Buying a San Leandro Duplex or Fourplex This Winter? Ask What the Rent Was on July 1, 2025

Take a San Leandro apartment that rented for $2,000 a month on July 1, 2025. State law allowed the owner to raise it to $2,126 later that year, the figure the City used in a January 2026 Council example. Under the 3.3% adjustment the City published on October 27, 2026, the most that unit can rent for on January 1, 2027 works out to about $2,066. The gap between those last two numbers is income a buyer may be paying for in this winter's offer and won't collect after closing.

San Leandro's Residential Rent Stabilization Ordinance takes effect January 1, 2027. The City Council introduced it on January 12, 2026, on a 5–1–1 vote and adopted it on February 2, 2026, according to the City's legislative record. Most of the coverage has looked at it from the tenant's side. For anyone buying or selling a small apartment building, what matters most is how the cap is measured: it starts from a rent that was charged 16 months ago.

January's Ceiling Was Set in July 2025

On October 27, the City posted the first allowable increase, and it works differently from the usual annual cap. For a covered unit, the January 1, 2027 maximum is the Base Rent plus a one-time adjustment. The Base Rent is what the unit rented for on July 1, 2025, or the starting rent if the tenancy began after that date.

The 3.3% figure goes above the ordinance's 3% annual cap because, according to the City's guidance, it covers two fiscal years: 0.8% for July 2025 through June 2026 and 2.5% for July 2026 through June 2027. Both come from 65% of the regional CPI change.

Meanwhile, state law kept running. Under California's Tenant Protection Act, the Attorney General's rent cap table shows a 6.3% maximum for increases taking effect between August 1, 2025 and July 31, 2026 in the San Francisco area, which includes Alameda County. The City's guidance notes that increases must still follow lease terms and state notice rules. Even a full 6.3% increase that met those rules leaves the rent above San Leandro's January maximum, and the City says such a rent must be reduced to the maximum starting January 1, 2027. The City calls this a "rent rollback." Rent collected before then doesn't have to be refunded.

So when a listing shows a rent roll with this fall's rents, it can describe accurately what the building brings in today and still overstate what it will bring in next year.

Almost Every Small Multifamily Building in Town Is Covered

Most multifamily units with a certificate of occupancy dated on or before February 1, 1995 fall under the cap. In San Leandro, that cutoff catches nearly all of the city's small apartment buildings. In an October 2025 Council presentation using City parcel data, staff estimated how many units in each building type would be eligible for stabilization:

• Duplexes: 1,288 of 1,298 units
• Triplexes: 393 of 417 units
• Fourplexes: all 532 units
• Citywide: about 7,693 eligible units in total

Other City estimates land somewhere else. A December 2025 budget presentation put fully regulated units at 6,500 to 7,600. Every version tells a buyer the same thing, though: if you're shopping for a two-to-four-unit building in San Leandro, you should expect it to be covered.

The exemptions that come up most often in a small-property deal, per the City's Rent Program FAQ:

1. Units with a certificate of occupancy issued after February 1, 1995
2. Units that can be sold separately, which includes most single-family homes and condominiums, no matter when they were built
3. Accessory dwelling units
4. A duplex where the owner lives in one of the two units, which the City calls a "Golden Duplex"
5. Rooms rented in a home the owner lives in, where the owner shares a kitchen or bathroom with the tenant

The fourth one matters most to buyers. A buyer who moves into half of a duplex is in a different position from one who buys the same building to rent out both units. That exemption covers duplexes only. A triplex or fourplex doesn't qualify because the owner lives there.

The Documents That Matter Now

After 40-some years in this business, half of them also as a contractor, I treat a rent roll as one more disclosure to verify, the same as a foundation or a roof. Under this ordinance the City will be collecting the information you need. Owners will have to report it when they register, and the registration form asks for each unit's base rent as of July 1, 2025, when the current tenancy started, and the date and amount of the last rent increase.

For a pre-1995 building, those same numbers are worth asking for before the offer goes in:

1. Each unit's rent on July 1, 2025, with whatever records support it
2. Each tenancy's start date, which tells you whether the 3.3% or the 2.5% applies. The City counts the start as the date the tenant was allowed to occupy the unit.
3. Every increase since July 1, 2025, with dates and amounts
4. The certificate of occupancy date, which settles whether the building is covered at all
5. The other charges tenants pay, such as utilities, since the registry asks for those too

With those in hand, multiply each Base Rent by 1.033 or 1.025 and compare the result with the rent the unit pays now. Any unit above that number will need to come down on January 1. The building's price should reflect the January rents, not the November ones.

Rules That Transfer With the Building

A buyer takes on more than a rent level. On a covered unit, the owner who closes this winter gets these rules too:

• Registration comes first. Rent can't be raised at all, including through a Fair Return increase, unless the unit is registered and the owner is current on all registry fees and penalties. Registration opens December 1, 2026, and the first deadline is January 31, 2027.
• Fees can't be passed through to tenants. Registration is $149 per rental unit each year, plus $109 for each stabilized unit, for a total of $258. A July 6, 2026 amendment, Ordinance 2026-007, prohibits passing any Rent Stabilization Program fee on to tenants. Late registration carries escalating penalties of up to 150% of the fees.
• Raises can't be saved up. Rent can go up once per 12 months. An allowable increase that goes unused during the July-to-June period is waived for the rest of that tenancy.
• Rent resets between tenants. If a tenant moves out voluntarily, abandons the unit or is legally evicted, the owner can set the next tenant's starting rent without restriction. That doesn't apply if the prior tenancy ended on grounds the law doesn't allow.
• Owners can ask for more. If the standard increase doesn't provide a fair financial return, an owner can file a Fair Return Petition, which a third-party hearing officer decides.

Violations are expensive. According to the City, penalties include administrative fines of up to $500 per violation per day. That's a big reason the July 1, 2025 figures have to be accurate when they're registered.

If You're the One Selling a Long-Held Building

Many of these properties have had the same owner for decades, and some are now passing to the next generation. A seller who still owns the building on January 1 has to register it and apply the rollback, whether or not it's on the market. If you have the July 1, 2025 rents, tenancy dates and increase history ready, you can register on time, and you'll also be able to answer the first questions a careful buyer's agent asks. A clean, verified rent roll that already accounts for January will hold up better in escrow than one that has to be revised partway through.

The City is hosting a drop-in Rent Program Open House on Monday, November 16, 2026, from 4:00 to 7:00 PM in the Main Hall of the San Leandro Senior Community Center, 13909 E 14th Street. Staff will cover both the registry and rent stabilization, and the City asks people to RSVP. Questions can also go to [email protected], and updates are posted on the City's Rent Program page.

This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Before you rely on any of these numbers for your own property, confirm the details with a real estate attorney or the City's Rent Program staff.

A Few Quick Answers

I rent out a single-family house in San Leandro. Does the cap apply? Most single-family homes and condos that can be sold separately are exempt from the rent increase limits. They still have to be registered if they're rented or offered for rent. The City also requires a business license for rental units, including single-family homes, and that's an existing rule.

Does the rollback mean refunds to tenants? No. The City says the ordinance doesn't require refunds for rent collected before January 1, 2027.

When will the next allowable increase be announced? By May 31 each year. That figure applies to increases taking effect from July 1 through June 30.

If you're looking at a duplex or fourplex in San Leandro, or wondering what the new rules mean for a building your family has owned for years, I'm glad to go through the rent roll with you before anyone signs anything. Reach out through Joe LoParo. Let's Connect.