Milpitas, CA Rental Property Rules: Rent Increase Notice (2026)

Under Milpitas Municipal Code § XII-2-3.00, every landlord of residential property in the City of Milpitas has to provide a rent increase notice that follows the procedure in California Civil Code § 827(b), no matter how long the tenant has lived there and regardless of any other state notice rule. The City strongly encourages 90 calendar days' notice so the Rent Review Program has time to work, and any notice seeking more than a 5% increase must include a written statement of the reason for the increase.

Section XII-2-3.01 requires the notice to be in writing, show the responsible party's name, address and phone number, and be delivered personally or by first-class mail (service by mail is presumed complete five calendar days after mailing). A defective notice is void under § XII-2-3.02. Separately, § XII-2-4.00 requires landlords to hand tenants a Notice of Availability of Rent Review at lease signing and again at every rent increase, in English and the City's most common languages, informing tenants that increases over 5% in a 12-month span can be taken to the City's five-member Rent Review Board.

Tenants must request review within 15 days of the increase notice. Under § XII-2-4.04, a landlord may raise rent only once in any consecutive 12-month period unless both parties sign a separate written agreement setting a different schedule. Any rent increase that violates the Chapter operates as a complete defense to an unlawful detainer filed over the unpaid increase, and a tenant who paid an illegal increase can sue to recover it in civil court under § XII-2-4.03.