Can a California landlord raise rent at lease renewal?

Yes. The end of a fixed-term California lease is the typical (and statutorily safest) time for a rent increase. The landlord serves a renewal offer with the new rent, with at least the statutory notice period before the current term ends (California requires 30 days notice for rent increases of 10% or less and 90 days notice for increases above 10%. AB 1482 caps annual increases at the lower of 5% + local CPI or 10% flat, with exemptions for natural-person single-family owners and buildings under 15 years old.). The tenant has three options: accept and sign for the new term at the new rent, decline and vacate at term end, or stay past term end and convert to a holdover or month-to-month tenancy depending on state law. Where rent control applies, the renewal increase is capped at the statutory annual cap even at renewal. If the tenant continues paying the old rent past the renewal date without signing, California courts often treat this as acceptance of the new rent only if the landlord has given proper written notice and accepted the new payment.

Source: Cal. Civ. Code 827(b)