Rent Ceilings

Fully covered residential rental units have a “lawful rent ceiling” 

The lawful rent ceiling is the maximum amount of rent that a landlord can charge for the use or occupancy of the unit. 

When a new tenancy begins, the initial rent (also called base rent), establishes the lawful rent ceiling. The base rent includes all housing services provided when that rent was established.   

The lawful rent ceiling can only be changed in two ways:  

• By the Annual General Adjustment
• Through the Petition process

You can look up the rent ceiling we have in our database for your unit through our online rent registry. For more information, see our Unit Information Lookup page.

Partially Covered residential rental units do not have a rent ceiling 

The Rent Board does not control the rent for partially covered units. The landlord can raise the rent with proper notice after the expiration of any fixed-term lease.

Apparent Lawful Rent Ceiling (ALRC) Notices Are Mailed to Tenants and Landlords of Fully Covered Units Annually 

The Berkeley Rent Board sends informational Notices to tenants (mailed in March) and landlords (mailed in October) informing them of the lawful rent ceiling of their units. These Notices are based on the Rent Board's records. Our records are generally reliable, but they may contain clerical errors, omissions, or be out of date because current information was not provided. 

What to Do If You See Incorrect Information on Your ALRC Notice 

• Landlords: Please submit accurate tenancy and property information via your online Rent Registry account or in-person. Ensuring the Rent Board has accurate records helps prevent the appearance of rent overcharges.  
• Tenants: If your Notice has an incorrect tenancy start date or initial rent amount, our records may be outdated. You can correct out-of-date information by submitting a Vacancy Registration Form and a copy of your lease to rentregistry@berkeleyca.gov. Updating your tenancy information helps protect you against unlawful rent increases and other violations of your rights under the Rent Ordinance.    

What to Do If You Are a Tenant and Your ALRC Notice is Correct, But You Are Paying More Than the Rent Ceiling Indicated 

If your ALRC Notice shows the correct tenancy information but you are paying more than the rent ceiling shown, you may be entitled to a refund of the excess. Please contact a housing counselor at (510) 981-7368 Ext. 1 to discuss your situation.  

landlords can set a new rent ceiling after all original occupants have moved out 

Landlords can set a new base rent at the start of a new tenancy or once all original occupants have moved out of a unit. An original occupant is anyone who was on the original lease, or who moved in within 30 days of the start of the tenancy with the landlord’s knowledge. See our Subletting & Replacing Roommates page for more information. Both landlords and tenants can file a Petition for the Determination of Eligibility to Set Initial Rent if there is a question about whether the landlord can set a new rent. See our Rent Board Petitions page for more information. 

Important information about utilities & rent ceilings

For tenancies that started on or after February 6, 2024, a landlord may charge a tenant in a fully covered unit for utilities only if either: the cost of the utilities is part of the base rent ceiling, or the utility service is separately-metered and the lease requires the tenant to place the utility in the tenant’s name. A landlord who is charging a tenant for utilities separately from rent on or after February 6, 2024, may file a petition with the Rent Board to add the average cost of utilities to the rent ceiling. Rent ceiling increases must be made through the petition process, but the parties can ask to waive the hearing if they agree on the increase, and the agreement and proof submitted with the petition meet certain standards. See our Rent Adjustment Petitions page for details.

Unit must be a tenant’s primary residence for rent control protections to apply

Only tenants who live in a unit as their primary residence have rent control protections. Rental units that are kept mainly as a second residence (like a vacation home or pied-a-terre) or for nonresidential purposes (like storage, commercial use, or office use) are not rent-controlled. A landlord can seek a Rent Board decision that the tenant does not occupy the unit as a primary residence by filing a Petition for the Determination of Occupancy Status. See our Rent Board Petitions page for more information.

information about Rent ceilings for government-owned/subsidized units that became covered by rent control through Measure BB

Under Measure BB, effective December 20, 2024, many government-owned/subsidized units that were previously exempt became covered by rent control, including units under the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher and the Shelter Plus Care programs. The full contract rent charged on December 20, 2024 became the rent ceiling for these units. (Regulation 1000(B).) The rules regarding Annual General Adjustments apply going forward.

If a government owned/subsidized unit's rent ceiling is adjusted upward, either by the Annual General Adjustment or through the Rent Board petition process, owners must still go through the subsidizing agency's rent increase approval process (if there is one) to receive more rent.