Cal. Civ. Code § 4
General prohibition; exception
Operative Text
Section 4. No city or town may enact, maintain or enforce rent control of any kind, except that any city or town that accepts this chapter may adopt rent control regulation that provides: (a) after six months from the date of the initial adoption of rent control regulation by a particular city or town, compliance on the part of property owners as to the rent control regulation or any subsequently adopted rent control regulation shall be entirely voluntary and uncoerced, and the property of a person or entity declining to have his or its property subjected to such regulation shall be wholly unaffected by any aspect of the rent control regulation or any subsequently adopted rent control regulation; (b) such regulation may not include the regulation of occupancy, services, evictions, condominium conversion or the removal of properties from such regulation, nor may such regulation apply to any rental unit that is owned by a person or entity owning less than ten rental units or that has a fair market rent exceeding $400; and (c) a municipality adopting such regulation shall compensate owners of rent controlled units for each unit in the amount of the difference between the unit's fair market rent and the unit's below market, rent controlled rent, with such compensation coming from the municipality's general funds, so that the cost of any rent control shall be borne by all taxpayers of a municipality and not by the owners of regulated units only.
Mass. Gen. Laws c. 40P, Section 4 establishes a statewide default ban on rent control, while carving out a narrow opt-in path for municipalities that formally accept the chapter. Any rent control program adopted under this opt-in must meet three conditions: participation by property owners must become fully voluntary after six months; the program cannot regulate occupancy, evictions, services, condo conversions, or removal from regulation, and cannot cover smaller landlords (those owning fewer than ten units) or higher-rent units; and the municipality itself must compensate regulated property owners from general funds for the difference between market rent and the controlled rent.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under Mass. Gen. Laws c. 40P, Section 4, a compliant operator in a municipality that has opted into this chapter generally tracks whether the six-month window has elapsed, since after that point participation in any rent control program is entirely voluntary and a property owner's decision to opt out leaves the property wholly unaffected by the regulation. Operators who own fewer than ten rental units, or whose units carry a fair market rent above $400, should be aware that the statute expressly excludes such properties from coverage. Landlords subject to a below-market controlled rent under this framework are entitled to municipal compensation from general funds equal to the difference between the controlled rent and the fair market rent.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Mass. Gen. Laws c. 40P, Section 4 shapes what protections, if any, a local rent control ordinance adopted under this chapter can lawfully provide to renters. Because the statute bars regulation of evictions, services, and occupancy under any such program, tenants should understand that a locally adopted rent control scheme operating under this chapter has a more limited scope than rent stabilization laws in other states. Tenants who believe a local ordinance exceeds the boundaries set by Section 4, or who have questions about whether their unit is covered, may find it useful to contact a local tenant-rights organization or a rent board if one exists in their municipality.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated September 13, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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