Rent control laws by state.

Three questions hide inside "does my state have rent control"

People type the question as if the answer were yes or no. The statutes answer three separate questions. First, does the state itself limit how much a landlord may raise rent? Second, if the state does not, may a city or county do it? Third, if a city may, which buildings does the ordinance reach? This page answers the first two for 13 jurisdictions and flags the third wherever the statute itself carves out exemptions. A state can say yes to the first question and no to the second at the same time: Oregon and Washington both cap increases statewide while barring their local governments from writing their own rent rules.

The table

The status column uses four labels. Statewide cap means the legislature set the maximum increase. Local rent regulation means rent control exists, either by state statute (the District of Columbia) or because localities may adopt it (New York, New Jersey). Local, voter approval only is Minnesota's middle path. Local rent control barred is preemption: the state has told every city and county to stay out.

Reading the statewide caps

All three cap states use the same shape, a fixed percentage plus inflation with a hard ceiling, and they differ in the details. California adds 5% to the cost-of-living change and stops at 10%, and the section is written to end on January 1, 2030. Oregon and Washington both add 7% to a CPI figure and stop at 10%. Oregon's Department of Administrative Services calculates the percentage each year from the September 12-month average of the West Region CPI. Washington's Department of Commerce publishes its own annual maximum using the Seattle-area CPI, starting June 1, 2025. The cap check above lets you drop in the published CPI figure and see the highest new rent for a given current rent. It models the arithmetic only. It does not know whether the building is exempt.

Exemptions matter more than the percentage. In California and Oregon a unit whose certificate of occupancy is less than 15 years old falls outside the cap. Oregon also exempts some regulated affordable housing. Washington's exemptions sit in a separate section that is not reproduced here, and the landlord must state the facts supporting an exemption in the written increase notice. A landlord who relies on an exemption has to prove it; a tenant who suspects one should ask for those facts.

Worked example (hypothetical numbers)

A tenant in a 2005 apartment in Portland, Oregon pays $1,800 a month. Suppose the September West Region CPI average were 2.4%. The cap is the lesser of 10% and 7% + 2.4% = 9.4%, so the highest legal new rent is $1,800 × 1.094 = $1,969.20, an increase of $169.20. The landlord also needs 90 days written notice and cannot raise rent in the first year or more than once in 12 months. If the same CPI figure were applied in California, the cap would be 5% + 2.4% = 7.4%, which is $1,933.20, because California starts from a lower fixed percentage. The 2.4% is invented for the example. Look up the real figure each year.

Where preemption has exceptions

"Barred" rarely means "absolute". Texas lets a city adopt rent control only after finding a housing emergency caused by a disaster and getting the governor's approval, and the city must end it when the governor ends the disaster. Colorado excludes voluntary agreements and deed restrictions between a local government and an owner or permit applicant, but a permit cannot be refused because an applicant declines to sign one. Michigan allows local governments to manage their own housing and to run voluntary incentive programs. Florida allows inclusionary housing ordinances that add affordable supply. Massachusetts has a statute titled the Rent Control Prohibition Act, with a narrow voluntary-compliance route for a municipality that accepts the chapter.

Where local rules apply

New York is the clearest case of rent regulation depending on place and building. Outside New York City, a municipality can opt in to the Emergency Tenant Protection Act only after a Housing Vacancy Rate Analysis finds a vacancy rate below 5%, and the usual coverage is buildings with six or more apartments built before 1974. State housing agency guidance also records adoptions that failed: Newburgh and Poughkeepsie were declared void, Nyack opted out, and Kingston's adoption was upheld by the Court of Appeals on June 18, 2025. New Jersey is the reverse of a statewide rule. Its Department of Community Affairs says the state has no law on rent increases and tells tenants to ask the municipal clerk whether an ordinance exists and covers the unit. The District of Columbia's code ties the annual adjustment to the CPI-W change, with a 10% ceiling and a 12-month wait between adjustments.

Common mistakes

• Treating a news headline about a city measure as a state rule. A city measure in a barred state may be unenforceable, and a measure in a cap state may sit on top of the state cap.
• Reading "cap" as "freeze". A cap limits the size and frequency of increases, not whether rent can rise.
• Assuming a new building is covered. Exemptions for recently built units are common and often decisive.
• Using last year's percentage. The Oregon and Washington maximums are recalculated annually.
• Assuming a state not on this list has no rent control. The page makes no claim about the other 38 states.

Who this is for

Renters checking whether a large increase is lawful, small landlords setting next year's rent, property managers who work across state lines, and journalists or students who need the statute behind a headline.

What this page does not cover

• The other 38 states were not read. Their silence here is not a statement that they have no rule.
• City and county ordinances, including those in New Jersey, New York and California, are not listed. Check the local rent board.
• Mobile home parks, subsidized housing and commercial leases follow separate rules.
• Notice periods and just-cause eviction rules, which are separate from the rent limit. See the rent increase notice page.
• This is general legal information, not legal advice. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before acting.