Vacaville, CA Rental Property Rules: Rent Control (2026)

Vacaville is one of the many California cities that has chosen not to layer a local rent-stabilization scheme on top of the state framework. Annual rent increases on covered units in Vacaville are therefore governed exclusively by California Civil Code Section 1947.12 (AB 1482). The statute caps annual rent increases at the lesser of 5% plus the percentage change in the regional April-to-April Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, or 10%, measured over any 12-month period. Vacaville sits in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward CPI region, so the operative CPI is published annually by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for that metropolitan statistical area. The cap reaches most multi-family rentals and corporate-owned single-family homes once the unit has a Certificate of Occupancy that is more than 15 years old (a rolling exemption that means a 2010-built unit becomes covered in 2025, etc.). Statutory exemptions include: new construction within the prior 15 years; single-family homes and condominiums owned by natural persons (i.e., not corporations or REITs) where the landlord delivers the statutory exemption notice under Section 1947.12(d)(5); owner-occupied duplexes; deed-restricted affordable housing; dormitories; and certain hotel-type lodging. AB 1482 sunsets on January 1, 2030 unless extended by the Legislature. The Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act (Cal. Civ. Code Sections 1954.50-1954.535) is a separate state law that preempts local 'vacancy control' (a rent cap that continues to apply between tenancies) and limits the kinds of units a city may bring under any future local rent-stabilization ordinance. Because Vacaville has no local rent-control ordinance, Costa-Hawkins operates as a future-proofing constraint rather than as a present-day overlay.