Housing · Rent control

Rent Control by State: Capped, Local, or Banned

Whether each state caps how much rent can rise, lets cities set their own limits, or bans local rent control outright, and the exemptions that apply. Each cited to the statute.

40 of 50 states so far, starting with the largest. States fall into three groups: a statewide cap, no state law so cities may act, or a law that bars cities from rent control at all.Here 4 set a statewide limit and 26 bar local control. Most states are in that last group. Every page links to the statute or the code it was read against.

Read this first: most states ban local rent control

Rent control means a legal cap on how much rent can rise. There is no federal rent control, so it is set state by state, and the surprising part is that most states have banned their own cities from enacting it. Only a few states set a statewide cap, a few more leave cities free to act, and the rest preempt local rent control entirely.

Two things to keep straight. First, rent control is not the same as a rent-increase-notice rule; a state with no rent cap can still make a landlord give you 30 or 60 days notice before raising the rent. Second, even where a cap exists it usually exempts newer buildings and single-family homes, so the cap may not reach your unit. Every figure links to the statute, and pages still pending verification say so.

Every state in one table

Whether rent is capped, who sets the limit, and the statute in each row.

Find your state

Type a state to jump straight to its full rent control guide.

Preempted (26)

State	Annual cap	Statute
Alabama		Ala. Code § 11‑80‑8.1
Arizona		Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33‑1329
Arkansas		Ark. Code Ann. § 14‑54‑1409
Colorado		Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38‑12‑301
Florida		Fla. Stat. § 125.0103
Georgia		O.C.G.A. § 44‑7‑19
Idaho		Idaho Code § 55‑306
Illinois		50 ILCS 825/5
Indiana		Ind. Code § 32‑31‑1‑20
Kansas		Kan. Stat. Ann. § 12‑16
Kentucky		Ky. Rev. Stat. § 65.875
Massachusetts		Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 40P, § 4
Minnesota		Minn. Stat. § 471.9996
Mississippi		Miss. Code Ann. § 21‑17‑5(2)(h)
Missouri		Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.043
Montana		Mont. Code Ann. § 7‑1‑111(26)
New Mexico		NMSA 1978 § 47‑8A‑1
North Carolina		N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42‑14.1
North Dakota		N.D. Cent. Code § 47‑16‑02.1
Ohio		Ohio Rev. Code § 5321.19(A)
Oklahoma		Okla. Stat. tit. 11, § 14‑101.1
South Dakota		S.D. Codified Laws § 6‑1‑13
Tennessee		Tenn. Code Ann. § 66‑35‑102
Texas		Tex. Local Gov't Code § 214.902
Utah		Utah Code § 57‑20‑1
Wisconsin		Wis. Stat. § 66.1015

No statewide cap (6)

State	Annual cap	Statute
Hawaii		Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521‑1
Iowa		Iowa Code ch. 562A
NebraskaCited		Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76‑1401
Nevada		Nev. Rev. Stat. ch. 118A
South Carolina		S.C. Code Ann. § 27‑40‑10
Wyoming		Wyoming Statutes

Statewide limit (4)

State	Annual cap	Statute
California	5% + CPI, max 10%	Cal. Civ. Code § 1947.12
New York		N.Y. Unconsol. Laws §§ 8621
Oregon	7% + CPI, max 10%	Or. Rev. Stat. § 90.324
Washington	7% + CPI, max 10%	Wash. Rev. Code § 59.18.700

Likely preempted (1)

State	Annual cap	Statute
LouisianaCited		Louisiana rent‑control preemption statute

Reportedly preempted (1)

State	Annual cap	Statute
MichiganCited		Mich. Comp. Laws § 123.411

No statewide cap (provisional) (1)

State	Annual cap	Statute
New HampshireCited		Girard v. Allenstown, 121 N.H. 268

Local allowed (1)

State	Annual cap	Statute
Pennsylvania		68 P.S. §§ 250.101

What these pages are, and what they aren't

Each state page is a reference for the rent control rule and the neutral steps around it. They are deliberately not advice for your lease: the cap, any local ordinance, and the exemptions turn on the unit and the city, so each page links to the statute or the code it was read against. This is legal information, not legal advice.