The watcher's receipts
The change log
Every move in LA's rent rules that the desk tracks — dated, sourced, and paired with the verification passes behind them. An automated watcher checks the primary sources daily; a human re-verifies every flag. This page is that loop, in public.
Coming up — dated and already adopted or announced
- Aug 1, 2026State (AB 1482): LA-region cap resets 8.0% → 8.7%
5% + 3.7% April 2026 CPI (LA–Long Beach–Anaheim). Applies to increases effective on/after Aug 1.
Source: LA County DCBA; BLS April 2026 CPI - Sep 1, 2026West Hollywood: Annual adjustment rises 2.25% → 2.75%
Source: weho.org rent stabilization - Sep 1, 2026Santa Monica: GAR rises 2.3% → 2.6% (dollar ceiling $60 → $70/mo)
Source: santamonica.gov / Rent Control Board - Oct 1, 2026Pasadena: AGA rises 2.25% → 2.5%
Adopted by the Pasadena Rental Housing Board June 18, 2026, for Oct 1, 2026 – Sep 30, 2027.
Source: City of Pasadena RSD newsletter
What already moved
- Jul 1, 2026LA County (unincorporated): RSTPO ticks to 1.919% / 2.919% / 3.919%
Fully covered / self-certified small landlord / luxury tier, through Jun 30, 2027.
Source: DCBA bulletin rev. 3/2/2026 - Jul 1, 2026City of LA: First year under the new RSO formula: 3%
LAHD: the annual increase remains 3% from Jul 1, 2025 through Jun 30, 2027 (90% of CPI, 1–4% band).
Source: housing.lacity.gov (re-verified live 2026-07-17) - May 29, 2026LA County: Wildfire price-gouging cap expires
The Board of Supervisors declined another extension on May 19; the 10%-over-pre-fire-rent cap lapsed after ~17 months. Normal caps govern again.
Source: LAist 5/19/2026; Cal OES - Feb 2, 2026City of LA: Utility add-ons eliminated; interim flat 3%
Ordinance 188795 effective: the +1% gas / +1% electric surcharges and the 10% additional-dependent increase are gone. Any notice served on/after this date may only use the base percentage.
Source: Ordinance 188795 (CF 23-1134); LAHD - Dec 12, 2025City of LA: Council rewrites the RSO formula — first time in ~40 years
90% of CPI with a 1% floor and 4% ceiling replaces 100% CPI / 3% floor / 8% ceiling. Adopted 12–2.
Source: Council File 23-1134 - Jan 7, 2025LA County: Wildfire emergencies trigger the price-gouging cap
Penal Code 396: rents capped at 10% over pre-fire advertised levels, extended repeatedly into 2026.
Source: State/county emergency declarations - Feb 1, 2024City of LA: COVID rent freeze ends after nearly four years
Source: LAHD
Verification log
- Jul 27, 2026City of LA: Watcher churn flags cleared — LAHD 3% re-verified live, unchanged
The daily flags on the LAHD and Pasadena pages were page churn (news/banner blocks), not figure changes. Re-confirmed live: the City RSO allowable increase remains 3% (Jul 1, 2026 – Jun 30, 2027). The watcher was hardened the same day — it now anchors on the actual figure text instead of the whole page, so routine churn no longer raises alerts.
Source: housing.lacity.gov/renter-protections-2 - Jul 18, 2026City of LA: Watcher flagged the LAHD page; figures re-verified live — unchanged
Page-content churn only (LAHD's own FAQ notes the page updates at least twice a year). Re-confirmed on the live page: RSO remains 3% through Jun 30, 2027; the canonical Protections Notice PDF was unchanged. Member alerting hardened the same day: verification entries like this one no longer email members.
Source: housing.lacity.gov/renter-protections-2 - Jul 17, 2026All figures: Watcher flagged Pasadena; full re-verification — no figure changed
The flag was news churn on Pasadena's landing page. Re-verified live: LAHD 3% (through Jun 30, 2027), WeHo 2.25%, Pasadena 2.25% now / 2.5% adopted for October. Two blocked sources fixed; 13 sources now watched daily.
Source: housing.lacity.gov · weho.org · cityofpasadena.net - Jul 17, 2026All jurisdictions: Banking rules verified across all nine rulebooks
Eight of nine prohibit or never authorized banking skipped increases (LA County expressly waives them — LACC 8.52.050(J); Pasadena's charter bars deferral — §1808(a)(4)). The exception: Santa Monica, where adjustments accrue into the Board-certified MAR. Two erroneous citations corrected and one widely-repeated web claim (Culver City banking) refuted against primary text.
Source: Municipal codes, charters, and board regulations per jurisdiction (see rules ledger) - Jul 16, 2026All figures: Initial verification of every figure against primary sources
LAHD, LA City Clerk ordinance text, LA County DCBA bulletin, Civil Code at leginfo, CA AG chart, six city rent-program pages.
Source: Primary sources cited per figure in the rules ledger