The Regulatory Map in 2025
Three statewide rent-regulation regimes are now mature: California's AB 1482 (effective since 2020, capped annual increases at the lower of 5% + CPI or 10%), Oregon's SB 608 (capped at 7% + CPI, currently around 10% in 2025), and New York's 2019 Housing Stability Tenant Protection Act, with HSTPA amendments tightening enforcement in 2024-2025. Plus a patchwork of local ordinances in Berkeley, Oakland, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Portland, Newark, Jersey City, St. Paul, and a growing list of others.
For PM firms operating in any of these markets, the compliance failure mode is rarely intent — it is paperwork.
AB 1482: Where Operators Get It Wrong
- Not serving the AB 1482 disclosure to new tenants. California Civil Code §1946.2(f) requires written notice of the limited just-cause and rent-cap protections. Missing this gives the tenant a defense in any subsequent rent increase or eviction.
- Compounding increases incorrectly. The cap is on annual rent increases in any 12-month period. Operators sometimes do two 5% increases inside 12 months thinking the cap is "5% per increase." That is a violation.
- Treating exempt single-family rentals as exempt without filing the exemption notice. Single-family rentals owned by individuals (not corporations or REITs) are exempt, but the exemption requires a written notice to the tenant. Without the notice, the unit defaults to AB 1482 coverage.
- Misclassifying just-cause evictions. Owner move-in, withdrawal from rental market, and substantial remodel each have specific procedural requirements. Failing any of them can void the eviction and trigger relocation-payment liability of one month's rent.
Oregon SB 608 and the 2024 Amendments
Oregon's cap formula updates annually. The 2025 cap is 10.0% (7% + 3% CPI), and the cap is enforced statewide. The recent enforcement focus has been on no-cause evictions during the first year of tenancy — which are still allowed, but only with proper 30-day notice and only before the first anniversary. After year one, just cause applies. Operators in Portland additionally must comply with the city's relocation-assistance ordinance, which can require payments of $2,900-$4,500 to displaced tenants depending on bedroom count.
New York's 2024-2025 Tightening
The 2024 Good Cause Eviction Law extended just-cause protections to a much broader set of NYC market-rate units. Operators in NYC need to verify whether each unit is covered (exemptions exist for owner-occupied small buildings, condos, and certain newer construction). Rent increases above the "presumptive rent increase" — currently set at the lower of CPI + 5% or 10% — are presumed unreasonable and can be challenged by the tenant.
The Documentation You Need
For every rent-controlled or just-cause-covered unit, the file should contain:
- Initial disclosure (AB 1482 notice, Oregon SB 608 notice, NY Good Cause notice — whichever applies) signed at lease start.
- Annual rent-increase history with calculation showing compliance with the applicable cap.
- Exemption documentation if claiming an exemption.
- For any just-cause termination: the basis (with documentary support) and the relocation-payment calculation if applicable.
Software Constraints to Verify
Not every PMS handles rent-cap enforcement well. The features worth verifying:
- Can the system flag a proposed rent increase that exceeds the applicable cap for the unit's jurisdiction?
- Can it generate the required disclosure notices automatically at lease signing?
- Can it produce the annual increase history report in audit-ready format?
If you are operating in a rent-controlled jurisdiction and your PMS does not have these features, you are tracking compliance in spreadsheets — which is exactly where most violations originate.
What 2026 Likely Brings
Washington's HB 2114 was reintroduced in early 2026 with substantially the same 7% + CPI cap framework as Oregon. Colorado preemption of local rent control is again being challenged in the legislature. Minnesota and Massachusetts continue to debate frameworks. Operators expanding into new states should plan for some form of rent regulation in roughly half the major coastal markets by 2027.