How much can rent be increased?

All rent increases during a tenancy are limited by law to a certain percent every year. Each year, the Rental Housing Committee (RHC) sets the maximum percent that rent can be raised, known as the Annual General Rent Stabilization Division, City of Mountain View Rev. 2025.05.22 Page 6 Adjustment (AGA). The AGA is set by using 100% of the rise in the Consumer Price Index of the Bay Area region from February to February of each year as set by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Statistics. Annual General Adjustment shall not be less than two percent (2%) or more than five percent (5%).

The Rental Housing Committee approved the following AGAs:

A landlord may apply the AGA to a tenancy when

- at least 12 months have passed since the last rent increase

• the annual Rental Housing Fees have been paid
• the property has been registered with the City
• the owner is otherwise in compliance with the provisions of the CSFRA (including not having outstanding code violations on the property)
• the tenant has been served with a written 30-day notice as required by state law
  
  Aside from the AGA, a rent increase can also be requested by a landlord through filing an individual petition to request an upward adjustment of rent or by a joint tenant/landlord petition request for new or additional housing services or additional occupants.
  
  2. How often can rent be raised?
  
  Rent can be raised once (1) per twelve-month period, whether this is an Annual General Adjustment of rent, a previously Banked Rent Increase or a rent increase based on a decision by a hearing officer with regard to an individual petition.
  
  3. What is “banking” of a rent increase?
  
  Landlords may choose not to give an increase in any given year and instead bank the increase to give it in a later year, together with the AGA for that year, for a total increase of up to 10%. Banked increases have additional noticing requirements.
  
  If a landlord decides to charge any of the previously banked rent increases and the total rent increase exceeds the Annual General Adjustment (AGA) for any given year, the landlord must include in its written rent increase notice, mandatory text as stipulated in Chapter 7 of the Regulations. A template form “Attachment to Annual General Adjustment and/or Banked Increase of Rent Notice” includes the mandatory language and is available on the City’s website mountainview.gov/rentstabilization. Landlords must file a copy of the banked rent increase with the City within 7 days of serving it on the tenant. Rent Stabilization Division, City of Mountain View Rev. 2025.05.22 Page 7 Qualifying tenants can file a Tenant Hardship Petition to request an exemption from banked increases (see Question 5 for more information).
  
  4.What is a petition and how can it be filed?
  
  The CSFRA allows landlords and tenants to request upward or downward adjustments of rent through a petition process. Landlords and tenants requesting an adjustment in rent do so by filing petitions with the City and entering into a formal process. This process includes filing of forms and documentation, pre-hearing meetings, pre-hearing settlement conferences (if requested), hearings overseen and adjudicated by a Hearing Officer and the issuing of a formal decision by the same Hearing Officer. There are several types of petitions:
  
  Landlord Initiated Petitions
  
  - Maintenance of Net Operating Income (MNOI) Petitions
• Specified Capital Improvement Petitions
• Exemption Status Petitions
  
  Tenant Initiated Petitions
  
  - Unlawful Rent Petitions
• Failure to Maintain Habitable Premise and/or Reduction in Housing Services Petitions
• Tenant Hardship Petitions
• New or Additional Housing Services Petitions
• Exemption Status Petitions
  
  Unlawful Rent Petitions related to Rent Concessions
  
  Households seeking an Unlawful Rent Petition related to rent concessions, if their move-in date occurred before September 1, 2022, can only receive a refund of overpaid rent within one (1) year before the date of their filed Petition. Otherwise, households may follow the applicable statutes of limitations under State law if their move-in date occurred on or after September 1, 2022. Former tenants can still have their Unlawful Rent Petitions related to rent concessions be considered by a Hearing Officer if it is filed within six (6) months of vacating the unit.
  
  Forms for petitions are available at mountainview.gov/rentstabilization. Please contact the Rent Stabilization Division for assistance by emailing mvrent@mountainview.gov or calling 650-903-6136. Bilingual assistance is available (se habla español). Services are also provided during weekly office hours on Zoom at mountainview.gov/rspofficehours, Tuesdays 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
  
  5. When can a tenant file a Tenant Hardship Petition?
  
  Tenants living in CSFRA-covered units have the right to petition for an undue hardship when a banked rent increase is charged, or when a landlord files a Petition for Upward Adjustment of Rent based on the conditions below. Tenant Hardship Petitions filed in response to Increase notices must be filed with the Rental Housing Committee and served on the landlord within ten (10) calendar days of the effective date of the rent increase. If the Hardship Petition is received after the effective date of the rent increase, the first month of the requested rent increase remains due. Tenant Hardship Petitions filed in response to a Landlord Petition, such as a Capital Improvement or Maintenance of Net Operating Income (MNOI) Petition, must be filed at least ten (10) calendar days before the scheduled Hearing.
  
  Tenants who are considering filing an undue hardship petition are advised to carefully review the applicable sections in the CSFRA and the Regulations before filing a petition.
  
  All forms for filing a petition, as well as the CSFRA and the Regulations, are posted on mountainview.gov/rentstabilization.
  wikipedia.org
  6. Can the amount of a security deposit be increased during a tenancy?
  
  The CSFRA generally does not permit a landlord to increase the amount of the security deposit during a tenancy (CSFRA Section 1706 ©). The CSFRA does not require a landlord to pay interest on security deposits.
  
  Additionally, state law limits the amount of security deposits (California Civil Code Section 1950.5).
  
  - Until July 1, 2024, the limit is two times the monthly rent (or, for furnished units, three times the rent).
• After July 1, 2024, the limit is one month’s rent. For landlords who own no more than two residential rental properties that collectively include no more than four total units for rent, the limit is two times the monthly rent, but only if the landlord is a natural person or a limited liability company in which all members are natural persons.