Alameda, CA Rental Property Rules: Rent Control (2026)
Rent control rules in Alameda, CA, also known as rent stabilization or rent cap ordinances, limit annual rent increases and protect tenants from displacement.
Key Facts
- Base Rent
- rent in effect Sept. 1, 2019 (Sec. 6-58.60)
- Annual General Adjustment
- 70% of CPI, floor 1%, cap 5%
- Adjustment announced
- by May 31 each year, effective Sept. 1
- Administrative fines
- $250/$500/$1,000 escalating (Sec. 6-58.140)
- Civil penalty
- up to $10,000 per violation
- State overlay
- Costa-Hawkins exempts certain units
Summary
Alameda caps most residential rent increases at an Annual General Adjustment tied to seventy percent of the Bay Area Consumer Price Index, floored at one percent and capped at five percent, under the City's Rent Control Ordinance, Sec. 6-58.60. A Rent Program Administrator announces the exact figure every May 31 for increases effective that September.
Beginning September 1, 2019, except as provided in subsection B of this Section 6-58.60, no Landlord shall charge Rent for any Rental Unit not exempt under State Law in an amount greater than the Base Rent plus increases expressly allowed under this Article. If there were no Rent in effect on September 1, 2019, the Base Rent shall be the Rent that was charged on the first date that Rent was charged following September 1, 2019. For tenancies commencing after the adoption of this Article, the Base Rent is the initial Rent in effect on the date the tenancy commences.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 74).
Full Breakdown
Alameda's City of Alameda Rent Control, Limitations on Evictions and Relocation Payments to Certain Displaced Tenants Ordinance, codified at Sec. 160, caps how much rent can rise each year on covered units. Sec. 60 sets the Base Rent for most units at whatever rent was in effect on September 1, 2019, or the initial rent when a later tenancy began, and bars a landlord from charging more than that Base Rent plus increases the Article expressly allows. The main increase mechanism is the Annual General Adjustment, defined in Sec.
15 as seventy percent of the change in the Consumer Price Index over the twelve months ending each April, rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent, but never allowed to exceed five percent or fall below one percent regardless of what the CPI does. The Rent Program Administrator must announce that year's percentage by May 31, effective every September 1. Because California's Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, Civ. Code Sec. 50, exempts most single-family homes, condominiums and post-February-1995 construction from local rent caps, Sec. 60 itself only reaches Rental Units not exempt under State Law, so Alameda's cap runs alongside, not around, that state ceiling.
Floating homes and liveaboard vessels at a marina get their own Base Rent, keyed to the rent charged on or before April 14, 2022, adjusted the same way. Landlords who temporarily lower a tenant's rent must get a signed statement from the tenant acknowledging the cut is temporary, so it doesn't reset the Base Rent going forward.
Violations & Fines
Overcharging rent triggers an administrative citation of $250 for a first offense, $500 for a second within a year, and $1,000 for a third, under Sec. 6-58.140.A. The same conduct is also an infraction, up to $250, or a misdemeanor, up to $1,000 and six months in jail, under Sec. 6-58.140.B, and the City or a tenant can sue for a civil penalty up to $10,000 per violation, plus another $5,000 if the tenant is a senior, has a disability, or has minor children.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much can my landlord raise rent each year in Alameda?
Does Alameda's rent cap apply to every rental unit in the city?
What happens if a landlord overcharges rent in Alameda?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alameda
California rules heatmap·Compare Alameda to another location·View the California rental property rules overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.
Rent Control in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Alameda County handle rent control.