Glendale, CA Rental Property Rules: Rent Control (2026)
Rent control rules in Glendale, CA, also known as rent stabilization or rent cap ordinances, limit annual rent increases and protect tenants from displacement.
Key Facts
- Cap formula
- Cap: lesser of 10% or 5%+CPI
- Frequency limit
- Max 2 increases per 12-month period
- Local status
- Applies statewide; no local Glendale rent board
- Index used
- CPI index used: LA-Long Beach-Anaheim CPI-U
- New tenancy
- New tenancy rent resets, uncapped
- Local overlay
- Local 7% threshold adds relocation duty (Sec. 9.30.033)
- Penalty
- Willful overcharge: up to 3x damages
Summary
Glendale has no local rent board or rent-cap ordinance of its own. Instead, the statewide Tenant Protection Act, Civil Code Section 1947.12, sets the ceiling: a Glendale landlord cannot raise rent on an existing tenant by more than 5% plus the change in the regional cost-of-living index, or 10%, whichever is lower, in any 12-month period, and may not split that into more than two increases.
(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 effective date of the increase. In determining the lowest gross rental amount pursuant to this section, any rent discounts, incentives, concessions, or credits offered by the owner of such unit of residential real property and accepted by the tenant shall be excluded. ... (2) If the same tenant remains in occupancy of a unit of residential real property over any 12-month period, the gross rental rate for the unit of residential real property shall not be increased in more than two increments over that 12-month period, subject to the other restrictions of this subdivision governing gross rental rate increase.
Full Breakdown
12(a) is the actual limit on how much a Glendale landlord can raise rent: 5% plus the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, or 10%, whichever is lower, measured against the lowest rent charged for the unit in the preceding 12 months. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Subdivision (a)(2) caps a landlord to two rent increases per 12-month period even if their combined total stays under the percentage cap. Subdivision (b) exempts the very first rent charged to a brand-new tenant, so landlords may reset rent freely between tenancies before the cap resumes.
Subdivision (d) exempts deed-restricted affordable housing, dormitories, housing issued a certificate of occupancy within the past 15 years, and small landlords, non-REIT and non-corporate owners of a single alienable unit or an owner-occupied duplex, who give tenants the statutory exemption notice. 033 sets a separate, lower 7% 'non-relocation' threshold: a landlord can lawfully raise rent up to the state's 10%/CPI ceiling, but any increase above 7% in Glendale triggers the tenant's local right to vacate and collect a relocation payment instead of accepting the higher rent, and increases above 15% trigger that right regardless of any banked room under the 7% line.
Violations & Fines
Under Civil Code Section 1947.12(k), a landlord who demands, accepts, or retains rent above the lawful cap is liable to the tenant for injunctive relief, damages equal to the overcharge, and, at the court's discretion, attorneys' fees and costs, rising to triple damages if the overcharge was willful, oppressive, fraudulent, or malicious. The California Attorney General and the Glendale city attorney may also sue to enforce the cap and seek civil penalties on the city's behalf.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Glendale have its own rent control board?
How many times a year can a Glendale landlord raise the rent?
Is every Glendale rental subject to the state rent cap?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Glendale
California rules heatmap·Compare Glendale to another location·View the California rental property rules overview
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Rent Control in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Los Angeles County handle rent control.