In Long Beach and across SE LA County, I work with landlords every week who are genuinely surprised to learn their property either is or is not covered by AB 1482. Getting this wrong is not a minor paperwork slip. It is either leaving money on the table by limiting rent increases you do not have to limit, or it is opening yourself up to costly tenant claims for unlawful rent hikes or wrongful eviction. Either way, it costs you.

What Is AB 1482 and Who Does It Target?

California’s Tenant Protection Act of 2019, commonly called AB 1482, took effect January 1, 2020. The law does two main things. First, it caps annual rent increases for covered properties at the lower of 5% plus the local CPI or 10% total. Second, it requires landlords to have just cause before terminating a tenancy for properties that have been rented to the same tenant for 12 months or more.

The law was designed to protect tenants in properties that are not already covered by local rent stabilization ordinances. It is a statewide floor, not a ceiling. A city like Long Beach can have stricter rules for certain buildings independently of AB 1482, and in some cases both sets of rules apply to the same property at the same time. Understanding which rules apply to your specific property is the starting point for every rent increase decision you make.

What AB 1482 does NOT do is apply universally. The legislature built in specific carve-outs, recognizing that certain types of housing operate under different market conditions or already have other protections in place. Those carve-outs are what we call exemptions, and they matter a lot to single-family home owners, condo owners, and landlords with newer buildings.

The law is codified primarily under California Civil Code sections 1946.2 (just cause eviction) and 1947.12 (rent caps). When you hear “AB 1482 exemption,” you are almost always talking about an exemption from one or both of these sections. Some properties are exempt from both. Some are only exempt from one. Some properties think they are exempt but are not, because the owner missed a procedural step. That last category is where I see the most pain for landlords.

As of 2026, the law remains in effect. The rent cap calculation for most of SE LA County continues to be 5% plus local CPI, which has typically landed between 7% and 10% depending on the year. If your property is covered and you exceeded the cap, you have exposure. If your property is exempt and you did not know it, you may have unnecessarily held increases below what the market and your finances actually called for. Both outcomes hurt your bottom line.

The Five Exempt Property Categories Under AB 1482

California Civil Code 1947.12 and 1946.2 both list the same core exemption categories. I will walk through each one clearly so you can identify where your property sits.

1. Single-Family Homes and Condos (With Proper Notice)

A single-family home or condominium is exempt from AB 1482 if the owner is NOT a corporation, a real estate investment trust (REIT), or an LLC with more than two members. That last part is critical. If you are an individual, a married couple, or a two-member LLC, you can qualify. If your LLC has three or more members or if it is taxed as a corporation, you may lose this exemption.

But ownership structure alone is not enough. You must also deliver a written exemption notice to your tenant per Civil Code 1946.2(e)(8). The notice must state that the property is not subject to the rent limits or just cause eviction protections of Civil Code sections 1946.2 and 1947.12. Without this notice, the property does NOT qualify as exempt even if the ownership structure is correct. The statute is explicit on this point and courts have enforced it strictly.

2. New Construction: Buildings Within the 15-Year Rolling Window

Any residential rental property that was issued its certificate of occupancy within the last 15 years is exempt from AB 1482. This is a rolling window, meaning the clock never stops. A building that was constructed in 2013 was exempt through 2028. One built in 2018 is exempt through 2033. Every year, some buildings age out of the exemption and become covered by the law.

3. Owner-Occupied Duplexes

If you own a two-unit property (a duplex) and you personally occupy one of the units as your primary residence, the other unit is exempt from AB 1482 for both the rent cap and the just cause eviction provisions. This exemption evaporates the moment you move out. Once you are no longer occupying the property as your primary residence, the occupied unit becomes covered.

4. Deed-Restricted Affordable Housing

Properties that are already subject to deed restrictions or affordability covenants as a condition of public funding or tax credits are excluded from AB 1482. These properties typically already have rent restrictions and income requirements built into their regulatory agreements. Adding the AB 1482 cap on top would create conflicting obligations, so the legislature carved them out.

5. Hotels, Motels, and Similar Transient Occupancies

Transient occupancies, including hotels, motels, and similar accommodations, are not covered by AB 1482. The law is aimed at residential tenancies. However, if a hotel or motel has tenants who have occupied a unit long enough to acquire residential tenancy rights under other California law, the analysis becomes more complicated and you need legal advice specific to that situation.

The Single-Family Home Exemption: The Notice Requirement That Landlords Miss

I want to spend extra time on the single-family home exemption because it is the most common situation I see in Long Beach and across SE LA County, and it is the one with the most procedural traps.

California Civil Code 1946.2(e)(8) requires that for a single-family home or condo to qualify as exempt, the landlord must provide the tenant with a written notice stating that the property is not subject to the just cause eviction protections of Civil Code 1946.2 or the rent limits of Civil Code 1947.12. This notice must appear either in the lease or as a separate written addendum delivered to the tenant.

The statute specifies that the notice include language substantially similar to the following: “This property is not subject to the rent limits imposed by Section 1947.12 of the Civil Code and is not subject to the just cause requirements of Section 1946.2 of the Civil Code. This property meets the requirements of Sections 1947.12(d)(5) and 1946.2(e)(8) of the Civil Code and the owner is not any of the following: (1) a real estate investment trust, as defined by Section 856 of the Internal Revenue Code; (2) a corporation; or (3) a limited liability company in which at least one member is a corporation.”

If you have owned a single-family home rental in Long Beach for years and never delivered this notice, your property may not be exempt. I cannot tell you definitively whether any given court or arbitration panel would rule the exemption lost versus merely defective and curable, because that depends on facts specific to your lease and the history of notices. But I can tell you that relying on the exemption without delivering the notice is a legal risk you do not need to take. The fix is simple: deliver the notice now and include it in all future leases.

For new leases, the notice should appear as a clause in the lease itself. For existing tenants, you deliver it as a separate written addendum. Keep a signed copy or a certified mail receipt. This is not optional paperwork. It is the mechanism that triggers the exemption under the statute.

The takeaway for Long Beach single-family home owners: the exemption requires TWO things to both be true at the same time. The ownership structure must qualify (individual, married couple, or LLC with two members or fewer where neither is a corporation). And the written notice must have been delivered to the tenant. Both boxes must be checked. Missing either one means AB 1482 applies to your property, whether you knew it or not.

New Construction and the Rolling 15-Year Window

The new construction exemption under Civil Code 1947.12(d)(3) protects buildings where the first certificate of occupancy was issued within the previous 15 years. I want to make sure this is clear: it is based on the original certificate of occupancy for the building, not the date the current owner purchased it. If you bought a 2018 construction in 2023, the clock started in 2018, not 2023. As of 2026, that building is still within the 15-year window and therefore exempt.

This exemption applies to the entire building, not just individual units. If one building on a multi-building complex received its certificate of occupancy in 2012 and another received it in 2019, they are analyzed separately. The 2012 building aged out of the exemption in 2027. The 2019 building remains exempt through 2034.

The rolling nature of this exemption has important planning implications for landlords. If you own a building that is approaching the 15-year mark, you are approaching the point where AB 1482 rent caps will apply for the first time. That means you need to be tracking the first certificate of occupancy date for every building you own, not just knowing when you bought it.

In Long Beach, a significant amount of rental housing stock was built during the 1960s through the 1980s. Very little of that stock qualifies for the new construction exemption at this point. The new construction exemption is most relevant for owners of properties built after 2011, which in Long Beach often means mixed-use buildings, apartment conversions, or ADU projects that were completed in recent years.

One thing I get asked about frequently is whether an ADU added to an existing single-family home in the last 15 years gets the new construction exemption. The answer depends on the specific facts and the permit documentation. We have been managing ADUs in Long Beach for over five years and can help you think through the documentation you need to establish the exemption status of a new ADU. But as with anything touching California tenant law, the final word needs to come from a licensed attorney familiar with your specific property.

The practical threshold to remember: if your building’s first certificate of occupancy was issued before July 2011 as of this writing in mid-2026, the new construction exemption no longer applies. Those properties are now subject to AB 1482 unless another exemption category applies.

AB 1482 vs Long Beach Local Ordinance vs Exempt Properties: Full Comparison

One of the most confusing things about California rent control is that multiple layers of law can apply to the same property at the same time, or none can apply at all. The table below is meant to give you a clear picture of where different property types land across three governing frameworks: AB 1482 statewide, Long Beach’s local ordinance, and the exempt category where neither applies.

I use this framework constantly when I am evaluating a property for a new client. The first question is always: what type of property is it? The second is: who owns it and how? The third is: have proper notices been given? Only once you have answered all three can you accurately advise a landlord on what rent increases are permissible and what termination grounds are available.

How You Can Lose an Exemption You Thought You Had

This is the section I wish more Long Beach landlords read before making structural changes to their ownership. Exemptions under AB 1482 are not permanent. They are conditional, and several common actions can strip away an exemption you thought was protecting your property.

Transferring a Single-Family Home Into a Multi-Member LLC

This is one I see happen when landlords are doing estate planning or trying to reduce personal liability. An individual-owned single-family home qualifies for the AB 1482 SFH exemption, assuming proper notice has been given. The moment you transfer that property into an LLC with three or more members, or into any entity where a corporation is a member, the exemption is gone. The property becomes subject to AB 1482 rent caps and just cause eviction requirements going forward.

The loss of exemption is not retroactive in the sense that past rent increases you already collected are not suddenly clawed back. But future rent increases become limited by the AB 1482 cap from the date the disqualifying ownership change took effect. If you did not track when that happened and you subsequently raised the rent by more than the allowed cap, you now have exposure. Consult an attorney immediately if this describes your situation.

Moving Out of an Owner-Occupied Duplex

The owner-occupied duplex exemption is tied to your actual occupancy of the property as your primary residence. The day you move out, the exemption ends. From that point forward, the second unit is covered by AB 1482. If you raised the rent on your tenant immediately after moving out without respecting the AB 1482 cap, you may have an unlawful rent increase on your hands.

This catches landlords who move out of a duplex for personal reasons (job change, family circumstances, purchased a new home) and then decide to raise rents to market rate, not realizing the exemption disappeared when they did.

Failing to Renew the Notice for New Tenancies

The CC 1946.2 exemption notice requirement applies to each tenancy. Delivering the notice to a previous tenant does not automatically protect subsequent tenancies. When a new tenant moves in, the notice must be included in the new lease or delivered separately. Many landlords handle a tenant turnover, sign a new lease, and forget that the exemption notice needs to be in that new lease. If it is not there, the property is not exempt for that new tenancy.

New Construction Aging Out of the 15-Year Window

A building that was exempt as new construction eventually ages out. If your building received its first certificate of occupancy 14 years ago, it is exempt today. One year from now, it may not be. You need to know that date and plan accordingly. Do not raise rents above AB 1482 caps the day after the exemption expires thinking you still have the new construction protection. That is how retroactive exposure happens.

The threshold to track: certificate of occupancy date plus 15 years equals the date AB 1482 applies. For a building with a 2012 COO, AB 1482 applied starting January 1, 2027. If you started capping increases in advance, you are prepared. If you did not know the date, this is the moment to look it up.

Long Beach Landlords: How Local Ordinance and AB 1482 Overlap

Long Beach has its own rent stabilization history, and it is a layer that sits on top of AB 1482 for certain properties. The key thing to understand is that AB 1482 is a statewide baseline. Cities like Long Beach can choose to be stricter than the state law, but they cannot be less strict. Where local ordinances are more protective of tenants than AB 1482, local law governs.

In Long Beach, the rent stabilization ordinance has historically applied to multi-family residential buildings with two or more units that were built before February 1, 1995. This is a result of the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, which generally prohibits local rent control from applying to units built after 1995. AB 1482 extended a statewide layer of protection to many units built after 1995 that are not covered by local rent control, which is how the two laws interact and partially overlap.

For older Long Beach buildings (pre-1995 multi-family), the local ordinance and AB 1482 can both apply at the same time. In practice, when there is a conflict, the rule that is more protective of the tenant wins. Long Beach’s local rules on annual increase percentages, just cause eviction requirements, and relocation assistance obligations may be stricter than AB 1482’s baseline in certain areas. For those buildings, you need to be compliant with both sets of rules simultaneously, not just one of them.

For Long Beach buildings built between 1995 and 2011 with two or more units, Costa-Hawkins generally prevents the local ordinance from covering them, but AB 1482 does apply (assuming the building is not within the 15-year new construction window). These buildings sit in the AB 1482-only zone for rent control purposes, though they may still be subject to other local regulations.

For Long Beach buildings with a certificate of occupancy from 2011 or later (as of 2026), the new construction exemption from AB 1482 still applies. Local rent control also cannot reach these units under Costa-Hawkins. These buildings currently operate with no statutory rent cap, though landlords should be tracking when the 15-year window expires.

One nuance that frequently catches Long Beach landlords: ADUs built in backyards of single-family homes in the last five to ten years often exist on properties where the main house is a SFH and the ADU is a second unit. Whether those ADUs are covered by AB 1482 or exempt under the new construction rule requires analysis of the specific COO date, the ownership structure, and whether any exemption notices have been properly delivered. If you are managing ADUs in Long Beach and have not thought through this analysis, it is worth a conversation with us or with a tenant law attorney.

What Landlords Get Wrong About AB 1482 Exemptions

After managing over 730 rental properties across SE LA County since 2014, I have seen the same mistakes repeated with enough frequency that it is worth listing them directly. These are not hypothetical pitfalls. They are things that have created real legal exposure for real landlords.

Mistake 1: Assuming SFH Ownership Alone Creates the Exemption

The most common error I see is a landlord who owns a single-family home, knows they are an individual owner, and therefore assumes their property is exempt. They are half right. The ownership structure may qualify, but without the written CC 1946.2 exemption notice delivered to the tenant, the exemption does not exist under the statute. The landlord raises rent by 15%, the tenant pushes back, and suddenly both parties are looking at a dispute that could have been avoided with one page of paperwork.

Mistake 2: Using the Wrong LLC Structure and Not Knowing It

If you transferred your rental property into an LLC because your accountant or financial planner suggested it for liability or tax reasons, you need to review the LLC’s membership structure against the AB 1482 requirements. An LLC with three members does not qualify for the SFH exemption, regardless of whether those members are all family members. The statute does not make a family exception. If any member of the LLC is a corporation, the exemption is also gone. If you are not sure about your LLC’s structure, pull the operating agreement and review it with an attorney before your next rent increase.

Mistake 3: Not Tracking the Certificate of Occupancy Date

I have spoken with landlords of newer buildings who are still raising rents as if the new construction exemption applies, when the building’s 15-year window has already closed or is about to close. The COO date is a public record. You can look it up through the Long Beach Department of Building and Safety. Not knowing it is not a defense once AB 1482 applies and you have exceeded the cap.

Mistake 4: Skipping the Exemption Notice on New Leases After Tenant Turnover

Tenant turnover is a natural part of rental property ownership. Every time you turn over a unit and sign a new lease, the CC 1946.2 exemption notice needs to be in that lease or delivered as a signed addendum. Many landlords use old lease templates that do not include the notice, or they forget to add it when renewing leases with new terms. I view this the same way I view property inspections: this is a crucial, crucial step that cannot be skipped, and it needs to be built into every lease signing process as a non-negotiable checklist item.

Mistake 5: Thinking AB 1482 Exemption Means No Rules Apply

Even if your property is exempt from AB 1482’s rent caps and just cause eviction requirements, other California laws still apply. Security deposit rules under Civil Code 1950.5 apply to all residential rentals. Habitability requirements under Civil Code 1941 apply. Anti-harassment laws, fair housing laws, and proper notice requirements for entry and termination apply. Exemption from AB 1482 is not a free pass from California landlord-tenant law generally. It is a specific exemption from a specific set of protections under a specific statute.

When to Call RPM Southland About AB 1482 Compliance

“Committing to a property manager is a big, big deal. When done right, it can be one of the best things you’ve ever done for your asset. When done wrong, it can be catastrophic.”
Miles Williams, Broker/Owner, Real Property Management Southland | DRE #01968830

AB 1482 compliance is one of those areas where working with the wrong property manager is worse than self-managing, because a bad PM can make decisions about rent increases or terminations that create exposure the owner does not even know about until it is too late. I have seen this happen. It is one of the reasons I am direct about what we do and what we do not do, and why I believe transparency in this business is not just good marketing, it is protection for the landlords we work with.

You should call us at (562) 270-1777 about AB 1482 compliance if any of the following apply to your situation:

• You own a single-family home or condo in Long Beach and are not sure whether you have ever delivered the CC 1946.2 exemption notice to your current tenant.
• You are considering transferring your rental property into an LLC and want to understand how that affects your exemption status before the transfer happens.
• You own a building and do not know its original certificate of occupancy date or whether it is within or outside the 15-year new construction window.
• You are planning a rent increase and are not certain whether your property is covered by AB 1482 or exempt.
• You have received a demand letter or complaint from a tenant alleging an unlawful rent increase under AB 1482.
• You are buying a new rental property and want to know the AB 1482 status of the property before you close.

When we take on a new property, we go through a full compliance review as part of onboarding. That means looking at the ownership structure, verifying the COO date, reviewing existing leases for proper notice language, and establishing a baseline for lawful future rent increases. We do not charge a setup fee for this. Our setup fee is $0. Our leasing fee is a flat $399, not one month’s rent like most of our competitors charge. We are playing the long game, and that starts with transparent, fair pricing.

“Every property owner should look at their property as an asset and not just what’s the fee a property manager is going to cost me.”
Miles Williams, Broker/Owner, Real Property Management Southland | DRE #01968830

Part of treating your property like an asset is knowing what rules govern it. AB 1482 compliance is not bureaucratic box-checking. It determines what you can charge, when you can terminate, and what your legal exposure is at any given moment. Getting clarity on your exemption status is foundational to every rent increase and lease termination decision you make.

We back every new management engagement with three guarantees that exist precisely because I know how important this trust relationship is:

• 6-Month Tenant Placement Guarantee: If your new tenant leaves within the first six months, we replace them with no leasing fee.
• 29-Day Rental Guarantee: We commit to filling your vacancy within 29 days.
• 60-Day Satisfaction Guarantee: If you are not happy with our management within the first 60 days, you can cancel without penalty.

We rarely, rarely have to honor those guarantees. But they exist because committing to a property manager is a big decision and you deserve to know there is a safety net if it is not the right fit. Call us at (562) 270-1777 to get started.

For more context on how AB 1482 rent increases are calculated for covered properties, read our companion article on AB 1482 rent increase calculations for Long Beach landlords. For a broader look at California landlord laws that apply in Long Beach, see California landlord laws for Long Beach 2026. If you have questions about just cause eviction requirements specifically, our guide on the Long Beach just cause eviction ordinance covers that in detail.

About Miles Williams

Miles Williams is the Broker/Owner of Real Property Management Southland, a locally owned and operated property management brokerage serving Long Beach and SE LA County since 2014. He manages over 730 rental properties across SE LA County with a 95% client retention rate. Over 50% of his portfolio has been with RPM Southland for more than five years. Miles Williams has over five years of ADU management experience in Long Beach and holds deep expertise in California landlord-tenant law, AB 1482 compliance, and Long Beach municipal rent regulations. He earned his graduate degree at Cal State Long Beach and founded RPM Southland the same year.

Individual DRE #01968830 | Brokerage (HTW Management Inc.) DRE #01969679 | Founded 2014

Read full bio at rpmsouthland.com/about-us