TL;DR
San Diego doesn't have city rent control. It has a Tenant Protections Ordinance that applies just-cause eviction rules to most rentals — including single-family homes the AB 1482 exemption notice would otherwise exclude. Short-term rentals run through a four-tier license system with a hard citywide cap on whole-home STRs.
Rent ceiling: state, not city
The first thing San Diego does differently from LA, Santa Ana, or Oakland: there's no local rent cap. AB 1482 controls. On covered units, the rent ceiling is 5% plus the local April-over-April CPI, capped at 10%, per the standard state framework. For 2026, pull the current CPI for the San Diego–Carlsbad metro from BLS or HCD's spring AB 1482 publication.
The Tenant Protections Ordinance — the real story
What San Diego did instead of rent control is in some ways more consequential for owners: the TPO extends just-cause eviction rules to most rentals in the city, including categories that AB 1482 exempts.
Specifically, the TPO applies just-cause requirements to:
- Single-family homes owned by individuals — which would be exempt from AB 1482 with the §1946.2(e) exemption notice. The TPO doesn't honor that exemption.
- Condos that would be AB-1482-exempt under the individual-owner carve-out.
- Many duplexes and small multi-unit properties that fall outside AB 1482's 15-year construction rule.
SFR owners in San Diego — read this twice
The AB 1482 exemption notice that strips a single-family home out of the state rent-cap framework does not strip the same unit out of the San Diego TPO. A SFR in the city of San Diego is subject to just-cause eviction rules regardless of how the lease is written. This catches owners moving over from outside the city.
TPO no-fault grounds and relocation
The TPO recognizes a slimmer set of no-fault grounds than AB 1482 — owner move-in, substantial remodel, withdrawal from rental use, government order — and requires relocation assistance for each. The amount tracks AB 1482's one-month-of-rent floor in most cases. As with SB 567 at the state level, getting any element of the no-fault termination wrong triggers tenant remedies.
STR licensing — the four tiers
San Diego's short-term rental ordinance, fully effective from 2023, runs four license tiers:
| Tier | What it covers | Cap? |
|---|
| Tier 1 | Home-sharing — host occupies the unit during the rental | Uncapped |
| Tier 2 | Whole-home STR, 20 nights or fewer per year | Uncapped |
| Tier 3 | Whole-home STR, more than 20 nights per year (outside Mission Beach) | Hard citywide cap, lottery-allocated |
| Tier 4 | Whole-home STR in Mission Beach | Separate Mission Beach allocation |
The big trap is operating at Tier 3 levels without the license. The cap is binding, the lottery is real, and unlicensed Tier 3 operation produces administrative penalties plus disqualification from future tier allocations. The city actively monitors STR platforms for unlicensed listings.
Habitability and code enforcement
San Diego's Code Enforcement Division enforces state habitability standards (Civil Code §1941.1) plus the city's housing code. There's no equivalent of LA's REAP program in San Diego, but the city does post landlord violations to a public-facing record and can refer chronic violators to the city attorney for civil action.
Owner-occupied conversion considerations
A San Diego owner planning to convert a rental to owner-occupied (or move into one unit of a multi-unit they own) needs to walk through:
- Whether the unit is TPO-covered (most are).
- Whether SB 567's 90-day occupancy / 12-month minimum applies (yes, on TPO-covered units).
- The relocation amount owed at notice service.
- Whether the unit, post-conversion, is subject to a 12-month return-to-rental restriction.
The simplest version of an OMI is the most-expensive one when done wrong here. Costs come from procedural defects, not the relocation payment itself.
Common questions — San Diego landlord laws
Does San Diego have city-level rent control?
No. AB 1482's state framework controls. San Diego adopted a Tenant Protections Ordinance instead — it extends just-cause eviction rules but does not set a city-specific rent cap.
Does the AB 1482 exemption notice help on a San Diego single-family rental?
It exempts the unit from state-level AB 1482 rent caps and just-cause rules. It does not exempt the unit from the San Diego TPO, which has its own just-cause framework covering most single-family rentals in the city.
How do I get a San Diego STR license?
Apply through the city's STR licensing portal. Tier 1 (home-sharing) and Tier 2 (whole-home, ≤20 nights/year) are uncapped. Tier 3 (whole-home, >20 nights/year) is capped citywide and allocated by lottery. Tier 4 is Mission Beach-specific.
Does San Diego require rental registration?
Not for long-term rentals city-wide. STR licensing is required for short-term rentals. Some surrounding San Diego County jurisdictions have additional rules.
What's the penalty for operating an STR without a license?
Administrative penalties per the STR ordinance, plus disqualification from future license allocations. The city actively monitors STR platform listings against the license database.
CA Landlord Laws