Rent Control in San Mateo

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1. Overview of Rent Control in San Mateo

San Mateo sits at the heart of the mid-Peninsula, roughly halfway between San Francisco and San Jose in San Mateo County. The city's population of about 105,000 includes a substantial renter population — roughly 45% of households rent — concentrated in apartment complexes along El Camino Real, downtown, and neighborhoods like Hayward Park and Baywood. With proximity to major tech employers in Redwood City and Foster City, demand for rental housing in San Mateo is persistently high, and median asking rents consistently rank among the most expensive in the country.

San Mateo has never enacted a local rent control or rent stabilization ordinance. The California Tenant Protection Act of 2019, known as AB 1482, provides the only rent increase cap and just-cause eviction protections available to qualifying renters. For tenants in eligible units — generally multi-family buildings that received a certificate of occupancy at least 15 years ago — AB 1482 limits annual rent increases and requires landlords to state a legally recognized reason before terminating a tenancy after 12 months.

This article explains exactly which San Mateo rentals are covered by AB 1482, how the rent cap is calculated using Bay Area CPI data, what just-cause eviction protections apply, and where to find legal assistance if your landlord is not complying with state law.

2. Who Is Covered by Rent Control in San Mateo?

AB 1482 applies to residential rental units in San Mateo that meet the following criteria: the building must have received its certificate of occupancy at least 15 years before the date of the rent increase or eviction notice (as of 2026, this generally means units built before 2011), and the unit must not fall into one of the exempt categories listed below. Tenants must also have lived in the unit for at least 12 months before the rent cap and just-cause eviction protections take effect.

The following types of housing are exempt from AB 1482 and have no rent increase cap under state law:

• Single-family homes and condominiums — exempt under the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act (Civil Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535), provided the landlord has given proper written notice of the exemption
• Units built within the last 15 years — any building that received its certificate of occupancy after 2011 (as of 2026) is exempt; this threshold advances each year
• Owner-occupied duplexes — where the owner lives in one of the two units
• Corporate-owned single-family homes where the tenant has received written notice that the property is exempt (if the owner is a real estate investment trust, corporation, or LLC in which a member is a corporation)
• Transient and hotel accommodations — short-term rentals, hotels, motels
• Government-subsidized affordable housing — units with independent rent restrictions under a regulatory agreement (Section 8 project-based, LIHTC, etc.)
• Dormitories operated by schools, colleges, or universities

If you are unsure whether your unit qualifies, use RentCheckMe's address lookup at rentcheckme.com or contact Bay Area Legal Aid for a free eligibility assessment.

3. Maximum Allowable Rent Increases

For tenants in covered units, AB 1482 caps annual rent increases at 5% plus the local Consumer Price Index (CPI) percentage, with a hard maximum of 10% per year. San Mateo falls within the San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward Metropolitan Statistical Area for CPI purposes, so the applicable figure is the Bay Area CPI for All Urban Consumers published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Based on recent Bay Area CPI data, the 2025 allowable increase for most covered units in San Mateo is approximately 8.8% (5% + roughly 3.8% Bay Area CPI). This figure changes each year as CPI is updated, so tenants should verify the current rate at the California Department of Housing & Community Development's website or by contacting a local legal aid organization.

Additional rules governing rent increases under AB 1482:

• 12-month waiting period: A landlord cannot impose an AB 1482 rent increase until a tenant has lived in the unit for at least 12 months. Within that first year, there is no cap.
• One increase per 12-month period: Landlords may not increase rent more than once in any rolling 12-month period.
• No banking of unused increases: If a landlord skips an increase in one year, they cannot stack the missed percentage onto a future year's increase.
• Written notice required: Increases of 10% or less require at least 30 days' written notice; increases above 10% (which are prohibited under AB 1482 anyway) would require 90 days.

Because AB 1482 is a self-enforcing statute — there is no San Mateo rent board to file complaints with — tenants must track their own rent history and raise violations directly with their landlord, in small claims court, or through legal aid.

4. Just Cause Eviction Protections

Once a tenant in a covered unit has lived there for 12 months (or if a new co-tenant has lived there for 24 months), the landlord must provide a legally valid reason — known as "just cause" — to terminate the tenancy. Just-cause eviction protections under AB 1482 fall into two categories:

At-fault just cause (no relocation assistance required):

• Nonpayment of rent
• Material breach of a lease term after written notice and opportunity to cure
• Committing or permitting a nuisance on the property
• Causing substantial damage to the unit
• Refusing to allow lawful entry by the landlord after proper notice
• Using the unit for an unlawful purpose
• Assigning or subletting the unit in violation of the lease
• Refusing to sign a renewal lease with materially similar terms after the landlord offers one
• Employee or caretaker tenancy where the employment has ended

No-fault just cause (relocation assistance required):

• Owner or qualifying family member move-in — the landlord or a direct family member will occupy the unit as a primary residence
• Withdrawal from the rental market (Ellis Act) — the landlord is removing all units in the building from the rental market
• Substantial remodel — work requiring permits that cannot be safely done with a tenant in place and will take more than 30 days
• Demolition — the building will be demolished pursuant to a permit

Relocation assistance: For any no-fault eviction, the landlord must provide the tenant with one month's rent as relocation assistance, paid before the tenant vacates, or alternatively waive the final month's rent. Failure to pay this assistance may invalidate the eviction notice.

A landlord who serves a termination notice without stating a valid just-cause reason — or who uses a pretextual reason — may be liable for wrongful eviction. Tenants who receive unexplained or suspicious eviction notices should contact Bay Area Legal Aid or Centro Legal de la Raza immediately.

5. Local Rules and Special Protections

San Mateo has no local rent control or rent stabilization ordinance. The San Mateo City Council has not enacted tenant rent protections beyond what state law requires. This means there is no local rent board, no local registration system for landlords, no local mediation service for rent disputes, and no San Mateo-specific eviction protections. AB 1482 is the ceiling and the floor.

One key reason San Mateo — and most California cities — cannot simply pass broader local rent control is the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act (Civil Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535). Costa-Hawkins prohibits cities from imposing rent control on single-family homes, condominiums, and any unit built after February 1, 1995. Because the vast majority of new rental construction falls into these categories, the practical universe of units a San Mateo ordinance could cover would be limited even if the city wanted to act.

San Mateo does maintain a City of San Mateo Housing Division (cityofsanmateo.org/housing) that administers affordable housing programs, below-market-rate unit lotteries, and housing rehabilitation grants — but these are not tenant protection or rent mediation services. The San Mateo County Housing Authority (smchousing.org) administers Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers and can be a resource for low-income renters seeking subsidized housing.

For habitability complaints — mold, broken heat, pest infestations — San Mateo tenants can contact the city's Code Enforcement Division. Habitability issues are governed by the California Civil Code and local building codes regardless of rent control status. Withholding rent for uninhabitable conditions carries legal risk and should only be done after consulting an attorney.

6. Using RentCheckMe with Official Resources

Start by using RentCheckMe's address lookup tool to quickly check whether your specific San Mateo rental unit is covered by AB 1482 based on building age and unit type. Enter your address and get an instant eligibility summary.

Additional resources for San Mateo renters:

• Bay Area Legal Aid — baylegal.org — Free civil legal services for low-income Bay Area tenants, including AB 1482 counseling, unlawful detainer defense, and habitability cases. Serves San Mateo County.
• Centro Legal de la Raza — centrolegal.org — Free legal services for low-income Latino and immigrant renters throughout the Bay Area, including tenant rights education and eviction defense.
• Tenants Together — tenantstogether.org — California's statewide renter advocacy organization; provides a tenant rights hotline and up-to-date information on AB 1482 CPI figures and legislative changes.
• San Mateo County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service — smcba.org — Referrals to private landlord-tenant attorneys; offers reduced-fee initial consultations.
• Housing Is Key — housingiskey.com — California's statewide housing assistance portal; call 833-430-2122 for information on rental assistance, eviction protections, and local programs.
• San Mateo County Human Services Agency — smchsa.org — Administers emergency rental assistance and social services for San Mateo County residents facing housing instability.

7. Resources for San Mateo Tenants

• Bay Area Legal Aid — Free civil legal services for low-income renters in San Mateo County and across the Bay Area, including AB 1482 counseling and eviction defense.
• Centro Legal de la Raza — Free legal services for low-income Latino and immigrant Bay Area tenants, including tenant rights education and unlawful detainer representation.
• Tenants Together — California's statewide renter advocacy organization; provides a tenant rights hotline, local organizing resources, and current AB 1482 CPI data.
• Housing Is Key — California's official housing assistance portal for renters; call 833-430-2122 for rental assistance and eviction protection information.
• San Mateo County Housing Authority — Administers Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers and affordable housing programs for San Mateo County residents.

8. Important Disclaimer

The information on this page is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Rent control laws, CPI figures, and AB 1482 regulations change frequently — the content here reflects conditions as of May 2026 but may not reflect subsequent legislative or regulatory changes. If you have a specific legal question about your tenancy in San Mateo, consult a licensed California attorney or contact a qualified legal aid organization in your area.

Frequently Asked Questions