Richmond | Rent Control and Demolition

Richmond, California Rent Control and Demolition: Coverage, Just Cause, Relocation, Ellis Act and Historic Review

Richmond, California has its own rent control, a cap on yearly rent increases, and just cause for eviction, a rule that a landlord may end a tenancy only for a reason listed in the law. Both are in Chapter 11.100 of the Municipal Code, the Fair Rent, Just Cause for Eviction and Homeowner Protection Ordinance, and a separate Chapter 11.102 requires relocation payments. For anyone planning to replace an existing rental with more homes, these rules decide the timeline and the cost, and they also block SB 9. This page covers them, plus the historic review of older buildings. The Richmond overview has the summary.

Which Rentals Are Covered

Sources: Richmond Rent Program Rent Increase page; Richmond Municipal Code Sec. 11.100.030 and Sec. 11.100.040.

The ordinance defines "Controlled Rental Units" as all residential rental units in the City except listed groups, including units exempt under the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, the state law in Civil Code 1954.52, which lets an owner set the rent for a unit that "has a certificate of occupancy issued after February 1, 1995" or that can be sold separately, such as a house or condominium. The Rent Program applies the same date. A new fourplex built today is therefore partially covered: its tenants have just cause protection, and its rents fall outside Richmond's rent control. The California rent and tenant rules page covers the separate state rules.

Every landlord pays a yearly Residential Rental Housing Fee with the business license. On June 23, 2026 the Council adopted Resolution No. 110-26 by a vote of 6 to 1, setting the FY 2026-27 fee at "$261 per Controlled (Fully Covered) Rental Unit and $149 per Partially Covered Rental Unit." The Rent Program guide adds that newly constructed rental units are exempt from the Residential Rental Inspection Program for five years.

How Rent Control Works

• Base rent. For tenancies that began before the ordinance, the base is "the rent in effect on July 21, 2015." For later tenancies, it is the first rent charged.
• Yearly increase. The Rent Board announces an Annual General Adjustment (AGA) by June 30, effective September 1. It equals "60 percent of the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index" for the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area, "or three percent, whichever is lower," and never less than zero.
• 2026. The Rent Program lists the 2026 AGA as "1.5% (Approved by the Rent Board on June 17, 2026)," valid for increases between September 1, 2026 and August 31, 2027, and "Up to 6.5% if utilizing 'banked' previous untaken rent increases."
• Petitions. Under the ordinance's "right of reasonable return for landlords," a landlord may petition for a higher maximum rent and a tenant for a lower one, decided by a hearing examiner.

The Eight Just Causes

Section 11.100.050 lets a landlord end a tenancy only for: failure to pay rent; breach of lease after written notice; nuisance after written notice; failure to give access after written notice; temporarily vacating for substantial repairs; owner move-in; withdrawal from the rental market; and the end of a temporary tenancy in an owner's own home. The last three matter most for redevelopment. Every notice must state the cause, and "Failure to comply with any requirement of this chapter may be asserted as an affirmative defense" in an eviction case.

• Owner move-in. Only "a natural person who has at least a fifty (50) percent recorded ownership interest in the property" may use it. No owner move-in is allowed "if a vacancy already exists on the property." The owner or relative must move in within 90 days and stay for "at least Thirty-Six (36) consecutive months." Tenants of at least five years who are 62 or older or disabled, and tenants certified as terminally ill, are protected.
• Withdrawal from the rental market. The landlord must withdraw "all rental units of an entire property," file the required documents with the Rent Board under the state Ellis Act, which the Rent Program describes as "a legal way to go out of the rental market business," and, "If demolition is the purpose of the withdrawal then the landlord must have received all needed permits from the City of Richmond before serving any notices." Tenants have a right of return if the unit is put back on the market.
• Substantial repairs. With all permits in hand, a landlord may ask tenants to leave while code repairs are made. Tenants keep the right to return, paying the rent in effect when the notice was served plus allowed adjustments.

Relocation Payments

Source: Richmond Rent Program Richmond Relocation Ordinance page, maximum per unit, calendar year 2025. Amounts are set by Council resolution under Sec. 11.102.050.

Chapter 11.102 requires a permanent relocation payment for an owner move-in or a withdrawal, and temporary payments for repairs. A qualified tenant household includes a tenant who is 62 or older, disabled, has a child under 18 at home, or is in a lower income household, and gets the higher amount. The payment is split among the tenants of a unit. For a withdrawal, half is due within three business days after the tenant says in writing that they will leave, and the other half within three business days after they move out.

Temporary relocation for repairs is paid per day: in 2025, $185.86 per household for a hotel or motel, $37.42 per person for meals, $1.25 per household for laundry, and $36.17 for a cat or $64.86 for a dog. The Rent Program page says the amounts "shall be adjusted on January 1, 2026" by the consumer price index, but that it "is currently unable to publish the 2026 relocation amounts" because federal data were delayed. Ask the Rent Program for the current figures before budgeting.

Ellis Act Steps in Richmond

The Rent Program's Ellis Act page sets out the steps under Rent Board Regulation 503. The landlord confirms property enrollment and fee payments; files a Notice to Initiate Withdrawal with the Rent Board; tells the tenants; records a Summary Memorandum with the Contra Costa County Recorder; and delivers it with a Withdrawal Certificate to the Rent Board. "The date upon which the accommodations are withdrawn from rent or lease is 120 days from the date these documents are received." The landlord then serves each tenant a notice of intent, a termination notice, a notice of entitlement to relocation, and notice of the right to one year's notice. A qualifying tenant who has lived in the unit at least a year gets one year if they claim it in writing within 60 days. Withdrawn units that are offered for rent again "within two (2), five (5), and ten (10) years" bring penalties under Regulation 502.

How These Rules Limit SB 9 and Small-Lot Maps

State housing laws protect tenants too. Richmond's SB 9 checklists, following Government Code 65852.21, bar SB 9 projects that would demolish or alter "Housing that is subject to any form of rent or price control" or "Housing that has been occupied by a tenant in the last three years," and parcels withdrawn under the Ellis Act within 15 years. The City's SB 9 application sends owners to the Rent Program for tenant history. SB 684 and SB 1123 maps exclude housing occupied by tenants in the five years before the application. For a rented duplex built before 1995, which is fully covered, these limits usually rule out the state fast tracks; the lot size and subdivisions page has the details.

Demolition and Historic Review

Section 15.04.303.130 requires a demolition permit for any structure in an -H district or with an -L designation, listed in a historic register, "and any building, structure, or object more than 45 years old or older." For a building not on the Richmond Historic Register "but is 50 years old or older," the application includes an evaluation on the state's DPR523 forms, and "the Zoning Administrator shall render an opinion within 30 days on whether the structure is eligible for listing as a historic resource." If it may be eligible, the Historic Preservation Commission decides; an eligible building needs a certificate of appropriateness, an approval that the work respects the building's historic character. Eligibility for the Richmond register may be appealed to the City Council. The FY 2026-27 Master Fee Schedule lists demolition permit review at $469 and deposits of $2,500 for a minor and $3,500 for a major certificate of appropriateness.

Where the Code and City Pages Differ

• One year's notice. Section 11.100.050(a)(7) gives one year to tenants "defined as senior or Disabled"; Section 11.102.030(d) also includes lower income households and households with a minor child. The Rent Program follows the longer list.
• Age thresholds. Section 15.04.303.130 requires a demolition permit at "45 years old or older" but the DPR523 evaluation at "50 years old or older."
• Old cross reference. Section 11.100.040 exempts units under "the Small Second Unit Ordinance of the City of Richmond (Richmond Municipal Code § 15.04.810 .)"; Section 15.04.810 is now the Planned Area Districts article, and ADUs are in Section 15.04.610.020.
• Relatives for owner move-in. Section 11.100.050 lists the landlord's "spouse children, parents or grandparents"; Section 11.102.030 adds a "registered domestic partner" and relatives by adoption or marriage.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Richmond overview and the California rent and tenant rules page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)