How To Price Your Rental (When No One Can Tell You What to Charge)

"How Should I Price My Rental?"

Members often ask us how much they should charge for rent. While it's a natural question, it's important to understand that we cannot provide specific rental pricing or share what other members are charging. That could be considered collusion, which is illegal under antitrust laws.

But that doesn’t mean you're on your own. Here are some legal and effective ways to approach rent pricing:

Use public listings as a benchmark.

Look at sites like Zillow, Apartments.com, HotPads, or Zumper to find comparable units in your neighborhood. Filter results based on square footage, amenities, unit condition, and whether utilities or parking are included.

Evaluate your unit’s past performance.

Think back to your last turnover: How quickly did it rent? How many qualified applications did you receive? Was there high demand, or did you have to drop the price?

Factor in seasonality.

Rental demand fluctuates. You may be able to ask more in the summer or near the start of the school year. If you're listing off-season, you may need to price more aggressively.

Understand What the Law Allows You to Charge — and When

In Berkeley, you can set the rent freely at the start of a brand-new tenancy, regardless of your unit type. State law (Costa-Hawkins) prohibits vacancy control, which means the Rent Board cannot regulate initial rent levels.

But once your tenant moves in, how much flexibility you have going forward depends on your unit’s coverage status:

• Fully Covered Units (most multi-unit properties built before 1980):
  The rent you set at the beginning becomes the lawful rent ceiling, and future increases are limited to the Annual General Adjustment (AGA). Once rented, these units are subject to strict regulations.

• Partially Covered Units (like single-family homes, condos, or newer construction):
  You still set the starting rent freely, and AGA rules do not limit you, but Just Cause eviction protections apply, and you may have other local notice obligations.

• Exempt Units (such as owner-occupied Golden Duplexes or specific ADU properties):
  Rent increases are not regulated, and the city generally does not require registration, but you still need to follow notice rules and possibly file exemption paperwork.

 Bottom line: You always have full control over the starting rent, but the rules after move-in vary. Make sure you know your unit type so you can price with confidence and comply going forward.

How to Tell If You’ve Mispriced Your Rental

You may have priced too high if:

• You receive little to no inquiries in the first few days after posting

• You get mostly unqualified applicants (a sign that better-qualified tenants are passing you over)

• You’re getting repeated views but no scheduled showings

• The unit sits vacant for more than 2–3 weeks in a high-demand season

You may have priced too low if:

• You receive a flood of inquiries within 24–48 hours of listing

• You get multiple qualified applications immediately

• Prospective tenants express surprise that the unit is “such a good deal”

• You find yourself fielding bidding-war-style offers or waivers of screening conditions

📌 Tip: If you're priced high, reduce strategically and early, rather than waiting out weeks of vacancy. If you're priced low, consider adjusting upward slightly for future listings or before accepting an application — but avoid frequent mid-listing changes, as platforms like Zillow track and display price history.

Bottom line:
We can’t tell you what to charge, but we can help you make informed decisions based on market data, property characteristics, and compliance obligations.