Oxnard, CA Rental Property Rules: Rent Increase Notice (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Oxnard Code Sec. 27-26
- Move-in notice
- Required on or before tenancy start
- Increase notice
- Required with every rent increase
- Annual cap referenced
- 4% per 12 months, Sec. 27-21
- Bad notice result
- Increase void per Sec. 27-25
- Overcharge penalty
- 3x damages plus attorney's fees
Summary
Oxnard landlords must hand every tenant a city-prescribed written notice, at move-in and again with any rent increase, spelling out Chapter 27's rent limits and the tenant's right to contest a fair return petition. Skip it and the increase never takes effect, under Oxnard Code of Ordinances Sec. 27-26.
(A) An owner of any residential real property subject to this article shall, on or before the date of commencement of a tenancy, give the tenant a written notice in a form prescribed by the city which must include the following information:
(1) The existence and scope of this Chapter 27, Article II of the City Code; and
(2) The tenant's right to respond to any fair return petition filed with the city by the owner pursuant to section 27-23.
(B) As part of any notice to increase rent, an owner must include:
(1) Notice of the existence of this Chapter 27, Article II of the City Code; and
(2) The tenant's right to respond to any fair return petition filed with the city by the owner pursuant to section 27-23, unless such rent increase is pursuant to an approved fair return petition.
(3) No rent increase shall take effect until the requirements of this article have been met.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Contains Supplement current through 1-26-2026).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 27-26 of the Rent Stabilization Ordinance requires an owner of residential real property covered by Chapter 27, Article II to give the tenant a written notice, in a form the city prescribes, on or before the date the tenancy begins. That notice must state the existence and scope of Article II and tell the tenant they can respond to any fair return petition the owner files under Sec. 27-23. The article caps annual rent increases at 4% and allows only one increase per 12-month period under Sec.
27-21, so the notice ties directly to that cap. Every subsequent notice raising rent must repeat both disclosures, the existence of Article II and the tenant's right to respond to a fair return petition, unless the increase is already pursuant to an approved fair return petition. Sec. 27-26(B)(3) is explicit that no rent increase takes effect until these notice requirements are met. Sec. 27-26(C) further requires the owner to deliver notices in the language used in a written lease, or, absent a lease, in the language the parties used to negotiate the tenancy.
Sec. 27-25 backs this up: a rent increase is ineffective if the owner fails to substantially comply with any provision of the article, including the notice duty, fails to maintain the unit per Cal. Civil Code Sec. 1 and Cal. Health and Safety Code Secs. 10, or fails to make ordered repairs. Owners subject to the article also pay a rent stabilization program fee set by council resolution under Sec. 27-29 to fund the city's enforcement of these rules.
Violations & Fines
Violating any provision of Article II, including the notice duty, is first enforced through a civil citation before the city moves to misdemeanor, infraction, or civil injunction proceedings under Sec. 1-10, per Sec. 27-28(A). An owner who intentionally demands, accepts, or retains rent above the lawful amount is separately liable to the tenant in a civil action for three times the overcharge plus the tenant's reasonable attorney's fees and costs, per Sec. 27-28(B). A defective notice also makes the increase itself void under Sec. 27-25 until the owner cures the deficiency.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must an Oxnard landlord tell a new tenant at move-in?
Does every rent increase need its own notice in Oxnard?
What happens if the landlord skips the required notice?
What language does the notice have to be written in?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Oxnard
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