City of Antioch Rent Stabilization Ordinance

The City Council of the City of Antioch adopted a Rent Stabilization Ordinance (“RSO”) that became effective on November 11, 2022. The RSO is a part of the Antioch Municipal Code and can be found in Chapter 1 of Title 11, beginning with Section 11-1.01.

Rent Increase Limit

Please note, the calculation of the maximum Rent increase amount depends on the and the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA, CPI-U, 12-month index, which is published each odd-numbered month. See the Frequently Asked Questions for more information.

Rent cannot be increased until 12 months have passed since the last increase, even if the last increase occurred before August 23, 2022.

If Rent for a rental unit subject to the RSO was increased on or after August 23, 2022 above what is permitted by the RSO, the Rent should be reduced to a lawful amount immediately. Any Rent paid, charged, or collected on or after November 11, 2022 above what is permitted by the RSO should be refunded to the Tenant immediately.

Required Notices

Landlords must deliver a City-provided Notice to new Tenants on or before the first date of the tenancy. Landlords must also deliver a City-provided Notice to Tenants whenever the Landlord notifies the Tenant of a Rent increase. If these Notices are not provided, any Rent increase is not effective. Copies of the required notices are available in the Forms and Notices.

Rental Unit Registry

A Rental Unit Registry is in development and will be included in the Residential and Multi Family Landlord Business License application and renewal process. The Special Regulation for Tenancies Existing Before January 1, 2023, as recently amended, provides that the effective date for the registration requirement and related remedies will be established by a future Regulation. For this reason, the registration requirement is not yet in effect.

Exempt Units

The RSO, Rent increase limit, and Notice requirements do NOT apply to units that are exempt from the Ordinance. See Section 11-1.08 of the RSO for the list of rental units that are not subject to the RSO.

City of Antioch Rent Program

The Rent Program is charged with implementing and administering the RSO and is currently administered by the City Attorney’s Office. Rent Program staff can provide information and answer many questions, but they do not provide legal advice. They also cannot make determinations regarding the application of the RSO to a specific unit. The City Attorney is authorized to adopt Rent Program Regulations that interpret the policies of the RSO and provide additional information and requirements.

Petitions

The Rent Program also administers the Petition proceedings of the RSO. Tenants may file a Petition for Reduction of Rent with the City if they believe they are being charged more than the amount permitted by the RSO. When available, which is anticipated to be by the end of May 2023, Tenants also may file a Petition for Determination of Compliance if a Landlord increases Rent without complying with the Notice or other requirements of the RSO and Rent Program Regulations.

Landlords may file a Petition for Adjustment of Base Year NOI With Associated Rent Increase if there were exceptional circumstances in 2022 that impacted the rental property income or operating expenses.
The Landlords should ensure the Rent charged as of November 11, 2022, including any Rent increases that occurred on or after August 23, 2022, complies with the RSO. Tenants should check to see if they are being charged no more than what is allowed.

New Tenancies

The Please note that the amount of Rent charged at the beginning of a new tenancy is not limited by the RSO. This is because a State law prohibits the City from regulating the initial Rent of most tenancies. For this reason, the RSO protects Tenants after their tenancy begins by regulating how much the Rent is increased each year.