Rent Increase Calculator (California, Oregon, Washington)

California: 5% Plus Inflation, Up to 10%

Under Civil Code 1947.12 (the Tenant Protection Act, AB 1482), an owner may not raise the rent over any 12-month period by more than 5% plus the percentage change in the cost of living, or 10%, whichever is lower. The percentage is applied to the lowest gross rent charged in the 12 months before the increase, and the rent may go up in no more than two increments in that period.

The cost of living is the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the metropolitan area, or the California CPI where there is no area index. Increases effective on or after August 1 use the April change of that year; earlier increases use the prior year’s April. Where an area has no April figure, the statute uses March. The Department of Industrial Relations table and the BLS releases give these figures:

The caps are our application of the statute’s formula to those CPI figures; no state agency page we found publishes them. Notice under Civil Code 827 is at least 30 days for an increase of 10% or less and at least 90 days for more. The section is scheduled to remain in effect until January 1, 2030.

Exemptions in 1947.12(d) include housing issued a certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years (other than a mobilehome); a single-family home or condominium that can be sold separately, if the owner is not a REIT, a corporation or an LLC with a corporate member and the tenant received the statutory written notice of the exemption; some owner-occupied duplexes (the owner lived in the other unit at the start of the tenancy and still does); deed-restricted affordable housing; school dormitories; and housing under a local rent control law that is stricter.

Oregon: The Published Annual Maximum

Under ORS 90.323 and 90.324, the Department of Administrative Services calculates the maximum annual increase for each calendar year as the lesser of 10% or 7% plus the September West Region CPI change, and publishes it by September 30 of the year before. The published figures are 10.0% for 2025, 9.5% for 2026 and 10% for 2027. For manufactured dwelling and marina facilities with more than 30 spaces, the figure is 6%; this tool does not cover those tenancies.

A landlord may not raise the rent in the first year of the tenancy or more than once in any 12 months, and must give written notice at least 90 days before the effective date stating the amount of the increase, the new rent and the date (7 days for a week-to-week tenancy). The cap does not apply where the first certificate of occupancy was issued less than 15 years before the notice date, or to certain regulated affordable housing. A landlord who raises rent above the cap is liable for three months’ rent plus actual damages.

Washington: 7% Plus Inflation, Up to 10%

Washington’s rent stabilization law took effect May 7, 2025. Under RCW 59.18.700, a landlord may not raise the rent in the first 12 months of a tenancy, or in any 12-month period by more than 7% plus the consumer price index, or 10%, whichever is less. The index is the June 12-month change in the Seattle-area CPI-U, and the Department of Commerce publishes the maximum for the following calendar year.

BLS reported a 2.7% change for June 2025 and 4.5% for June 2026 (Seattle CPI), which gives 9.7% for 2026 and the 10% ceiling for 2027 under the statute’s formula. Notice is at least 90 days (RCW 59.18.140), 30 days for certain subsidized tenancies, in the form set by RCW 59.18.720.

Exemptions in RCW 59.18.710 include units whose first certificate of occupancy was issued 12 or fewer years before the notice, certain public housing authority and nonprofit housing, tax-credit housing under a regulatory agreement, units where the tenant shares a kitchen or bathroom with the owner, and some owner-occupied single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes. Manufactured home lot rent has a separate 5% cap (RCW 59.20.370). The section expires July 1, 2040.

Other States

This tool covers the statewide caps in these three states only. For other states it says no statewide cap was assessed; that is not a finding that none exists, and some cities have their own rules. Our landlord-tenant laws by state guide covers rent increase notice rules state by state.