The Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482) and a Sale: What Changes and What Does Not

A sale does not end a tenancy under the Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482), and it is not a just cause for ending one. The tenant's rent, lease and protections carry over to the buyer, the 12-month clock runs on the tenant's occupancy rather than on who owns the building, and the rent cap keeps counting from the rent actually charged. What a sale can change is narrower: whether the property stays exempt, whether the new owner can use the owner move-in rule, and what a buyer is willing to pay for a building with protected tenants in it.

This article is part of our tenant-occupied rentals knowledge center. For the whole sale, start with the pillar, selling a rental with tenants in Southern California.

What is AB 1482?

AB 1482 is the bill, chaptered in October 2019, that created California's Tenant Protection Act of 2019. It lives in two sections of the Civil Code, and both have since been amended:

• Civil Code section 1946.2, just cause. Once a tenant has continuously and lawfully occupied a rental for 12 months, the owner may not end the tenancy without a just cause stated in the written notice. (If another adult is added to the lease before an existing tenant reaches 24 months, the protection applies once all tenants reach 12 months or any one tenant reaches 24.) The statute lists at-fault causes, such as unpaid rent or a material lease breach, and no-fault causes: an owner or close relative moving in, withdrawing the property from the rental market, a government order to vacate, or intent to demolish or substantially remodel.
• Civil Code section 1947.12, the rent cap. Over any 12-month period, rent may rise by no more than 5 percent plus the change in the regional cost of living, or 10 percent, whichever is lower, measured from the lowest rent charged in the prior 12 months, and in no more than two increases.

For a no-fault termination, section 1946.2 requires the owner, at the owner's option, either to pay relocation assistance equal to one month of the rent in effect when the notice is issued, within 15 calendar days of serving the notice, or to waive the final month's rent in writing. A notice that does not strictly comply is void.

Is AB 1482 still in effect?

Yes. The current versions of both sections became operative on April 1, 2024, after SB 567 rewrote the owner move-in and substantial remodel rules, and section 1946.2 was amended again by AB 1529, effective January 1, 2026. Both sections state that they remain in effect only until January 1, 2030, and are repealed as of that date unless the Legislature acts. Check the statute's current text before relying on any date; the history line at the bottom of each section on the Legislature's site shows the latest amendment.

What a sale does not change

ItemBefore closingAfter closing

The lease and its term

In force

In force, with the buyer as landlord

Just-cause protection

Applies after the 12-month threshold

Still applies; the tenant's occupancy is continuous

Rent cap baseline

Lowest rent in the prior 12 months

The same baseline; a sale is not a new tenancy

Security deposit

Held by the seller

Transferred to the buyer or returned, under Civil Code 1950.5

Who can sue for a violation

The tenant, and public prosecutors for injunctions

The same, against the new owner

Two statutory details make this work. Both sections define "owner" to include "a predecessor in interest to the owner," so the buyer does not get a fresh start on rent history. And section 1946.2, subdivision (j), voids any waiver of the tenant's rights, so a tenant cannot sign the protections away as a condition of the sale.

What a sale can change

The single-family exemption

A single-family home or condo is exempt from both sections only when two conditions hold: the owner is not a real estate investment trust, a corporation, or a limited liability company with at least one corporate member, and the tenant received the exact written exemption notice the statute sets out. For any tenancy that began or renewed on or after July 1, 2020, that notice must be in the rental agreement itself.

That makes the exemption depend partly on the owner. If you own the house as an individual and gave the notice correctly, the property may be exempt today. If the buyer is a corporation or an LLC with a corporate member, the exemption's owner condition is no longer met after closing, and the tenancy can fall under the state law. If the notice was never given, the property was likely covered all along unless another exemption applies, whatever you assumed. An attorney can read your lease and tell you which applies.

Owner move-in after the sale

A buyer who wants to live in the property cannot simply serve notice because they bought it. The owner move-in cause in section 1946.2 now requires that the owner be a natural person with at least a 25 percent recorded interest (or meet the family-ownership tests in the statute), that the notice name the intended occupant, and that the occupant move in within 90 days after the tenant leaves and live there for at least 12 consecutive months. For leases entered into on or after July 1, 2020, it applies only if the tenant agrees in writing or the lease allows it. It also does not apply when a similar unit on the property is already vacant. If the move-in does not happen as required, the unit must be offered back to the former tenant at the same rent and terms.

Which law applies at all

Section 1946.2 steps aside where a qualifying local just-cause ordinance applies. In Pomona, the city's rent stabilization and eviction control ordinance requires just cause and relocation assistance for no-fault terminations. In Long Beach, Municipal Code chapter 8.99 governs; see selling a Long Beach duplex subject to the existing lease. A sale does not move a property from one regime to the other, but the buyer prices whichever one applies.

How the Tenant Protection Act shows up in an offer

A buyer of an occupied, covered rental knows three things: the rent can only rise within the cap, the tenant can only be asked to leave for a listed cause, and a no-fault exit costs relocation assistance or a rent waiver plus the vacancy. Section 1947.12, subdivision (b), lets an owner set a new rent only when no tenant from the prior tenancy remains. So a long-term tenant at a rent well under the market is worth less to an investor than the same unit empty, because the gap closes slowly.

The two numbers put that on paper. The cash column prices the property with the lease, the current rent and the cap in place. The open-market column prices the same property occupied, then the vacant path with its relocation, vacancy and turnover lines subtracted. Every figure comes from the specific building and its rent roll; we do not use a rule-of-thumb discount.

Listing can still net more. It usually does when the property is exempt and the tenant is leaving anyway, when the current rent is already close to market so the cap costs a buyer little, or when the home is the kind owner-occupants compete for and you have the time to deliver it vacant lawfully. When that is the case, the written recommendation says so and you are introduced to a designated local expert, an independently licensed California agent. The open-market read is a preliminary estimate, not an appraisal. For the full comparison, see cash for keys: legal, voluntary and often unnecessary, which covers the cost of a negotiated move-out.

Questions to take to an attorney before you sell

• Is my property covered by section 1946.2 and 1947.12, by a city ordinance, or exempt?
• If I relied on the single-family exemption, was the notice given in the exact words and in the lease?
• Are my past rent increases within the cap, so the buyer is not inheriting an overcharge claim?
• If the buyer wants the unit, which no-fault cause, if any, would actually be available to them?

Mr. Cali Offers describes these rules so you can ask the right questions. We do not advise on terminations, rent increases or exemptions.

What this looks like in practice

These are the kinds of files that come in, described without names or figures.

• A single-family rental near the Claremont Colleges where the owner believed the house was exempt but the lease never carried the exemption notice. See the Claremont area notes.
• A duplex in Ontario with one tenant of many years at a rent far under the market and a newer tenant whose lease renews soon.
• An inherited house with a tenant the heirs did not choose, where the estate needs to know which rules it inherited along with the property.

Next step

Read how we handle tenant-occupied rentals, or send the address with the lease dates and current rents. You can also call (909) 498-3977. There is no cost and no obligation to get the two numbers and the written report.

Sources

• California Legislature, AB 1482 (2019-2020), Tenant Protection Act of 2019, Chapter 597: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (accessed October 31, 2026)
• California Civil Code section 1946.2 (Tenant Protection Act, just cause; operative April 1, 2024; amended by AB 1529, effective January 1, 2026; repealed as of January 1, 2030): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (accessed October 31, 2026)
• California Civil Code section 1947.12 (rent increase limits; added by SB 567, operative April 1, 2024; repealed as of January 1, 2030): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (accessed October 31, 2026)
• California Civil Code section 1950.5 (security deposits, transfer on sale): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (accessed October 31, 2026)
• City of Pomona, Rent Stabilization Program: pomonaca.gov (accessed October 31, 2026)
• City of Long Beach Municipal Code chapter 8.99, Just Cause for Termination of Tenancies: library.municode.com (accessed October 31, 2026)

Mr. Cali Offers is not a law firm and does not advise landlords or tenants on terminations, rent increases or exemptions; confirm them with the city or an attorney. Cash offers come from independent buyers and investors who buy for their own account and may resell for profit; a cash offer is generally below what the open market would bring. Any value shown is a preliminary estimate, not an appraisal. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice.