Pacifica, CA Rental Property Rules: Rent Control (2026)
Rent control rules in Pacifica, CA, also known as rent stabilization or rent cap ordinances, limit annual rent increases and protect tenants from displacement.
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Pacifica Municipal Code § 9-1.203
- Annual increase cap
- 75% of Bay Area CPI change
- Increase window
- On or after September 1 each year
- Scope
- Mobile home park spaces only
- Small park exemption
- Parks of 4 spaces or fewer exempt
- Adopted by
- Ordinance 579-C.S., eff. October 23, 1991
Summary
In the City of Pacifica, mobile home space rents are capped by a local rent stabilization ordinance, not by market rate. Municipal Code Section 9-1.203 lets a park owner raise rent once a year, on or after September 1, by no more than 75 percent of the increase in the Bay Area Consumer Price Index, and unused increases can be banked and applied later. This program covers mobile home park tenancies only.
Sec. 9-1.203. - Annual automatic CPI increases. (a)Rent increases in 1991 and subsequent years. On or after September 1 of each year, the rent charged by an owner for a mobile home space may be increased to an amount not to exceed the rent in effect on September 1 of the prior year adjusted by seventy-five (75%) percent of the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The increase in the CPI shall be equal to the percentage increase between the CPI last reported as of July 1 of the most recent year and the CPI last reported as of July 1 of the prior year. In the event that the CPI decreases, no increase or decrease shall be authorized pursuant to this section. (b)Banking. Automatic rent increases allowed pursuant to this section may be accumulated and implemented by the owner at any future time.
Full Breakdown
, effective October 23, 1991. 17. 203 sets the annual automatic increase: on or after September 1 of each year, an owner may raise the rent for a mobile home space above the prior September 1 rent by up to 75 percent of the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area, measured from July 1 to July 1. If the CPI falls, no increase or decrease is authorized. Unused increases can be banked and applied at any future date, and any increase still has to comply with the state-law notice requirements before it takes effect.
Two other mechanisms interact with the CPI cap. 204 allows vacancy decontrol: when a mobile home changes ownership voluntarily, the space rent can be reset without limit, though that does not apply to an involuntary eviction or to a spouse, child or parent taking over after an owner's death. 207 and pay an administrative fee, no more than half of which can be passed to tenants.
Violations & Fines
Rent stabilization enforcement runs separately from the general park-conversion remedies in Article 1: Section 9-1.111 makes a park owner who violates a homeowner's or tenant's rights under Article 1 liable for actual damages, plus costs and reasonable attorney's fees, and bars a park owner from retaliating against or harassing a resident for exercising those rights. A rent increase charged above the CPI cap without an approved fair return adjustment is not authorized under Section 9-1.203 and can be challenged through the Section 9-1.206 hearing process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Pacifica have rent control for regular apartments?
How much can a Pacifica mobile home park raise rent each year?
Can a Pacifica mobile home park owner raise rent more than the CPI formula allows?
What happens to mobile home space rent when the home is sold?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pacifica
California rules heatmap·Compare Pacifica to another location·View the California rental property rules overview
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Rent Control in Nearby Cities
How other cities in San Mateo County handle rent control.