How much can a Sacramento landlord legally increase your rent? City updates limit

Starting this month, Sacramento landlords can raise rents slightly more than last year.

The city set the new limit on annual rent increases last week, in accordance with its Tenant Protection Program. The limit is now 8.6% — up 0.9% from last year. Landlords cannot increase rent by more than this rate or more often than once every 12 months.

“Changes to rent can have a significant impact on both tenants and housing providers,” Bridget Casey, program manager in the Community Development Department, told the city’s public information website. “Our goal is to help the community understand how the annual rent adjustment is calculated and ensure everyone has access to accurate information about the Tenant Protection Program.”

The rent increase limit — created by ordinance adopted by the City Council in 2019 — is meant to provide Sacramento renters with “more stability to help them remain in their rental unit,” according to the city’s website. Renters in Sacramento are covered by the ordinance if they live in apartments, duplexes, mobile home parks or single-room occupancy hotels built before Feb. 1, 1995.

The rent adjustment maximum is based on a formula that sums a 5% base rate with the annual change in the California Consumer Price Index, up to a maximum total of 10%. For 2026, the California Department of Industrial Relations reported a 3.6% increase in the April CPI, which produced the 8.6% limit for this year.

The limit applies to all tenants no matter how long they have resided in the unit. Landlords who violate the requirement may be subject to penalties of up to $25,000. But landlords can petition the city for a hearing to review a rent increase above the maximum — though they require documentation to justify the request.

For more information about the Tenant Protection Program and rent increase limits, call 916-808-8121 or email tpp@cityofsacramento.org.

Past maximum allowable rent increases

Sacramento’s maximum allowable rent increase averaged about 8.5% between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2026:

• July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021: 6.0%
• July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022: 9.0%
• July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023: 10.0%
• July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024: 9.2%
• July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025: 8.8%
• July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026: 7.7%