Rent increase laws by state: limits and notice

Cap and notice are two different rules

A cap limits how much the rent can go up, usually over 12 months. A notice rule says how far in advance the tenant must be told. In the 47 states without a cap, the landlord can ask for any amount, as long as the notice is right and the increase is not discriminatory or retaliatory. In the capped states, both rules apply at the same time: in Washington, for example, an increase within the cap still needs 90 days’ written notice (RCW 59.18.140).

What counts as a rent increase

The rent is the amount the tenant pays for the unit under the lease. Some states treat new or higher mandatory fees the same way: Maine’s notice rule covers “rent or mandatory recurring fee” increases (14 M.R.S. 6015), and the bans on local rent control in Arkansas, Idaho and Indiana also cover local rules on fees or deposits. Whether a given charge counts as rent in another state depends on that state’s law and on the lease.

Fixed-term leases

As a rule, the rent written into a fixed-term lease (for example 12 months) applies for the whole term. The landlord can change it at renewal, unless the lease itself provides for an increase during the term. Several statutes say this directly: in Iowa a rent increase takes effect no sooner than the end of the rental agreement or its renewal (Iowa Code 562A.13(5)); Delaware requires 60 days’ notice before a renewal with a different rent (25 Del. C. 5107); Virginia requires larger landlords to give 60 days’ notice of a renewal increase, rising to 90 days on July 1, 2027 (Va. Code 55.1-1204(K)). The notices in the table below are for month-to-month tenancies, where the rent can change at the end of any month once the notice period has run.

Rent increase rules, state by state

“No increase rule” means Payotte found no statute written for rent-increase notice; the figure given is the notice needed to end a month-to-month tenancy, which a landlord can use to offer a new rent. “No state ban found” means Payotte found no statute forbidding local rent control; it does not mean a city has the power to adopt one. “Not confirmed” means Payotte could not read the rule in an official text.

State notes

• Alabama. A landlord may not retaliate by discriminatorily increasing rent after a tenant complains to a code agency or the landlord, or joins a tenants’ union (Ala. Code 35-9A-501).
• Alaska. The Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (AS 34.03) contains no rent-limit or rent-control preemption clause; municipal powers in Title 29 were not searched.
• Arizona. A landlord may not retaliate by increasing rent after a tenant complains to a code agency or the landlord, or joins a tenants’ union (A.R.S. 33-1381).
• Arkansas. Since 2025 the preemption also bars local limits on rental application fees and deposits.
• California. Exempt from the state cap: units built within the last 15 years, deed-restricted affordable housing, and some single-family homes and condos not owned by corporations; stricter local caps apply where they exist.
• Colorado. Rent may be increased only once in any 12-month period of occupancy, for any tenancy type (C.R.S. 38-12-702).
• Connecticut. A landlord may not demand a rent increase within six months after a tenant’s good-faith complaint, including to a fair rent commission (Conn. Gen. Stat. 47a-20).
• Delaware. Manufactured home community lot rents are subject to a separate rent increase justification law (25 Del. C. ch. 70, subch. VI).
• District of Columbia. The 10% ceiling is in the statute; the 2026 figures come from the Office of the Tenant Advocate, and the cap covers rent-stabilized units only.
• Florida. Inclusionary land-use measures to increase affordable housing remain allowed (Fla. Stat. 125.0103(3), 166.043(3)).
• Georgia. Georgia’s DCA handbook (rev. Aug 29, 2024) says a tenant at will must get 60 days’ notice of a rent increase, after which a new tenancy at will starts.
• Hawaii. Statewide cap bills (e.g. 2023 SB1113, HB1484) have been introduced; their enactment was not checked, and no cap appears in HRS 521-21.
• Idaho. Chapter 3 of Title 55 was reorganized in 2025 (ch. 65): the notice rule was formerly 55-307 and the rent-control ban is new section 55-306.
• Illinois. The preemption covers private residential and commercial property; a bill (SB2884, 2026) to allow voter-approved local rent control was only introduced.
• Indiana. IC 32-31-1-20(c) also bars local rules on screening, deposits, lease terms and landlord fees; subsidized reduced-rent housing is outside the rent-rate ban.
• Kansas. Owners may still agree to rent limits voluntarily in exchange for local grants or incentives (K.S.A. 12-16,120(c)).
• Kentucky. KRS 383.198 took effect March 6, 2024; the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act applies only in localities that adopted it (KRS 383.500).
• Maine. Rent may not be raised while the unit breaches the warranty of habitability (14 M.R.S. 6016); the 75-day rule does not cover subsidized or deed-restricted affordable housing.
• Maryland. Notice must go by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, or electronically if the tenant chose that (8-209(b)(2)).
• Massachusetts. Chapter 40P excludes public, subsidized and federally assisted housing and mobile homes from its definition of rent control (c. 40P, 3).
• Michigan. Local units may still use voluntary incentives and agreements to add moderate- or low-cost rentals (MCL 123.411(4)).
• Missouri. A 2025 amendment (H.B. 595 & 343) also bars local source-of-income rules, screening limits, deposit caps and tenant right-of-first-refusal mandates (RSMo 441.043.2).
• Montana. MCA 7-1-111 also denies local power over matters governed by the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Title 70, ch. 24).
• Nebraska. 13-331 exempts inclusionary/land-use affordable housing rules and voluntary contractual rent-restriction programs; violating ordinances are void.
• Nevada. Nevada is a Dillon’s Rule state, so local rent control would need express authority; none was found.
• New Hampshire. Refusing a properly noticed rent increase is ‘other good cause’ for eviction from restricted property (RSA 540:2, II(e) and IV).
• New Jersey. The State has no rent-increase law; tenants may challenge an ‘unconscionable’ increase in an eviction case (DCA bulletin).
• New Mexico. 2025 SB 267 added separate notice rules for fee increases; the 30-day rent rule is unchanged.
• New York. Without timely 226-c notice the tenancy continues on existing terms until the notice period runs; ETPA rents are set by local Rent Guidelines Boards.
• North Carolina. 42-14.1 (amended 2024) allows rent limits only on local-government property, subsidized/CDBG units, or owners receiving local funding or incentives.
• North Dakota. Under 47-16-07 the new terms bind a tenant who stays past the month after notice.
• Ohio. 5321.19(B) exempts local codes, rents on publicly owned/operated housing, and voluntary incentive programs.
• Oklahoma. 14-101.1 exempts municipal property, subsidized-housing agreements, and CDBG-assisted properties.
• Oregon. Units whose first certificate of occupancy is under 15 years old and some regulated affordable units are exempt from the cap; overcharge liability = 3 months’ rent plus damages.
• Pennsylvania. Whether municipalities have power to adopt rent control was not confirmed; no enabling statute was found.
• Rhode Island. Assisted living, independent living and congregate care facilities are excluded from the notice rule. The 60-day and 120-day periods took effect June 24, 2024 (P.L. 2024, ch. 243-244).
• South Carolina. Under the retaliation rules, a landlord renting more than four adjoining units may raise rent without a presumption of retaliation if the increase applies uniformly or stays at or below fair-market value (S.C. Code ch. 27-40).
• South Dakota. Raising rent above fair-market value after a tenant’s code complaint, repair notice or tenant-union activity can give rise to a retaliation claim (SDCL § 43-32-27).
• Tennessee. The Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act applies only in counties with more than 75,000 people at the 2010 census (Tenn. Code § 66-28-102(a)).
• Vermont. The 60-day rule covers every residential rental agreement, not only month-to-month tenancies.
• Virginia. Landlords with more than four units must give 60 days’ notice of a renewal rent increase to tenants with renewal or auto-renewal leases (Va. Code § 55.1-1204(K)); this rises to 90 days on July 1, 2027.
• Washington. Exempt from the cap (RCW 59.18.710): units whose first certificate of occupancy is 12 years old or less, public and nonprofit regulated housing, some LIHTC units, and some owner-occupied homes and 2-4 unit buildings (not when owned by a REIT or corporation). The cap does not apply after a tenant vacates.
• Wyoming. A 2023 bill (HB 0216) to preempt local regulation of residential rentals by amending W.S. 1-21-1201 was introduced but is not in the current statutes.

Retaliation

Many states forbid a landlord from raising the rent to punish a tenant who complained about repairs or code violations. Payotte read such a rule in, for example, Alabama (Ala. Code 35-9A-501), Arizona (A.R.S. 33-1381), Connecticut (no increase within six months of a good-faith complaint, Conn. Gen. Stat. 47a-20) and South Dakota (SDCL 43-32-27). In South Carolina, a landlord with more than four adjoining units is not presumed to retaliate when the increase applies uniformly or stays at or below fair-market value (S.C. Code ch. 27-40). Maine bars any increase while the unit breaches the warranty of habitability (14 M.R.S. 6016). Other states have similar rules that are not listed here.

What this table does not cover

• City rules. Where local rent control is allowed, a city or county can set a lower cap or a longer notice. Check the local housing department.
• Subsidized and regulated housing. Public housing, housing vouchers and tax-credit units follow their own rent rules.
• Manufactured-home lots, which several states regulate separately.
• Discrimination. Fair housing law applies to rent increases like any other term.

If you are weighing whether to keep renting, the rent vs buy calculator and the guide on rent vs buy compare the two.