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

Date postedJune 24, 2025
Posted By: BPOA Master

the 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 are 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 rent ceiling, and may not be the tenant’s actual rent that you are charging.

What the Rent Registry Shows and Doesn’t Show

The rent registry reflects the maximum lawful rent based on what the Rent Board believes they know about the unit. The rent ceiling is inclusive of:

  • The "initial rent" (the rent reported at the start of the tenancy)

  • Any Annual General Adjustment (AGA) that the unit would have been eligible for

  • Any Rent Board-approved adjustments (typically the result of a petition between tenant and landlord)

The rent registry does not reflect:

  • What the tenant may actually be paying

  • Whether the owner skipped increasing the rent based on an AGAs

  • Passthroughs taken for pre-1999 tenancies (these are only temporary and not permanent increases)

✅ Note: Every January the Rent Board applies the AGA to each rent controlled unit in their database. That becomes the publicly published ALRC.

If you've ever charged less than the rent ceiling or chose not to implement a rent increase, the Rent Board’s ALRC number may appear higher than your rent ledger. That's fine, so as long as the rent for the tenant is no greater than the lawful rent ceiling.

IIf the published ALRC looks too low, it may be due to incorrect information or assumptions about the tenancy.

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. Check to see if the tenancy start date and the initial rent match your records.

2. There was a data entry error at the Rent Board.

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 to pre-1999 tenancies. This was an allowable monthly amount that changed annually. Once the 12 months passed, owners are required to back out the pass through before calculating the next allowable rent increase. 

Another possible discrepancy can happen when an owner charges for an additional occupant without petitioning the Rent Board for that right. Without the Rent Board's knowledge and approval, they would not incorporate that 10% additional rent increase into the rent ceiling. These reasons may cause your internal calculation to be higher than the ALRC.

🛑 Note: The Rent Board has eliminated the registration fee pass-through effective January 2026. This pass through 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 apply them in the future. 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 at any given time. If your current rent is below the ALRC, you may increase the rent to the rent ceiling, at your discretion, and by serving proper notice to the tenant.

5. You may have taken the first rent increase before you were permitted to.

Berkeley prohibits rent increases after the first 12 months. A tenancy does not become eligible for the AGA rent increase until January 1 of the third calendar year after the tenancy began. 

How to Calculate the Lawful Rent Ceiling On Your Own

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, go 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 and will appear in the ALRC notice if recorded correctly.

Step 2: Determine When the Tenancy First 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 Rent Board's AGA chart does not identify eligibility — it simply lists the percentage increases authorized by the ordinance for each year since the inception of rent control 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 Any 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. Use the Rent Board's AGA List to determine the allowable amount for each calendar year.

Example:

  • Base Rent: $1,500 (tenancy began somewhere 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

🛑 Note: If you inherited a tenancy and/or have a long-term tenancy, you may want to confirm the "last certified rent" for the unit. You can contact the Registration Unit to request documentation that may reflect the result of a petition and a Certified Rent for the tenancy.

What to Do Next

AGA calculations are 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.

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