Understanding the Rent Board’s “Apparent Lawful Rent Ceiling” Notices

After a long pause during the pandemic, the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board has resumed mailing “Apparent Lawful Rent Ceiling” (ALRC) notices to rental property owners. According to the Board, these notices were discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemic but are now being issued again at the direction of the Executive Director. Owners began receiving notices in mid-2025, and tenant notices are expected to be mailed in November 2025.

These mailings reflect the Rent Board’s understanding of the maximum lawful rent ceiling for each rent-controlled unit, based on their registry records. But some owners are discovering that the rent ceiling listed on the notice differs from their own calculations, and understandably, they’re concerned.

This article explains what the ALRC is, how to verify whether it’s correct, and what to do if the number seems off. It also provides guidance for calculating your unit’s lawful rent ceiling using Berkeley’s historical AGA data.

What Is the Apparent Lawful Rent Ceiling?

The Apparent Lawful Rent Ceiling is the Rent Board’s record of the maximum amount of rent that can lawfully be charged for a unit that is fully covered by Berkeley’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance. The ALRC is based on:

• The base rent at the start of the tenancy

• Annual General Adjustments (AGAs) that the tenancy is eligible for

• Any Rent Board-approved rent increases (e.g., capital improvements)

• Any lawful rent reductions (e.g., loss of housing services)

⚠️ Important: The ALRC reflects the lawful ceiling, not the tenant’s actual rent. It also does not reflect whether AGAs were actually taken or banked. It simply shows the ceiling based on what could have been charged.

What the Rent Registry Shows and Doesn’t Show

The rent registry reflects the maximum lawful rent (i.e., the current rent ceiling) for fully covered units based on the Rent Board’s records. This amount includes:

• The base rent as reported at the start of the tenancy

• All AGAs the unit is eligible for

• Any permanent Rent Board-approved adjustments

However, the registry does not reflect:

• What the tenant is actually paying

• Whether AGAs were actually taken or skipped

✅ Note: Banked AGAs are reflected in the ALRC, because the Rent Board calculates the ceiling as if all eligible AGAs were applied, regardless of whether you chose to implement them.

So if you’ve charged less than the ceiling or never implemented a banked increase, the Rent Board’s number may appear higher than your rent ledger, and that’s fine.

However, if the ALRC notice looks too low, it may be due to incorrect assumptions about the tenancy start date or base rent.

Why Doesn’t the ALRC Match What I Calculated?

If the ALRC in the Rent Board’s notice differs from your records, consider the following common causes:

1. The tenancy wasn’t properly registered.

If you didn’t register the start of a new tenancy, the Rent Board may believe the prior tenant is still in possession. In that case, the ALRC would be based on the prior tenant’s base rent, not the rent set for the current tenant. This is one of the most common sources of discrepancies.

2. There was a data entry error.

Rent Board staff sometimes make mistakes when updating the registry, especially with long-term or inherited tenancies. A typographical error in the base rent, move-in date, or unit address can distort the calculation.

3. You mistakenly included a pass-through or temporary surcharge.

In the past, owners could pass through part of the annual registration fee or charge for additional occupants. But these charges were never part of the lawful rent ceiling. Including them in your rent history may cause your internal calculation to be higher than the ALRC.

🛑 Note: The Rent Board voted to eliminate the registration fee pass-through effective January 2026. This charge will no longer be permitted after December 2025.

4. You may have misunderstood how AGAs relate to the rent ceiling.

AGAs are issued annually by the Rent Board, but you are not required to take them every year. You may choose to delay an increase and take one or more AGAs later. This is called “banking.” There is no requirement to apply AGAs in a particular order, but you may not exceed the current lawful rent ceiling. If your current rent is below the maximum, you can increase the rent, when lawful, up to that ceiling or any amount below it, at your discretion by serving the proper notice.

How to Calculate the Lawful Rent Ceiling Yourself

If you believe the Rent Board’s ALRC figure is incorrect, you can use their published AGA chart to calculate the ceiling yourself. Here’s how:

Step 1: Verify the Registered Tenancy Information

Owners are required to register all new tenancies within 15 days of a new lease. Before calculating the rent ceiling, log in to the Rent Board’s Rent Registry and confirm that the Start Date of Tenancy/Move-In Date and the Initial Rent are accurately recorded. These two pieces of information establish the base rent for AGA purposes and will appear in the ALRC notice if recorded correctly.

Step 2: Determine When the Tenancy Became Eligible for AGAs

A tenancy becomes eligible for its first AGA on January 1 of the third calendar year after the tenancy began. The AGA chart does not identify eligibility — it simply lists the percentage increases authorized each year since the inception of Berkeley’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance in 1980.

For example:

• A tenancy that began in June 2019 becomes eligible for its first AGA on January 1, 2021

• A tenancy that began in November 2021 becomes eligible on January 1, 2023

• A tenancy that began in November 2021 becomes eligible on January 1, 2023

Step 3: Apply AGAs and Individual Rent Adjustments

Start with the base rent and apply each eligible AGA one at a time, using the adjusted rent from the prior year. Don’t apply percentages cumulatively.

Example:

• Base Rent: $1,500 (tenancy began in 2018)

• 2020 AGA = 2.1% ➝ $1,500 × 1.021 = $1,531.50

• 2021 AGA = 1.0% ➝ $1,531.50 × 1.01 = $1,546.82

• 2022 AGA = 2.1% ➝ $1,546.82 × 1.021 = $1,579.32

What to Do Next

• Review the notice carefully. Ensure the tenancy start date, base rent, and AGAs are accurate.

• Compare with your records. Use the data from the Rent Board's list of historic AGA data from 1981 to 2025 to reconstruct the ceiling yourself.

• Disputing the Rent Ceiling? If you believe the ALRC is incorrect, contact the Rent Board’s Registration Unit at RentRegistry@berkeleyca.gov to request a review.

AGA calculations are pretty straightforward for tenancies that began between 2003 and 2025. However, if your tenancy started before 2003, the rules governing rent adjustments included many conditional and non-percentage-based increases. In those cases, contact BPOA for individualized guidance to ensure your calculations align with Rent Board rules.