Housing Authority

Setting Rents*

The following are the rules regarding assisted rents under the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program:

• HUD requires HACLB to pay rental rates that are appropriate for the neighborhood.
• The tenant's rent is based on the household paying 30% of household income toward rent and HACLB paying the remainder.
• Tenants may pay up to 40% of the family's monthly income for rent at the time the lease is executed.
• Rent approval is always subject to the Rent Reasonableness process.

Rent Increase Form

Rent Increase Notice - July 5, 2022

Effective January 1, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed California Assembly Bill 1482 (AB 1482), which caps rent increases statewide for the next 10 years. This bill limits annual rent increases at 5%, plus any rise in the consumer price index (CPI), which cannot exceed 10% in total. In addition, AB 1482 prevents evictions without “just cause” for tenants that have lived in the unit for at least one year. The bill impacts apartments and multi-family buildings containing two or more units, but exempts single-family residences, owner-occupied duplexes, and condominiums, except when owned by corporations or LLC in which at least one member is a corporation.

Effective April 1, 2022, the CPI increased to 7.9%, which amounts to 12.9% in total given the base of 5%. According to AB 1482, rent increases are capped at 10% even if the CPI is greater; therefore, the max allowable rent increase is 10% annually, effective July 1, 2022.

It is the City of Long Beach’s position that HUD subsidies administered by the Housing Authority are not exempt from this law, which means that rental units within Long Beach are covered under AB 1482. Thus, the Housing Authority will not process any rent increases beyond 10% of the current rent and will not accept any 90-day notices without cause.

While we are not able to assist with enforcement beyond notifying the owner of our rejection, if you believe you were subject to an improper rent increase or no-cause eviction, please contact Fair Housing at (562) 989-1206 or Legal Aide at (562) 435-3501.

The Housing Authority of the City of Long Beach will continue to use affordablehousing.com to conduct rent reasonableness and apply AB 1482 to all applicable cases. Please note that will revise and apply AB1482 to any rent increases retroactively to January 1, 2020.  Property owners and managers will need to credit residents for any adjustments made by the Housing Authority.

*Please remember: HACLB will only authorize rental rates that are appropriate for the neighborhood.