Sonoma, CA Rental Property Rules: Rent Control (2026)
Rent control rules in Sonoma, CA, also known as rent stabilization or rent cap ordinances, limit annual rent increases and protect tenants from displacement.
Key Facts
- Scope
- mobilehome park space rent only, 5+ spaces
- Base rent date
- January 1, 1992
- Annual increase formula
- 80% of CPI change
- Increase cap
- 5% per 12 months maximum
- Governing chapter
- SMC Chapter 9.80, adopted 1998, updated 2016
Summary
The City of Sonoma runs a rent stabilization program under SMC Chapter 9.80, but it covers only mobilehome park space rent, not apartments or houses. Space rent cannot exceed the January 1, 1992 base, and automatic annual increases are capped at 80 percent of CPI change, never more than five percent.
Except as provided in this chapter, an owner shall not demand, accept, or retain rent for a mobilehome space exceeding the rent in effect for said space on January 1, 1992. ... ... A. Once every 12 months, an owner shall be permitted an automatic rental increase for each space in a percentage amount equal to 80 percent of the percent change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) ... in no instance shall the rental increase permitted pursuant to this section result in a rental increase of greater than five percent per 12-month period over that in effect prior to the rental increase permitted pursuant to this section.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 13-2025, passed December 3, 2025).
Full Breakdown
The City of Sonoma has no general rent control ordinance for apartments or single-family rentals; Costa-Hawkins bars most California cities from capping rent on those unit types anyway. 80, the Mobilehome Park Space Rent Protection ordinance adopted in 1998 and substantially updated by Ordinance 02-2016. 010 note that mobilehome owners cannot easily relocate their homes, that mobilehomes are an important source of affordable housing (average value then $47,527, under 20 percent of a typical Sonoma home), and that most park residents are seniors on fixed incomes, justifying regulation distinct from ordinary rental housing.
040 sets the base rent as whatever was charged on January 1, 1992, for spaces rented then, or the first rent charged for spaces rented later. 045(A) then permits an automatic annual increase, once every 12 months, equal to 80 percent of the change in the Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area, but caps that increase at five percent per 12-month period regardless of how high CPI runs. 035). 070 lets a park owner petition to exceed the cap if the base-year net operating income did not provide a fair return, administered by the city manager or a hearing officer.
Violations & Fines
SMC 9.80's operating-expense rules exclude any penalties, fees, or interest assessed for violating the chapter from what a park owner can recover as an operating expense, and rent charged above what the chapter allows is not a legally collectible obligation from the tenant. Disputes over rent increases or fair-return petitions go through the city manager or a hearing officer rather than a criminal penalty track.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the City of Sonoma have rent control for apartments?
How much can a mobile home park raise my space rent each year in the City of Sonoma?
Can a park owner get more than the 5 percent cap?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sonoma
California rules heatmap·Compare Sonoma 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.