The San Francisco Rent Ordinance limits annual rent increases on fully-covered units to 60% of the CPI change, capped at 7% maximum. For the year running March 1, 2025 through February 28, 2026, that permitted increase is 1.4%. The SF Rent Board publishes a new figure each March based on the November CPI data. This is one of the tightest rent caps in the country — dramatically lower than AB 1482's state cap, which is why coverage classification matters so much.
The current permitted increase
March 1, 2025 through February 28, 2026: 1.4%
The next figure — for March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027 — will be published by the SF Rent Board on or around March 1, 2026.
Recent historical figures:
- 2025-26: 1.4%
- 2024-25: 1.7%
- 2023-24: 3.6% (elevated due to 2022 inflation)
- 2022-23: 2.3%
- 2021-22: 0.7%
How the calculation works
The formula is fixed by Section 37.3(a)(1) of the Administrative Code:
Permitted increase = min(60% × CPI change, 7%)
Where CPI change is the year-over-year change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward MSA, measured from the previous November.
If 60% of CPI is 7% or higher, the cap holds at 7%. In practice, the 7% ceiling has only rarely been reached.
Which units this applies to
The 1.4% cap applies only to fully-covered units under the SF Rent Ordinance — that is, units in buildings with a certificate of occupancy dated before June 13, 1979, that are in multi-unit configurations OR single-family/condo units with tenants who took occupancy before January 1, 1996.
For just-cause-only units (single-family homes and condos with tenancies starting after 1996, and post-1979 construction), AB 1482's state cap applies instead:
- 2026 AB 1482 cap for SF Bay Area: approximately 8.6% (5% + 3.6% regional CPI)
- The tighter of the two rules governs each specific issue
If you're not sure which coverage bucket your unit falls into, this determines whether you can raise rent 1.4% or 8.6% — a 6x difference. See Is my San Francisco rental covered by rent control? for the classification test.
Notice requirements
Under California Civil Code § 827, rent increase notices require:
- 30 days' advance notice for increases of 10% or less over 12 months
- 90 days' advance notice for increases greater than 10% over 12 months
Since the SF cap (1.4%) is well under 10%, 30 days is always sufficient for fully-covered units. For just-cause-only units capped at AB 1482, most annual increases still fit within 10% and use 30-day notice.
The notice must be in writing, must state the new rent amount, and must state the effective date. Best practice is to serve by first-class mail plus posting or personal delivery.
Banking — the deferred increase provision
The SF Rent Ordinance allows landlords to "bank" permitted increases they don't impose in a given year, then apply them cumulatively later. This is unusual — most rent-control jurisdictions do not permit banking.
How banking works:
- If a landlord skips a permitted 1.4% increase in year 1
- And skips a permitted 2.0% increase in year 2
- And skips a permitted 1.5% increase in year 3
- They can, in year 4, impose the sum: 4.9%
Important limits:
- Banking is prospective from the effective date of Section 37.3(a)(1). Landlords can't bank increases from before the ordinance
- Banked increases must be imposed as part of an annual increase notice — not as a separate charge
- Some rent board interpretations limit the aggregation window; consult the Rent Board directly for specific banking questions
For landlords who consistently impose the annual increase, banking is irrelevant. For landlords who've had years of skipped increases (common with long-term tenancies), banking can meaningfully catch up rent.
What can't be banked or reclaimed
Increases that were permitted but not imposed can be banked. Increases that would have been permitted but weren't (because the landlord failed to serve notice, or served defective notice) cannot be reclaimed.
If a landlord doesn't serve any rent increase notices for 5 years, they can potentially bank 5 years of permitted increases. But if they served a 1% notice each year when 2% was permitted, they cannot later add the 1% differences — those are gone.
The Rent Board petition process
If a landlord believes the general adjustment is inadequate to cover capital improvements, operating expenses, or other legitimate costs, they can petition the SF Rent Board for a rent adjustment above the annual permitted increase. Common petition grounds:
- Capital improvements passthrough (up to 50% of cost, amortized over the useful life)
- Operating and maintenance expense passthrough (formulaic calculation)
- Utility passthrough
- Property tax bond passthrough
Petition adjustments are separate from the annual increase and require a Rent Board proceeding. Most petitions take 3-6 months to decide.
A specific worked example
Consider a landlord who owns a 6-unit building in the Richmond District, built in 1955, with a tenant who has been in unit #3 for 8 years paying $2,400/month.
- Coverage: pre-1979 multi-unit → fully covered by SF Rent Ordinance
- Current cap: 1.4% (for March 2025 – February 2026 anniversary dates)
- Permitted increase: $2,400 × 0.014 = $33.60 per month
- New rent: $2,433.60
- Notice required: 30 days written notice, since increase is under 10%
- Effective date: at earliest, 30 days after notice service
Now imagine the same landlord had not imposed increases for the prior 3 years (skipping 1.7%, 3.6%, and 2.3% permitted increases). Total banked: 7.6%. Adding to the current 1.4%: 9.0% total permitted increase.
- With banking: $2,400 × 0.09 = $216 per month
- New rent: $2,616
- Notice required: since 9% is under 10%, still 30-day notice suffices
What to do next
For any SF rent increase, three steps are required:
- Confirm coverage bucket — determines whether 1.4% or 8.6% cap applies
- Calculate the increase — permitted rate × current rent, plus any banked increases
- Serve proper written notice — 30 days for increases under 10%, 90 days over 10%
The LandlordOS engine will surface each of these for SF-covered properties once the SF rules are encoded. Add your property to prepare your compliance record.