Rent control in Pasadena, CA

2 rules apply — the local one first, then the county and state rules that bind alongside it.

Research, not legal advice

These summaries are compiled from ordinance text and public sources and are dated at the point they were last checked. Rules change between checks — Newark replaced its whole registration regime in a single month — so confirm anything you are about to underwrite against the primary source or the municipal office named in the citation.

Pasadena Measure H controls qualifying pre-February-1995 multifamily units

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Verified on 2026-08-18 — 1 day ago.

Pasadena Charter Article XVIII limits annual increases for covered multifamily rental units built before 1 February 1995, using 75% of the change in CPI.

The local rent ceiling applies to qualifying multi-unit residential rental property built before 1 February 1995; single-family homes and condominiums are outside the rent-control portion.

Exemptions

Single-family homes and condominiums are exempt from the local rent-control portion.
Residential rental units built after 1 February 1995 are exempt from the local rent-control portion.

Unit counts: 2+ units
Construction: Built before 1996

In effect since 2022-12-22.

Sources

Pasadena Rent Stabilization Department — Measure H FAQs — Pasadena Charter art. XVIII

AB 1482 caps increases at 5% plus CPI, to a 10% ceiling

Californiamedium confidence

Verified on 2026-08-01 — 18 days ago.

The Tenant Protection Act caps annual rent increases at 5% plus CPI, with a hard ceiling of 10%, on housing built more than 15 years ago.

The 15-year window rolls forward, so a building drifts into coverage with age rather than being fixed by its construction date at purchase.

Exemptions

Housing issued a certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years.
An owner-occupied duplex is exempt when the owner occupied one unit as their principal residence at the tenancy's start and remains there.
A separately alienable single-family home or condominium is exempt only when the owner is not a REIT, corporation, or LLC with a corporate member and the tenant received the statutory exemption notice.

Annual cap: 10%
Owner-occupied exemption: Yes

In effect since 2020-01-01.

Sources

California Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482) — Cal. Civ. Code §1946.2, §1947.12

Every rule for Pasadena, CA