This time of year, landlords with properties subject to the Tenant Protection Act may find themselves scratching their heads while they search for an important number issued by the government. 

The Tenant Protection Act, passed as AB 1482, requires use of the CPI figure from April to determine the maximum allowable rent increase under this law. 

And every spring, landlords wonder: Where is that new number? Well, it turns out the April CPI figures are often not available until late May or mid-June. Not long after its enactment, the Tenant Protection Act was amended to account for this delay. 

About AB 1482’s rent cap 

AB 1482, the Tenant Protection Act , prohibits a landlord of a property subject to the law from increasing the rent, in any 12-month period, by more than 5% plus the regional percentage change in the cost of living (CPI), or 10 percent, whichever is lower, of the lowest “gross rental rate” charged for the unit during the 12 months before the effective date of the increase. 

Here’s how it works: For rent increases that take effect before Aug. 1, of any calendar year, AB 1482 uses the data issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for the CPI published in April of the prior year. If April figures are not published for the geographic area, it uses the CPI published in March of the prior calendar year. 

As a result, the CPI figure from April of 2024 applies to rent increases that take effect between Aug. 1, 2024, and July 31, 2025. Increases that take effect on or after Aug. 1, 2025, are based on the April 2025 CPI published in May or June of 2025. 

To find out the current CPI based on the county in which your property is located, go to CAA’s website and use the “Find your CPI” tool in this link www.caanet.org/ab1482/. The tool will be updated once the new figures for increases that take effect on or after Aug. 1, 2025, are published.