How Much Can a Landlord Raise Rent? Caps and Notice Rules by State

In most US states there is no limit on how much a landlord can raise rent on a market-rate unit. What the law controls is timing: you usually cannot raise rent during a fixed-term lease unless the lease allows it, and for a month-to-month tenant you must give written notice first, often 30 days but longer in some states. Three states cap the amount statewide: California (5% plus inflation, never more than 10% in any 12 months), Oregon (9.5% for 2026 and 10% for 2027) and Washington (9.683% for 2026 and 10% for 2027).

Even without a state cap, a city may have rent control, as New York City and St. Paul, Minnesota do, though many states ban it. And no state lets you raise rent to retaliate or discriminate.

This guide covers the statewide caps, local rent control, notice periods by state, retaliation and discrimination limits, the percentage math, and voucher tenants. Numbers are as of October 2026; the law-changes tracker lists new and upcoming changes.

The short answer by situation

States with a statewide rent cap

Of the 15 states MakeLease covers in full, three cap the amount statewide as of October 2026. Each has exemptions.

California: 5% plus CPI, never more than 10%

The Tenant Protection Act, Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12, limits increases over any 12-month period to 5% plus the regional change in the cost of living, or 10%, whichever is lower. The allowed percentage depends on your region and changes each year on August 1, so look up the current figure for your county on the California Attorney General's tenant guide before you set the amount.

Main exemptions: units built within the last 15 years, single-family homes and condos not owned by a REIT or corporation (only if you gave the tenant written notice of the exemption), owner-occupied duplexes, and deed-restricted affordable housing. Cities may add their own rent control, so check your city.

Oregon: 9.5% for 2026, 10% for 2027

Under ORS 90.323 and ORS 90.324, the cap is 7% plus CPI or 10%, whichever is lower. The Office of Economic Analysis publishes the number each year: 9.5% for 2026 and 10% for 2027.

Oregon also bars any increase in the first year of a tenancy, allows only one increase per 12 months, and requires 90 days' written notice stating the dollar increase, the new rent and the effective date.

The cap does not apply if the unit's first certificate of occupancy was issued less than 15 years before the notice, or to certain regulated affordable housing. A landlord who goes over the cap without an exemption owes the tenant three months' rent plus actual damages (ORS 90.323(6)).

Washington: 9.683% for 2026, 10% for 2027

Washington's 2025 law, RCW 59.18.700, bars any increase in the first 12 months of a tenancy and caps increases at 7% plus CPI or 10%, whichever is less, over any 12 months. The Department of Commerce sets the figure each year: 9.683% for calendar 2026 and 10% for calendar 2027.

You must give at least 90 days' written notice (RCW 59.18.140(3)), using a notice substantially the same as the statutory form in RCW 59.18.720, and the increase cannot take effect before a fixed term ends. Exemptions (RCW 59.18.710) include buildings whose first certificate of occupancy was issued 12 or fewer years before the notice. Violations can cost a refund of the excess, up to three months of the unlawful rent, attorney fees, and civil penalties of up to $7,500 per violation. Some Washington cities require longer notice than the state, so check your city.

Local rent control: check your city

Where the state allows it, a city can set its own, stricter rent limits. Two examples:

• New York City. Rent-stabilized apartments follow limits set under the Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA § 3), and some localities outside the city have opted in. Separately, under the 2024 Good Cause Eviction Law, which applies in New York City and in municipalities that opt in, an increase above 5% plus CPI or 10% (whichever is lower) is presumed unreasonable for covered units. That is a rebuttable presumption, not a flat cap, and small landlords and newer buildings are often exempt.
• St. Paul, Minnesota. The city's rent stabilization ordinance limits increases to 3% in a 12-month period unless the landlord qualifies for an exception, and the city has amended it to exempt new construction. Minnesota otherwise allows local rent control only if voters approve it at a general election (Minn. Stat. § 471.9996).

Other cities have rent limits too. Check your city's housing department, not just state law.

States that ban local rent control

Most of the 15 states have no statewide cap and also stop cities from adopting one. There, the amount of a market-rate increase is generally up to you, subject to notice, retaliation and fair housing rules.

California and New York allow local rent control. Pennsylvania has no statewide cap and no statute that expressly bans local rent control, so check your municipality. Colorado caps frequency, not amount: one increase per 12 months of occupancy, lease or no lease (C.R.S. § 38-12-702).

Notice periods: month-to-month vs fixed-term

Fixed-term lease. The lease rent holds for the whole term. You raise it at renewal unless the lease has a scheduled increase or the tenant agrees in writing; Virginia, for one, says a one-sided change is not valid without written consent (Va. Code § 55.1-1204). Some states require notice before renewal: Virginia landlords with more than four units must give 60 days' written notice before the lease ends (90 days from July 1, 2027), and New York requires 30, 60 or 90 days' notice for increases of 5% or more depending on how long the tenant has lived there (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 226-c).

Month-to-month tenancy. You can change the rent with advance written notice. Where the state has no rent-increase statute, the usual practice is to give at least as much notice as it takes to end the tenancy. The table below shows each state's rule and whether a statewide cap applies.

Generated from the MakeLease state-law dataset (49 jurisdictions, statutes last checked 2026-10-30). Researched and cited by MakeLease · not yet attorney-reviewed. City and county rules can be stricter.

A few points the table compresses:

• California requires 30 days for an increase of 10% or less and 90 days if the increase, combined with others in the past 12 months, exceeds 10% (Civ. Code § 827).
• Colorado requires 60 days' written notice where there is no written lease (C.R.S. § 38-12-701).
• Virginia month-to-month increases take effect on the next rent due date at least 30 days after written notice (Va. Code § 55.1-1253(D)).

If you plan to end the tenancy instead of raising rent, the rules are different; see landlord notice to vacate by state.

Retaliation and discrimination limits

Retaliation. Most states bar raising rent because a tenant complained about code violations, asked for repairs, or joined a tenant group. Examples:

• Arizona: A.R.S. § 33-1381 bars retaliatory rent increases after a complaint to a code agency or the landlord, or after joining a tenants' union.
• Florida: Fla. Stat. § 83.64 makes it unlawful to discriminatorily increase rent in retaliation for protected acts, including complaints to a government agency and exercising fair housing rights.
• Texas: Tex. Prop. Code § 92.331 bars raising rent in retaliation for a tenant's good-faith repair notice, complaint to a government entity, or joining a tenant organization; a tenant can recover one month's rent plus $500, actual damages and attorney fees (Texas State Law Library).

If a tenant recently complained, document your business reason (market comparisons, rising costs, a schedule applied to every unit) before sending notice.

Discrimination. The federal Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(b), makes it unlawful to discriminate in the terms or conditions of a rental based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin or disability. Many states and cities add more protected classes. See fair housing laws for landlords.

How to calculate the percentage increase

Divide the dollar increase by the current rent and multiply by 100.

A hypothetical example: current rent is $1,800 and you propose $1,950.

1. Increase: $1,950 minus $1,800 = $150.
2. Percentage: $150 divided by $1,800 = 0.0833, or 8.33%.

Now check that against the caps:

Two traps: caps apply to the total of all increases in a 12-month window, not each notice on its own, and in California an increase that takes the 12-month total above 10% also triggers the 90-day notice. The rent increase notice works out the dollar and percentage figures for you and prints them on the notice.

Housing Choice Voucher tenants

If the tenant pays with a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher, the rent is set in the housing assistance payments (HAP) contract with the public housing agency. Under 24 CFR 982.308(g)(4), you must notify the PHA of any change in the rent to owner at least 60 days before it takes effect, and the new amount is subject to the agency's rent reasonableness review (24 CFR 982.503). State and local rent control limits also apply on top of that (24 CFR 982.509). Give the tenant the notice state law requires as well. The rest of the voucher process is in Section 8 for landlords, and setting the starting rent is covered in how much rent to charge.

Delivering the notice

Notice periods run from delivery, so:

• Put it in writing, following your lease's notice clause and your state's service rules (Washington requires service under RCW 59.12.040).
• Some states add days for mailed notice; build in a margin or deliver by hand.
• Keep proof: a signed acknowledgment, a certificate of mailing, or a dated photo of the posted notice.

Raising rent at renewal is also a retention decision. A modest, predictable increase often costs less than a vacancy; see lease renewal strategies and tenant retention strategies. For each state's other rules, start at landlord-tenant law by state.

Sources

Official sources cited above (checked 2026-10-27):

• Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12 (Tenant Protection Act)
• Cal. Civ. Code § 827
• California Attorney General, Know Your Rights as a California Tenant
• ORS 90.323 and ORS 90.324
• Oregon Office of Economic Analysis, Rent Stabilization
• RCW 59.18.700, RCW 59.18.710, RCW 59.18.140, RCW 59.18.720
• Washington Department of Commerce, HB 1217 Landlord Resource Center
• Emergency Tenant Protection Act § 3 (New York)
• N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 226-c
• NY Homes and Community Renewal, Good Cause Eviction Law
• City of Saint Paul, Rent Stabilization
• Minn. Stat. § 471.9996
• Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 38 (§§ 38-12-301, 38-12-701, 38-12-702)
• Va. Code § 55.1-1204 and § 55.1-1253
• A.R.S. § 33-1381
• Fla. Stat. § 83.64
• Tex. Prop. Code ch. 92 (§ 92.331)
• Texas State Law Library, Landlord/Tenant Law: Rent
• Illinois Attorney General, Landlord and Tenant Rights and Laws
• 42 U.S.C. § 3604 (Fair Housing Act)
• 24 CFR 982.308, 24 CFR 982.503, 24 CFR 982.509