Rent control / rent stabilization

A few states and some cities put a legal cap on rent increases. This is called rent control or rent stabilization (another name for this kind of cap). Most of the country has no cap.

No city, town, or county government in Alabama can pass a rule that limits how much your landlord charges for rent. State law blocks every local government in Alabama from controlling rent amounts on private property. A city or county government can still set the rent on housing that it owns and manages itself.

No city or county in New Mexico can pass a law that limits how much your landlord may raise the rent. This includes Albuquerque. The rule covers privately owned rentals.

New Mexico does not let cities or counties pass laws that control rent on privately owned rentals. That ban does not apply to private rentals that get government benefits or funding under contract to give lower rents to low- or moderate-income renters.

Arizona state law bans cities and towns from limiting how much your landlord can raise your rent. No city or town rent control rule can apply to your rental home.

Housing owned, financed, insured, or paid for by a city, town, or state housing program is different. That government can set rent limits for it.

Texas has no rent cap. A rent cap is a law that limits how much rent can go up. No state law limits how much your landlord can raise your rent when your lease renews. Your landlord can ask for any new amount.

The city of Austin cannot create a rent cap on its own. Texas law lets a city pass rent control only when a disaster causes a housing emergency. The governor must also approve the city's rule. Austin has no rent cap today.

No law caps rent amounts in Boston. Your landlord can propose any increase. Massachusetts law bans rent control in every city and town as decided by statewide ballot in 1994. Therefore, Boston cannot set a cap.

In any 12 months, your landlord cannot raise your rent by more than 5% plus the local rise in the cost of living. The increase can never be more than 10%. Example: 10% of $2,000 rent is $200, so the rent can never go above $2,200 in one year. The cap is measured from the lowest rent you paid in the 12 months before the increase. This rule is the Tenant Protection Act, Civil Code section 1947.12.

The exact cap depends on your county and the date the increase starts. For increases starting between August 1, 2026 and July 31, 2027, the caps are: Los Angeles and Orange counties, 8.7%. Riverside and San Bernardino counties, 8.1%. San Diego County, 8.2%. The San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties), 8.8%. All other counties, 8.6%. Example: 8.7% of $2,000 rent is $174, so the new rent can be at most $2,174.

If you stay in the same home, your landlord can raise the rent at most 2 times in any 12 months. The 2 increases added together still cannot go over the yearly cap. Example: if the cap on $2,000 rent is $174, the landlord could add $100 in March and $74 in September, but nothing more that year.

When everyone from the old rental moves out, the landlord can set any starting rent for the next renter. The cap then limits every later increase for that new renter.

The cap does not cover every home. It does not apply to housing that got its certificate of occupancy (the permit to live there) in the last 15 years. It also skips a 2-unit building where the owner lives in the other unit, college or school dorms, and housing with a recorded affordable-housing restriction. The 15-year rule is rolling: your building becomes covered when it turns 15.

A single-family home or condo is outside the rent cap only if 2 things are both true. First, the owner is not a corporation, a real estate investment trust, or an LLC with a corporate member. The owner is also not the management of a mobilehome (a manufactured home) park. Any other owner, such as a person, can meet this part. Second, your landlord gave you a written notice saying the home is not covered by section 1947.12.

A single-family home or condo can be left out of the rent cap only if your landlord gives you a written notice saying so. For rentals starting or renewed on or after July 1, 2020, the notice must be in the lease. For a mobilehome (a manufactured home), the date is July 1, 2022. If your landlord never gave you that notice, this rule does not take your home out of the cap.

Your city or county may set a lower cap than the state. When the local cap is lower, the local cap applies. For example, the City of Los Angeles allows 3% for increases starting between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027. 3% of $2,000 rent is $60. A state law called the Costa-Hawkins Act limits local caps. Local caps cannot cover buildings first approved for people to live in after February 1, 1995, or most single-family homes and condos. Check your city's guide.

No law limits the size of a rent increase in Chicago. Illinois has no rent control law. Illinois law also stops Chicago from creating its own rent cap. Your protections are about notice and timing, not the amount.

No city or county in Colorado is allowed to pass a law limiting how much your landlord can raise your rent. State law bans local rent control on private housing.

A city, county or property owner can still agree in writing to limit rent increases for an affordable housing deal. This kind of agreement does not break Colorado's ban on local rent control.

Cities and towns in Connecticut with 25,000 or more people must set up a fair rent commission. Smaller towns can choose to set one up too. A fair rent commission takes complaints about rent that seems too high and can hold hearings on those complaints.

A fair rent commission's power also covers a rented mobile home and its lot, the same as any other rented home. It does not handle seasonal rentals, meaning housing rented for a total of 120 days or less in a year.

A fair rent commission can hold a hearing on your rent or a proposed increase. If the commission decides the amount is harsh and unconscionable (much higher than is fair), it can act. It can order your rent limited to an amount the commission decides is fair.

A fair rent commission looks at several facts. It looks at rents for similar homes nearby. It looks at how clean and kept up the home is. It looks at the taxes and costs your landlord pays. It also looks at how often and how much your rent has gone up before. The commission uses these facts to decide if an increase is unfair.

You or your landlord can ask a court to check a fair rent commission's order. In Connecticut, that court is called the superior court. It handles these cases for your area.

Your landlord must follow a fair rent commission's order. If your landlord charges too much while no appeal is pending, the state can fine your landlord. Breaking any other fair rent commission rule can also bring a fine. Each fine is $25 to $100. If your landlord keeps charging too much for more than 5 days, each extra day counts as a new fine.

State law blocks every city, county, and other local government in Florida from controlling rents. No city or county in Florida can pass rent control.

Idaho local governments cannot make, keep, or enforce a rule that forces owners to join an optional federal housing assistance program. They also cannot force owners into any other program or law that would otherwise regulate rent, fees, or deposits for leasing private homes. This does not limit a local government's right to manage property it has an interest in.

Idaho law limits local rent rules. A local government cannot pass a rule that would force owners into an optional federal housing assistance program. It also cannot force owners into any other program or law that would regulate rent, fees, or deposits for private rental homes. A local government can still manage and control housing in which it has a property interest.

No Illinois law limits how much your landlord can raise your rent. There is no statewide cap and no statewide percentage limit. Your landlord can ask for any new amount, as long as the notice rules outlined in the lease are followed. Read your lease for any clause about rent changes.

Cities and counties in Illinois cannot pass rent control either. A state law from 1997, the Rent Control Preemption Act, bans any local law that controls the amount of rent. This is why no Illinois city has a rent cap.

No city in Iowa can pass a rule limiting how much your landlord can raise your rent. This does not apply to housing that the city itself owns.

Kansas state law does not allow any city, county, or township to limit how much your landlord can raise your rent. No city or county in Kansas can pass its own rent control law. This rule applies the same way everywhere in the state.

Kansas's rent control ban does not cover housing that a city, county, or township owns itself. If you rent from a local government that owns your building, that government can still manage and control your rent.

Los Angeles has a city rent control law called the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, or RSO. It covers most rental homes in the city that were first built on or before October 1, 1978. This includes apartments, condos, duplexes (buildings with 2 homes), and ADUs (small separate homes on the same property) of that age.

In an RSO home, the yearly rent increase cap is 3% through June 30, 2027. 3% of $2,000 rent is $60. Starting February 2, 2026, the city sets the cap each year between 1% and 4%, based on inflation. 1% of $2,000 rent is $20. 4% of $2,000 rent is $80.

In an RSO home, your landlord can raise the rent only once every 12 months. Since February 2, 2026, your landlord also cannot add an extra percentage on top of the cap for utilities (such as gas or electricity).

If the RSO does not cover your home, a California law called AB 1482 probably caps your rent. Your landlord cannot raise the rent in any 12-month period by more than 5% plus local inflation. 5% of $2,000 rent is $100. The cap is never more than 10% total. 10% of $2,000 rent is $200.

In a home covered by AB 1482, your landlord can raise the rent at most 2 times in any 12-month period. Together, the 2 increases must stay under the yearly cap. For example, if your yearly cap were $50, your landlord could raise rent $30 the first time and $20 the second, totaling $50.

Louisiana law protects your landlord's right to set your rent under the state's lease law. Only a state law, not a city or parish law, can limit that right.

Louisiana's rule that protects your landlord's right to set your rent does not block the government's power to protect public health and safety.

Maryland has no statewide law that limits how much your landlord can raise your rent when your lease is renewed. Some cities and counties have their own rules that limit rent increases. Check your city or county's guide for those rules.

Massachusetts law bans rent control in every city and town. A city may only allow it if the city formally opts in. It must also meet strict conditions, like paying landlords from public funds for the gap between market rent and the lower, controlled rent. Outside that narrow path, no law caps how much your landlord can raise your rent.

No city, township, village, or county government in Michigan can pass its own law capping how much a landlord may raise your rent. State law bans local governments from making any rule that controls rent amounts for private rental housing.

If your landlord is a city, township, village, or county that owns your building, that government can still set and change your rent. Michigan's ban on local rent control does not stop a local government from managing the rent of a building it owns.

A city, township, village, or county in Michigan can still use voluntary deals to get more homes for rent. The goal is more private rental homes at a low or moderate cost. Taking part is a choice.

Minnesota state law does not let a city, county or town pass its own law to control rents on private housing. Subdivision 2 of this law sets a different rule. This does not stop a city from managing property it has a financial interest in through a public housing authority. It also does not stop a city from contracting with a property owner, or from following state or federal law. It also does not stop a city from helping landlords and tenants agree on rent.

Voters in a city, county or town can approve their own rent control law in a general election. Minnesota law bans cities, counties and towns from making rent control laws in any other way. Check your city's guide for what applies where you live.

No city or county in Missouri can pass a law that limits how much a landlord may charge for rent. That rule covers privately owned homes of any size, from a single-family house to a building with many units. It also covers privately owned commercial rental property. A city or county with its own charter cannot pass this kind of law either.

Missouri's ban on local rent control does not stop a city, county, or public authority from setting rent on property it owns. A city, county, or authority can also agree, voluntarily, with a landlord to limit rent on certain housing. That kind of housing is where the government helps pay part of the rent. A city or county can still limit rent on housing built using certain government grant money.

If you own a manufactured or mobile home and rent only the land it sits on in a shared land-lease community, special rules apply. If your landlord plans to make everyone move because it is changing how the land is used, it must give 120 days' notice. If more than 120 days remain on your lease, your landlord must give notice that far ahead instead. Your landlord cannot raise your rent in the 60 days before that notice, or at any time after it. The only allowed increase is one caused only by higher property taxes.

A Montana city or county with self-government powers cannot control the amount of rent charged for private residential (housing) or commercial (business) property. Property the local government has an interest in does not count as private residential property. That includes an interest through a housing authority.

New Jersey's Anti-Eviction Act says a rent increase must not be unconscionable (grossly unfair). It must also follow other laws and any city ordinances on rent increases. Some cities have their own rent control rules. Check your city's guide.

New Jersey law limits when your landlord can evict you for not paying a rent increase. Your landlord can only evict you for that if the increase is not unconscionable (grossly unfair). The increase must also follow other laws or city rent control rules. A grossly unfair increase is not a valid reason for eviction.

New Jersey courts have looked at what counts as an unconscionable (grossly unfair) rent increase. In one case, a court found that a large percentage increase was not automatically grossly unfair. The new rent had to be extreme enough to shock the conscience of a reasonable person. The court also looked at whether the landlord raised the rent just to force the tenant to move out.

No city or county in New Mexico can pass a rule that limits how much your landlord can raise your rent. This ban covers any city or county rule that controls rent amounts, even indirectly. It applies across the whole state.

New Mexico bans cities and counties from making rules that control how much your landlord can charge in rent. This ban does not cover housing where the government pays part of the cost to keep rent low for people with lower incomes. This only applies when the government funding is meant to lower rent for these renters.

No statewide law caps rent for a home that is not rent regulated. Your landlord may charge any rent you both agree to. The limits below are about notice, timing, and a few places with extra rules.

Where Good Cause applies, a court cannot evict you for not paying rent that came from an unreasonable increase. The court looks at the landlord's costs, like property taxes, utilities (water, electric, gas), insurance, and maintenance. The law is set to end on June 15, 2034.

Rent stabilization (a rule that limits how much rent can go up each year) sets a yearly maximum increase for covered apartments. Outside the state's largest city it applies in Nassau, Rockland, and Westchester counties and the City of Kingston. It generally covers buildings of 6 or more units built before 1974, in places that adopted it. A Rent Guidelines Board sets the rate each year for leases starting on or after October 1. If you are charged more than the legal rent, you can file a complaint with HCR (New York State Homes and Community Renewal). It works differently in the city; check your city's guide.

Most NYC apartments follow 1 of 2 sets of rent increase rules. If your apartment is rent stabilized (a program that limits rent increases), your rent can only go up by a set amount each year. Maybe your apartment is unregulated (not covered by those rent limit rules), also called market rate. Then no law sets a fixed cap on the new rent when your lease ends. But your landlord must follow notice rules first. A smaller group of about 24,000 rent controlled apartments follows older rules.

If your apartment is rent stabilized (a program that limits rent increases), your landlord can only raise the rent in ways the law allows. The main way is the yearly percentage set by the New York City Rent Guidelines Board. That increase applies when you sign a new lease or a renewal lease. The state can also approve some other increases, for example after major building improvements.

For leases that start between October 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026, the cap is 3% for a 1-year lease. The cap for a 2-year lease is 4.5%. 3% of $2,000 rent is $60. 4.5% of $2,000 rent is $90. Your landlord cannot add more than the cap at renewal.

The Rent Guidelines Board adopted a rent freeze on June 25, 2026. The freeze covers rent stabilized (a program that limits rent increases) leases that start or renew between October 1, 2026 and September 30, 2027. The increase is 0% for both 1-year and 2-year leases. 0% of $2,000 rent is $0. Your rent stays the same at that renewal.

A political subdivision (a local government body) may not pass or enforce a rule that controls rent. The ban covers private residential (housing) or commercial (business) property.

Ohio does not have a statewide rent control law. Rent control means a legal limit on how much a landlord can raise your rent.

Ohio law blocks cities, counties, and other local governments from rent control on private rentals. A local government can still set rents for housing it owns or runs. It can also offer voluntary deals, like tax breaks, that limit rent to add housing, keep it, or improve it.

In Oregon, your landlord cannot raise your rent more than once in any 12-month period. This does not cover week-to-week renters.

If you do not rent week to week, Oregon limits how much your landlord can raise your rent each year. A state office calculates the limit as the lesser of two amounts: 10%, or 7% plus a measure of rising prices (CPI). For 2027, the limit is 10%. On a $1,200 monthly rent, a 10% increase is $120, making the new rent $1,320. For 2026, the limit was 9.5%.

Two kinds of homes are not covered by Oregon's yearly rent limit. One is a newer home. Its first certificate of occupancy (the paper allowing people to move in) was issued less than 15 years before the notice. The other is housing that a government regulates or approves as affordable. This applies if the rent change does not raise your share of the rent. It also applies if the change is required by that program's rules or by a change in your income.

Pennsylvania has no rent control at the state level. No state law limits how much a landlord can raise the rent, and no state law sets a minimum warning time for an increase. The lease you signed and your city's own rules are the protections to check.

Once rent increases are allowed, Washington sets a cap. In any 12 month period, the rent cannot go up more than 7% plus the Consumer Price Index (a measure of prices). It also cannot go up more than 10%. Your landlord must use whichever amount is lower. For example, 10% of $1,500 rent is $150.

No Texas law limits how much your landlord can raise the rent when your lease ends. The landlord can ask for any amount.

Texas cities cannot pass their own rent control. Local Government Code § 214.902 allows a city rent control ordinance only after a declared disaster. The city must find a housing emergency, and the governor must approve. So your city's rules will not cap your rent. Some cities have their own renter guides for other topics, so check local governance.

Virginia's landlord-tenant law applies the same way across the whole state. No city or county government can change it, and this law comes before any local rule about the relationship between landlords and renters. This means no city or county in Virginia can pass its own rent control (a law capping how much rent can go up).

Washington's rent stabilization law (a cap on how much your landlord can raise your rent) covers most rented homes. It took effect on May 7, 2025. Your landlord cannot raise your rent at all during the first 12 months you rent the home. This is true whether you rent month-to-month or under a lease with an end date.

The maximum increase allowed from January 1 to December 31, 2026 is 9.683%. For example, 9.683% of $1,500 rent is $145.25, so your rent could go from $1,500 to $1,645.25.

The Department of Commerce updates this maximum every year based on price changes in the Seattle area. It publishes the new number each year, usually in mid-July, for the following calendar year.

The rent cap does not apply to a new building for 12 years after it is built. This 12-year clock starts when the building gets its first certificate of occupancy (the government's approval that it is ready to live in). It also does not apply to homes owned by a public housing authority or similar programs that already limit rent.

The rent cap does not apply if you share a bathroom or kitchen with the owner, and the owner's main home is on the property. It does not apply to a single-family home where the owner lives. This includes an owner who rents out no more than 2 units or bedrooms there, such as an accessory unit.

The rent cap also does not apply to a duplex (2 homes), triplex (3 homes), or fourplex (4 homes). This applies only if the owner lives in one unit as their main home. The owner must have lived there when you moved in. The owner must still live there.

Some homes where the owner also lives are left out of the rent cap. One is a home where you share a bathroom or kitchen with the owner, who lives there. Another is a single-family home where the owner lives. Another is a duplex (2 homes), triplex (3 homes), or fourplex (4 homes). This applies if the owner lived there when you moved in and still lives there. An owner that is a corporation, a real estate investment trust (REIT), or an LLC with a corporate member cannot use these rules.

If you own a manufactured or mobile home and rent the lot it sits on, a different cap applies. Your landlord cannot raise your lot rent by more than 5% in any 12-month period. For example, 5% of $500 lot rent is $25.

You or the Attorney General can sue if your landlord breaks Washington's rent increase limit. If a court finds your landlord broke it, the court must order the landlord to pay your attorney's fees and costs. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays. The Attorney General can also recover a penalty of up to $7,500 for each violation.

DC rent stabilization (rent limits) does not cover a rental unit in a housing accommodation of 4 or fewer rental units when conditions are met. Not more than 4 natural persons (individual people) must own it. None of the owners can have an interest in any other rental unit in the District. The owner must file a sworn claim with the Rent Administrator. The law lists other conditions too. Most DC rental units are covered.

DC rent stabilization (rent limits) covers most rental units. It does not cover a unit in federally or District-owned housing. It does not cover a unit where the mortgage or rent is federally or District-subsidized (helped by government money). Units subsidized under subchapter III (another part of the same chapter) are still covered. The law names a few more kinds of units too.

Before you sign a lease or other rental agreement for a unit that D.C. rent stabilization (rent limits) does not cover under § 42-3502.05(a), you must get a written notice. The notice must say that rent increases for the accommodation are not regulated by the rent stabilization program (the rent limit program).

DC rent stabilization (rent limits) covers most rental units. Some units are left out by § 42-3502.05. For an occupied unit, an increase cannot go above the rent now allowed plus the yearly general adjustment plus 2%. The adjustment plus 2% is a percentage of the rent now allowed. The total cannot be more than 10%. Example: if the yearly general adjustment is 3%, the cap is 5%. 5% of $1,000 rent is $50, so rent can rise to $1,050 at most. Other limits apply if an elderly tenant or a tenant with a disability lives there. Increases made under 4 other sections of the law do not follow this cap.

For a rental unit covered by D.C. rent stabilization (rent limits), rent cannot go up until 12 full months pass since any prior increase. Different rules apply if the unit becomes vacant within 12 months of an increase.

You can challenge a rent adjustment (a rent change) under D.C. rental housing law. File a petition (a formal request) with the Rent Administrator. No petition may be filed more than 3 years after the adjustment took effect. A different deadline applies to challenging a new base rent.

Most DC rental units are covered by the rent rules in D.C. Code 42-3502.06 through 42-3502.16. Some are not. One example is a unit in housing owned by the federal or DC government. Another is a unit in a new building with a building permit issued after December 31, 1975. That does not hold if building it required tearing down housing under these rules, unless it has more rental units than were torn down. A building with 4 or fewer rental units can be left out too, if its owners meet the law's conditions.

No Wisconsin state law limits how much your landlord can raise your rent.

No city, village, town, or county in Wisconsin may pass a law that limits the amount of rent a landlord charges. The same rule covers fees a landlord charges for a rental.

Wisconsin's ban on rent control has a limit. A local government, a housing authority, or WHEDA (the state housing agency) can still limit rent by contract. This can be for housing it owns and runs. It can also be part of a program deal with a private landlord.