diego, three if the tenant is 62 or older or disabled. Confirm your jurisdiction before serving notice.
What is the maximum security deposit I can charge in California?
One month's rent for most California residential landlords since July 1, 2024 under AB 12, per Civil Code §1950.5. A limited exception permits up to two months for a natural-person owner of no more than two residential properties totalling four or fewer units. Military tenants are capped at one month. Deposits must be returned within 21 days of move-out with an itemized statement.
When do the AB 2801 deposit photo requirements apply?
AB 2801 phases in on two separate dates. Since April 1, 2025, move-out photographs are required immediately after the tenancy ends and before any cleaning or repair, plus post-repair photographs where a deduction is claimed, and this applies to all tenancies regardless of start date. Since July 1, 2025, move-in photographs are also required, but only for tenancies beginning on or after that date.
Is my single-family home exempt from AB 1482?
Only if it is not owned by a corporation, REIT, or an LLC with a corporate member, and the written exemption notice under Civil Code §1946.2(e)(8)(B)(i) was properly provided. Miss the notice and the home is treated as covered for the duration of that tenancy. A state-exempt home in the City of San Diego, Chula Vista, or Imperial Beach may still be subject to the local ordinance. A property with an ADU on the lot may lose the separately alienable exemption entirely.
Regulatory references current as of August 20, 2026: California AB 1482 (Civil Code §§1947.12, 1946.2), AB 12 and AB 2801 (Civil Code §1950.5), AB 628 (Civil Code §1941.1), AB 2493 (Civil Code §1950.6), AB 2747, Civil Code §827; San Diego Municipal Code §§98.0701–98.0709 (Ordinance O-21647, effective June 24, 2023, amended by O-21769, February 27, 2024); Chula Vista Municipal Code Chapter 9.65; Imperial Beach Municipal Code Chapter 9.90 (adopted February 19, 2025, effective March 22, 2025); BLS San Diego-Carlsbad CPI-U for the twelve months ending March 2026. Laws and CPI figures change; verify current requirements before acting. This checklist is general information, not legal advice. Consult a qualified California landlord-tenant attorney for your specific situation.
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About the author. Scott Engle is the Broker/Owner of Realty Management Group (DRE #01332676, Corp DRE #02075336). He has been a licensed California broker since 2003 and has managed San Diego County rental property since 2005. As of August 2026, RMG manages 400+ units countywide on a flat $199 per month fee and holds a 4.9 star rating across 127 Google reviews. RMG has been named Best Property Management Company in San Diego by Expertise.com in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
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