// rent compliance
The cap, the registry, the fee and the notice for your unit, each on its own calendar.
The state cap is 8.8% for Aug 1, 2026 to Jul 31, 2027. That number matters in Walnut Creek, Fremont and El Cerrito. It does not matter in Oakland (2.3%), Berkeley (1.0%), Alameda (2.7%), Richmond (1.5%), Hayward (5%), Concord (5%) or Antioch, where a local cap sits underneath it, and from Jan 1, 2027 it stops mattering for most pre-1995 multifamily in San Leandro too. Each of those cities also runs a registry, an annual fee and a filing rule, and most set relocation payments owed when a tenancy ends without fault. We keep one calendar per property and act on it.
Oakland: register every unit and update by Mar 1; RAP fee of $137 per covered unit billed with business tax, due Jan 1 and delinquent after Mar 1, half passable to the tenant if paid on time; business tax due Mar 1. Berkeley: $397 per fully covered unit and $244 per partially covered unit, due Jul 2, 100% penalty if late, nothing passable since Dec 31, 2025; Rental Housing Safety Program $60 per unit. Alameda: $176 or $118 per unit due Aug 31. Richmond: $261 or $149 per unit per year, late penalties of 10, 25 and 50%. Concord: every rental unit registered annually, $78, $50 or $33 by tier. El Cerrito: $50 per unit at business-license renewal, online only from Jul 1, 2026, due Jul 31. San Leandro: a new registry at about $149 per unit with the first filing due in early 2027 (confirm the date with the city). Miss the registry in Oakland, Antioch or San Leandro and you lose the right to raise rent that year.
An increase has three parts: the right percentage, the right notice period, and the right attachments. The percentage is the local cap where one applies, otherwise 8.8% this year, never more than 10%. The notice period is 30 days for an increase of 10% or less and 90 days above that (AB 1110); Richmond spells out the same 30 and 90 in its ordinance. The attachments are where notices die. In Oakland, since Apr 15, 2025, a current Business Tax Certificate must be attached to every increase notice or the notice is void, and the tenant has 180 days to petition. Richmond requires the notice itself to be filed with the Rent Program within 10 business days. Banking rules differ too: Oakland lets one increase reach 3 times the current allowable with banked years that expire after 5 years, Alameda caps the combination at the AGA plus 3% and not in consecutive years, Hayward allows banking from up to 10 prior years to a 10% maximum. We compute it, attach it, serve it and file it.
Just cause applies after 12 months under state law, and from day one in Berkeley, Emeryville and Antioch. A no-fault termination (owner move-in, withdrawal, substantial repairs) carries a relocation payment and a filing. Under the state law it is one month's rent. In Oakland for Jul 1, 2026 to Jun 30, 2027 it is $8,293 for a studio or 1BR, $10,207 for a 2BR and $12,599 for 3BR or larger, plus $2,500 for households with a lower-income, elderly, disabled or minor member. In Berkeley it is $19,413 plus $6,471 for qualifying households. In Richmond, eviction notices must be filed with the Rent Program within 2 business days; in Berkeley within 3 business days. Oakland bars owner move-in and repair evictions during the school year when a child or educator lives in the unit, and a wrongful eviction carries 3 times damages. We tell you what a termination will cost before you decide, and we handle the notice, the payment and the filing when you do.
// questions
Often, yes. Oakland exempts single-family homes and condos from the cap but requires registration and follows just cause once the building is 10 or more years old. Berkeley requires registration and good cause for partially covered single-family tenancies at $244 per unit. Alameda, Richmond and Concord also register exempt units. Exempt from the cap is not exempt from the program.
For Aug 1, 2026 to Jul 31, 2027 the state cap is 8.8%. Oakland is 2.3% on pre-1983 units, Berkeley 1.0% for calendar 2026, Alameda 2.7% from Sep 1, Richmond 1.5% from Sep 1, Hayward and Concord 5%, Antioch about 2% and recomputed with each CPI release. A unit exempt from both the state and local caps, such as an individually owned house with the exemption notice or a building under 15 years old, has no percentage limit, but an increase over 10% needs 90 days' notice.
In Oakland an unregistered owner cannot raise rent, cannot file a petition, and non-registration is a defense to eviction. Berkeley doubles the fee. Richmond adds 10, 25 and 50% penalties and may lien the property. The fix is to register now, pay the penalty, and reset the calendar. We do that as part of onboarding.
San Leandro adopted rent control on Feb 2, 2026, effective Jan 1, 2027: a cap of 3% or 65% of CPI, whichever is lower, on roughly 7,700 pre-1995 multifamily units, with base rent set at the rent in effect Jul 1, 2025. Increases taken since then may be rolled back. The new registry is about $149 per unit, and unregistered owners lose the right to raise rent or evict for the year. If you own there, the planning has to happen in 2026.
// where we work
The rule that applies in each city, and what we do about it there.
// start here
What your place should rent for, what the city will let you charge next year, and what we would do first. Written, within one business day.
// next step
A written rental analysis for your property, free, within one business day. No obligation and no sales call unless you ask for one.