// hayward · alameda county
5% once per 12 months on covered units, flat and not CPI-indexed (ordinance since Jul 25, 2019). State 8.8% elsewhere. Properties of two or more units with a certificate of occupancy before Jul 1, 1979, about 9,500 units. Single-family homes, condos and owner-occupied properties with an ADU are exempt from the local cap but fall under the state 8.8% limit unless AB 1482 exempt.
// the rulebook
Hayward caps rent increases at 5% once every 12 months on buildings of two or more units with a certificate of occupancy before July 1, 1979. The cap is flat, not indexed to CPI, and it covers about 9,500 units. Single-family homes, condos and owner-occupied properties with an ADU are exempt from the local cap but still sit under the state 8.8% limit this year and under Hayward's just-cause rules, which reach nearly every unit in the city with 15 permitted reasons. The fees stack: a $66 annual rent review fee per covered unit ($32 for other units, half passable to the tenant), $88 a year per property in the Residential Rental Inspection Program for one to four units, and a business license at $3.75 per $1,000 of gross receipts with a $60 minimum. Measure CC on the November 3, 2026 ballot would extend that license tax to small rentals that pay nothing today. A no-fault termination costs one month's rent, paid within 14 days. We track the dates, pay the fees before they are late, serve banked increases inside the 10% yearly ceiling, and keep the file ready if a tenant takes a dispute to mediation or arbitration.
// what owners run into
Above the 5% cap you can bank up to 10 prior years of unused increases, 10% maximum in any one year. A tenant can push back through meet-and-confer, then mediation, then binding arbitration, so the notice has to be documented before it is served.
The $66 rent review fee, the $88 inspection program fee and the $3.75 per $1,000 business license each bill on their own schedule. Only half of the rent review fee can be passed to the tenant, and only if it is paid on time.
Many small Hayward rentals pay no business license tax today. Measure CC on the Nov 3, 2026 ballot would extend the $3.75 per $1,000 tax ($60 minimum) to them. If it passes, a one-house owner picks up a new filing.
// start here
What your Hayward place should rent for, what the rules allow next year, and what we would do first. Written, within one business day.
// services
Priced to the market, screened to a written standard, leased with the notices your city requires.
The cap, the registry, the fee and the notice for your unit, each on its own calendar.
A 24-hour line, licensed vendors, your approval threshold, and the vendor's invoice with nothing added.
// questions
On a covered unit, two or more units built before Jul 1, 1979, the cap is 5% once in 12 months. Banked increases can take a single notice to 10% at most. On a single-family home or condo the state cap of 8.8% applies through Jul 31, 2027, unless the lease carries the AB 1482 exemption notice.
Hayward's 5% cap does not. Your house falls under the state 8.8% limit unless you own it as an individual and the lease carries the AB 1482 exemption notice. Hayward's just-cause rules and its anti-harassment rules do apply to your house.
Hayward's business license tax is $3.75 per $1,000 of gross receipts with a $60 minimum, and many small rentals are not taxed today. Confirm your situation with the city, and watch Measure CC on the Nov 3, 2026 ballot, which would extend the tax to small rentals. The $32 per unit rent review fee and the $88 inspection fee apply regardless.
Typical East Bay management runs 6 to 10% of collected rent plus half to one month's rent for leasing. Hayward managers advertise anywhere from 5% to 10%. Our schedule sits in the typical range, and the full fee table is on our fees page.
// neighborhoods
// who else you will find
Listed so you can compare. Most quote fees by phone; ours are on the fees page.
// nearby
// 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.