Berkeley, CA Rental Property Rules: Pass-Through Charges (2026)

Civil Code § 1947.12(a)(1) caps how much an owner can raise the gross rental rate on a Berkeley unit not covered by local rent control: no more than 5 percent plus the percentage change in the regional cost-of-living index, or 10 percent, whichever is lower, measured against the lowest rate charged for that unit in the prior 12 months. Any rent discount, incentive, or credit the tenant accepted must be excluded when calculating that lowest rate. A tenant who stays in place can face at most two rent increases in any 12-month period, and each increase requires written notice under Civil Code § 827.

Subdivision (b) lets an owner set an uncapped initial rent for a brand-new tenancy; the cap applies only to increases after that starting rent is set. Subdivision (d)(3) exempts housing already "subject to rent or price control through a public entity's valid exercise of its police power" that restricts increases to less than this cap, which covers units under Berkeley's own Rent Stabilization and Eviction for Just Cause Ordinance (BMC Ch. 13.76): those units follow the Rent Stabilization Board's registered ceiling and individual-adjustment process instead of this statewide formula.

Subdivision (k) creates the remedy for overcharging: a tenant may sue for injunctive relief, damages equal to the amount collected above the maximum allowable rent, attorney's fees at the court's discretion, and, on a showing of willfulness, oppression, fraud, or malice, damages up to three times the overcharge. The Attorney General and the Berkeley City Attorney may also sue to enforce the section and seek injunctive relief, and courts presume a tenant suffers irreparable harm from a violation.