Palm Desert, CA Rental Property Rules: Rent Control (2026)
Rent control rules in Palm Desert, CA, also known as rent stabilization or rent cap ordinances, limit annual rent increases and protect tenants from displacement.
Key Facts
- Covered tenancies
- Mobile home park spaces under Chapter 9.50
- Increase cap
- Six percent per twelve-month period without board approval
- Base date
- April 28, 1983 for spaces rented on that date
- CPI share
- Three-quarters (seventy-five percent) of net CPI change
- Vacancy rule
- No rent increase on vacancy or ownership transfer
- Tenant remedy
- Court action with attorney's fees and treble damages
Summary
In the City of Palm Desert, California, rent regulation takes the form of the Mobile Home Park Rent Review Ordinance, Chapter 9.50. Under Section 9.50.060 a park owner cannot charge a space more than its base-date rent adjusted for the cost of living, and no increase in a twelve-month period can exceed six percent without rent review board approval.
A. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter (e.g., a fixed-term rental agreement or a hardship rent adjustment), the maximum rent that a mobile home park owner may request, demand or receive for a mobile home space shall not exceed the monthly rent that was charged for that space on base date (as defined below) adjusted up or down for the change in the cost of living since the base date. ... B. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no rent increase in a given twelve-month period shall cause the previous rent charged for the space to increase more than six percent unless expressly permitted by the rent review board. ... C. The "base date" shall be April 28, 1983, for any space that was rented on that date and not governed by a fixed-term rental agreement permitted by this chapter. ... D. Changes in the cost of living shall always measure from the base date. For purposes of this section, the change in the cost of living shall be measured by three-quarters (seventy-five percent) of the net change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the base date until any subsequent date in the present.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 9.50 is titled the Mobile Home Park Rent Review Ordinance. Its definitions are built around mobile home parks: a tenant is an owner of a mobile home responsible for paying rent to management, and a tenancy is the right to use a site within the park. Maximum rent for a space starts from the rent charged on the base date, which is April 28, 1983, for any space rented on that date and not governed by a fixed-term agreement. For all other spaces the base date is the first date after April 28, 1983 that the space was rented outside a fixed-term agreement.
The cost-of-living adjustment is measured by three-quarters (seventy-five percent) of the net change in the Consumer Price Index from the base date, using the index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for the Los Angeles, Long Beach, Anaheim Area. Section 9.50.060(B) caps any increase in a twelve-month period at six percent unless the rent review board expressly permits more, and the excess can be carried forward for up to eight years. A park owner cannot increase the rent for a space more than once in a twelve-month period unless the board authorizes it, and allowed increases apply only prospectively.
Section 9.50.085 bars raising the monthly rent when a space becomes vacant or ownership of a mobile home changes or transfers. The rent stays at the rate previously approved and set by the board for the space.
A rent review board of three regular members and two alternates, appointed by the City Council, handles hardship petitions under Sections 9.50.040 through 9.50.070. A park owner can petition for a hardship increase, and either side can petition for an interpretation, each on payment of the filing fee. The petitioner serves notice, the opposing party has twenty days after the proof of service is filed to oppose, and a hearing officer takes the evidence.
Section 9.50.030 exempts several tenancies, including parks with twenty or less mobile home spaces, parks that sell lots, parks operated by the United States Government, the State of California or the City of Palm Desert, and tenancies under a rental agreement longer than month to month. Section 9.50.080 lets tenants and management agree to a fixed term or fixed rent, which applies to the whole park when four-fifths of the occupied spaces consent.
Violations & Fines
Section 9.50.090 makes enforcement a private matter. When management violates a maximum rent, an effective rent schedule or a final decision of the rent review board, individual tenants can sue in court for injunctive relief and for damages equal to the rent paid above the schedule. The prevailing party is awarded reasonable attorney's fees, and the court can order treble damages, meaning three times any excessive rent or overcharge. Section 9.50.075 also makes it unlawful to require a rent-exempt agreement as a condition of tenancy.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much can a Palm Desert mobile home park raise space rent?
Can the park raise the rent when a mobile home is sold?
How does a park owner get a larger increase?
How long does someone have to challenge a rent review board decision?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Palm Desert
California rules heatmap·Compare Palm Desert 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 Riverside County handle rent control.