Petaluma, CA Rental Property Rules: Rent Control (2026)
Rent control rules in Petaluma, CA, also known as rent stabilization or rent cap ordinances, limit annual rent increases and protect tenants from displacement.
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- PMC Ch. 6.50, Mobilehome Rent Stabilization
- Annual increase cap
- Lesser of 70% of CPI change or 4%
- Notice required
- 90 days written notice
- Overcharge penalty
- 3x amount or $500, whichever greater
- Scope
- Mobilehome park spaces only, not apartments
Summary
Petaluma does not cap rent for apartments or houses, which California's Costa-Hawkins Act leaves to state law, but it does cap space rent at its mobilehome parks. Petaluma Municipal Code Section 6.50.040 limits annual mobilehome space rent increases to the lesser of seventy percent of the change in the Bay Area consumer price index or four percent, administered by a city rent stabilization program covering roughly 317 lower-income mobilehome tenants.
6.50.040 Residential rent increase limitations.
A. The space rent payable for use or occupancy of any mobilehome space shall not be increased within twelve months of the effective date of the preceding rent increase. Rent increases permitted under this chapter may not exceed the lesser of:
1. Seventy percent of the percent change in the CPI; or
2. Four percent, except pursuant to subsection D or E of this section and in accordance with the procedures in Sections 6.50.050 and 6.50.060. If the change in the CPI is negative, no rent increase is permitted.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2931 NCS, passed July 6, 2026).
Full Breakdown
50 was enacted in 1993 after the city council found that mobilehome tenants, nearly eighty percent of them age sixty-two or older and mostly low or very low income, had very limited bargaining power against park owners because their homes are effectively immobile once installed. 010(V) states the chapter is intended to comply with the state's Mobilehome Residency Law, Civil Code Section 798 et seq. 040(A), a park owner cannot raise space rent within twelve months of the last increase, and any increase is capped at the lesser of seventy percent of the percentage change in the CPI for the San Francisco-Oakland area or four percent; if the CPI change is negative, no increase is allowed at all.
The clerk, who is the city manager or a designee, calculates and posts the allowable annual increase by August 15th each year at City Hall and on the city website. 100. 220, and vacancy resulting from a tenant's own thirty- or sixty-day notice to leave does not count as a lawful vacancy that resets the rent.
Violations & Fines
Demanding, accepting or retaining rent above what Section 6.50.040 authorizes is unlawful under Section 6.50.130 and triggers the remedies in Section 6.50.200: the tenant can recover actual damages, attorney's fees and costs, plus a penalty of three times the unlawfully collected amount or five hundred dollars, whichever is greater. The city may also pursue injunctive relief, administrative fines, or citations under Chapters 1.10 through 1.16, and a park owner's noncompliance is an affirmative defense to an eviction action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Petaluma have rent control for apartments?
How much can a Petaluma mobilehome park raise my space rent each year?
Why can Petaluma regulate mobilehome rent but not apartment rent?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Petaluma
California rules heatmap·Compare Petaluma to another location·View the California rental property rules overview
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Rent Control in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Sonoma County handle rent control.