// orinda · contra costa county
State law only: 8.8% for Aug 2026 to Jul 2027 on the units AB 1482 covers. An individually owned house or condo is exempt from the state cap only if the lease carries the statutory exemption notice; homes owned by a corporation or an LLC with a corporate member are not exempt. Most Orinda rentals are individually owned houses, so the notice is the whole game.
// the rulebook
Orinda has no local rent cap, so state law governs: an individually owned house or condo is exempt from the AB 1482 cap once the lease carries the statutory exemption notice, and everything else is limited to 8.8% for Aug 2026 to Jul 2027. The city asks for a business registration, in place since Sep 1, 2018, with an exemption under $10,000 in receipts. There is no registry and no local just-cause rule. The real cost here is not a cap. It is a $5,545 house sitting empty at about $185 a day, 5,241 acres of Very High fire-hazard zone (the most of any Contra Costa city) with 100-foot defensible-space rules and MOFD inspections, and an insurance market that has to be checked before a lease is signed. We write the exemption notice into every lease, keep the defensible-space work on a calendar ahead of inspection season, confirm coverage before a tenant moves in, and price to the school-district families and San Francisco professionals who rent here, so the house is leased rather than listed.
// what owners run into
Orinda has 5,241 acres of Very High fire-hazard zone on the 2025 state map, more than any other Contra Costa city. The 100-foot defensible-space rule and MOFD inspections fall on the owner, and a tenant who lets the brush grow is your citation.
This is a wildland-urban-interface community, and carrier availability is a live question. We check that the policy is in force and covers a tenant-occupied house before the listing goes up, not after a claim.
With roughly 830 renter households in town, the tenant pool is thin and moves on the school calendar. A listing that misses the summer window can sit through the fall, and every week empty costs about $1,290.
// start here
What your Orinda place should rent for, what the rules allow next year, and what we would do first. Written, within one business day.
// services
Priced to the market, screened to a written standard, leased with the notices your city requires.
The cap, the registry, the fee and the notice for your unit, each on its own calendar.
A 24-hour line, licensed vendors, your approval threshold, and the vendor's invoice with nothing added.
// questions
No. Orinda has no local cap, registry or just-cause ordinance. State law applies: 8.8% for Aug 2026 to Jul 2027 on covered units, and no cap on an individually owned house or condo if the lease carries the AB 1482 exemption notice. Without that notice your house is capped like an apartment.
We do not have a reliable Orinda-only figure. One listing service reports 14 to 21 days to lease in neighboring Lafayette at similar rents. At $5,545 a month that is $2,590 to $3,880 of lost rent per turnover, so we start marketing before the current tenant moves out, price from this month's comps, and have the house photographed and cleaned the week it empties.
Orinda has required a business registration since Sep 1, 2018, with an exemption for owners under $10,000 in annual receipts. A house renting at $5,545 passes that threshold in two months, so plan on registering. We handle the filing as part of onboarding.
East Bay managers typically charge 6 to 10% of collected rent plus a leasing fee of half to one month's rent. Our full schedule, including what is included and what is not, is on the fees page.
// neighborhoods
// who else you will find
Listed so you can compare. Most quote fees by phone; ours are on the fees page.
// nearby
// next step
A written rental analysis for your property, free, within one business day. No obligation and no sales call unless you ask for one.