Tenant Protection Act of 2019 Exemptions: New Builds and Owner-Occupied

California’s Tenant Protection Act of 2019 covers most residential rentals, but AB 1482 exemptions remove several categories of housing from the rent cap, the just cause eviction rules, or both. The main exempt categories are new construction less than 15 years old, single-family homes and condominiums owned by non-corporate landlords who deliver a specific written notice, owner-occupied arrangements of a few types, specialized housing like dormitories and licensed care facilities, deed-restricted affordable housing, and units already covered by stricter local rent control. Whether a particular property qualifies often turns on paperwork and timing, not just the building type.

New Construction Within the Last 15 Years

Housing that received its certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years is exempt from both the rent cap and the just cause eviction requirements.¹ This is a rolling window. A building certified in 2010 was exempt when AB 1482 took effect in 2020 but lost that status in 2025. A building permitted in 2015 remains exempt through 2030. Each year, another cohort of buildings falls under the law while the newest stock stays outside it.

One carve-out within this category: mobilehomes do not qualify, regardless of their certificate of occupancy date.²

You can usually confirm a building’s certificate of occupancy date through the local building department, often through an online permit portal searchable by address.

Single-Family Homes and Condominiums

A residential property that can be sold independently from any other dwelling unit is exempt from both the rent cap and just cause eviction rules, but only if two conditions are met.

First, the owner cannot be a real estate investment trust, a corporation, an LLC with at least one corporate member, or the management of a mobilehome park.¹ Individual landlords and certain LLCs can claim the exemption; institutional owners cannot.

Second, the landlord must deliver a specific written notice to the tenant stating that the property is exempt. If the notice isn’t delivered correctly, the exemption is lost.

The Required Written Notice

This is the only AB 1482 exemption that depends on paperwork. The statute prescribes specific language that must appear in the notice, referencing both Section 1947.12 and Section 1946.2 and identifying the owner’s non-corporate status.²

Timing depends on when the tenancy began. For any tenancy that started or was renewed on or after July 1, 2020, the notice must appear in the rental agreement itself.¹ For tenancies that existed before that date, the landlord could deliver the notice separately. Mobilehome tenancies had a later deadline of July 1, 2022.²

A homeowner who rents out a single-family house but never provides the statutory notice is subject to the full rent cap and just cause eviction rules by default. Landlords who inherited tenants from a prior owner should confirm the notice was properly delivered, because a gap in notice can strip the exemption regardless of whether the property is otherwise eligible.

Owner-Occupied Properties

AB 1482 provides three distinct exemptions for housing where the owner lives on the property. They overlap in some situations, so the exact arrangement matters.

Shared Kitchen or Bathroom With the Owner

When a tenant shares a bathroom or kitchen with the property owner, and the owner maintains the property as their principal residence, the tenancy is exempt from just cause eviction.¹ This covers classic roommate arrangements. No written notice is required, and the exemption applies regardless of the owner’s entity type. The test is physical sharing of living space, not just occupying the same building.

Owner-Occupied Single-Family Home With a Small Rental

An owner who lives in a single-family home and rents out no more than two units or bedrooms is exempt from just cause eviction. This explicitly includes accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and junior accessory dwelling units (JADUs).¹ A homeowner who builds a backyard ADU and rents it out while living in the main house falls under this exemption. Mobilehomes also qualify. No written notice is required, but the owner must actually occupy the home.

Owner-Occupied Duplex

A property with exactly two dwelling units in a single structure is exempt from both the rent cap and just cause eviction rules when the owner lives in one unit as their principal residence at the start of the tenancy and continues living there throughout.¹

There is a critical limitation. Neither unit can be an ADU or JADU. If you converted a garage into an ADU and now have two units on your property, the duplex exemption does not apply. You would need to qualify under the owner-occupied single-family exemption, which covers only just cause eviction and not the rent cap.

The duplex exemption does not extend to triplexes, fourplexes, or any larger building, even if the owner lives on-site.

Specialized Housing

Several categories of specialized housing are exempt because they operate under separate regulatory frameworks:

Transient and tourist hotels, which are governed by separate occupancy laws
Housing in nonprofit hospitals, religious facilities, extended care facilities, licensed residential care facilities for the elderly, and adult residential facilities¹
Dormitories owned and operated by colleges, universities, or K–12 schools, which are exempt from both the rent cap and just cause eviction²

A tenant in a licensed elder care facility typically has protections under separate health and safety regulations that go beyond what AB 1482 offers.

Deed-Restricted Affordable Housing

Housing restricted by deed, regulatory agreement, or other recorded document to serve very low-, low-, or moderate-income households is exempt from the rent cap.² The same applies to housing receiving government subsidies tied to affordability requirements. These programs set their own rent limits, usually calculated as a percentage of area median income, and those limits are typically stricter than AB 1482’s cap.

Tenants in deed-restricted affordable housing should not assume they have fewer rights because AB 1482 doesn’t apply. The funding agreements behind these programs usually include their own just cause eviction protections and grievance procedures.

Units Covered by Stricter Local Rent Control

AB 1482 was written as a floor. Where a city or county has its own rent control ordinance that limits annual increases to less than the state cap, the local ordinance governs covered units and the state cap does not apply.² San Francisco, Los Angeles, Berkeley, and Santa Monica all have longstanding rent stabilization programs that are more protective than AB 1482 in several respects.

A similar principle applies to just cause eviction. Local ordinances adopted on or before September 1, 2019, that include their own just cause eviction requirements remain the primary authority for covered units.³ Where a local ordinance is less restrictive than AB 1482 on a particular point, the state law fills the gap. A local ordinance might cap rent increases more tightly than the state but lack just cause protections, in which case the local rent cap applies and the state’s just cause rules apply alongside it. In rent-controlled cities, both layers need to be checked.

How an Exemption Can Be Lost

Exemptions under AB 1482 are not permanent. The 15-year new construction exemption expires automatically, with no warning from the state. The day a building hits its sixteenth year since the certificate of occupancy was issued, the rent cap and just cause rules apply to every unit. The first rent increase after the exemption expires must comply with the cap.

The single-family and condominium exemption can be lost if the property changes hands to a corporate owner, if the owner restructures into a restricted entity type, or if the required written notice was never delivered. Owner-occupied exemptions end the moment the owner moves out. In each case, the consequence is immediate: the property becomes subject to rent caps and just cause protections, even if it was validly exempt the day before.

How Long These Exemptions Will Matter

As originally enacted, AB 1482’s rent cap and just cause provisions are scheduled to expire on January 1, 2030.³ AB 1157, introduced in the 2025–2026 legislative session, would remove that sunset date and make the protections permanent. The same bill would reduce the allowable annual rent increase from 5% plus the change in cost of living (capped at 10%) to 2% plus the change in cost of living (capped at 5%).⁴ Whether or not AB 1157 passes, the exemption categories live in the same code sections it would extend, so they remain relevant as long as the underlying statutes are in force.

1
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1946.2
2
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1947.12
3
California Legislative Information. AB-1482 Tenant Protection Act of 2019
4
California Legislative Information. AB-1157 Tenant Protection Act