Rental Property Rules in Sonoma County, CA (2026)

3 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 2 cities in Sonoma County, California.

Verified from official government sources

Note: These county rules apply to unincorporated areas of Sonoma County. If you live within an incorporated city, that city's own rules apply: see the city list below.

Rent Control

Unincorporated Sonoma County does NOT have a local rent control ordinance. The 2024 Residential Tenancy Protections Ordinance (Ord. 6496) added eviction protections but did not adopt a local rent cap. The only annual rent-increase cap covering most Sonoma County tenants is California's statewide Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482), codified at Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12, which limits increases to 5% + the regional CPI, with a 10% hard ceiling.

Sonoma County Rent Control. State Law Only (AB 1482)

Some Restrictions

California Civil Code § 1947.12

(a) (1) Subject to subdivision (b), an owner of residential real property shall not, over the course of any 12-month period, increase the gross rental rate for a dwelling or a unit more than 5 percent plus the percentage change in the cost of living, or 10 percent, whichever is lower, of the lowest gross rental rate charged for that dwelling or unit at any time during the 12 months prior to the...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Just Cause Eviction

On September 17, 2024, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance No. 6496, the Residential Tenancy Protections Ordinance, which applies to rental units in unincorporated Sonoma County. The ordinance augments the statewide California Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482, Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2) by extending just-cause protections from day one of any covered tenancy, expanding coverage to income-restricted housing, narrowing the rent-nonpayment trigger, and increasing no-fault relocation payments.

Sonoma County Just Cause Eviction. Ord. 6496 Residential Tenancy Protections

Some Restrictions

California Civil Code § 1946.2

(2) If an owner issues a notice to terminate a tenancy for no-fault just cause, the owner shall notify the tenant in the written termination notice of the tenant’s right to relocation assistance or rent waiver pursuant to this section. If the owner elects to waive the rent for the final month of the tenancy as provided in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1), the notice shall state the amount of r...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Rent Increase Notice

Mobile home park owners in unincorporated Sonoma County must give written notice of any space rent increase at least 90 days before it takes effect, provided in English and Spanish under the county's rent stabilization ordinance.

Sonoma County Mobile Home Rent Increase Notice

Some Restrictions

Sonoma County Code § 2-193(d)

A notice of rent increase given by an owner pursuant to subsections (a), (b) or (c) of this section shall be given in writing at least ninety (90) days before any rent increase is to take effect. Any notice of rent increase provided to residents pursuant to this section shall be provided in English and Spanish by the mobilehome parkowner.(e)A notice of rent increase incorporating within it a pr...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Rental Property Rules by City in Sonoma County

2 cities in Sonoma County have their own rental property rules rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.

Santa RosaPop. 178,127

3 verified rules • Repairs & Habitability, Rent Control

PetalumaPop. 59,776

4 verified rules • Repairs & Habitability, Just Cause Eviction

All Sonoma County ordinances

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