Multifamily and Duplex Properties for Sale in Davis: Zoning and Rent Rules

What multifamily in Davis looks like

Davis rental housing is shaped by UC Davis. Older duplexes and small apartment buildings sit in the neighborhoods closest to campus and downtown, larger garden apartment complexes line the arterials in North, West and South Davis, and newer mid-rise buildings are rising under the 2023 Downtown Code. Many single-family homes also rent to students, and the city treats a rented house as a regulated rental just like an apartment building. Two local rules matter on every purchase: a citywide rental registration program and a city transfer tax charged on top of the County’s. For two to four units, read financing 2-4 unit properties; for larger buildings, see apartment building loans.

Where the zoning allows it

Chapter 40 sets density in its apartment districts by minimum lot area per unit, varying with bedroom count.

R-HD near campus. R-HD is intended for sites near downtown or the university. Ground-floor student-oriented commercial uses can be allowed there by conditional use permit, as can living groups and single room occupancy units.

Downtown housing. On sites listed for ministerial housing approval downtown, at least 20% of the units must be affordable to lower-income households.

ADUs and SB 9. Ministerial ADUs are an accessory use in R-3, and state ADU law applies across residential zones. SB 9 splits and duplexes apply in single-family districts. See our SB 9 lot split guide and ADU investment guide.

Growth at the edge. New residential land outside the current urban designations generally needs voter approval under Article 41.01, with a narrow exemption of up to five acres a year for permanently affordable housing.

Rent rules: state law, no local cap

The Attorney General’s rent cap page, updated July 16, 2026, lists no local rent stabilization in Yolo County and puts it under All Other Counties: covered units may rise up to 7.7% for increases from August 1, 2025 and up to 8.6% from August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027. The city’s Rental Resources page also points owners to the Tenant Protection Act, but in October 2026 it showed a different figure for 2025, so rely on the AG chart. Davis’s own landlord-tenant article, Article 18.02, protects tenants’ right to organize and bars retaliation, but sets no rent limit. See our AB 1482 guide and just cause eviction guide.

Davis rental property rules

The Rental Resources Program, created in 2017, is codified in Article 18.11 (Ordinance 2496, amended by Ordinance 2573 in 2020).

• Registration. Owners of single-family rentals (one to four units) and multifamily rentals (five or more) must register before renting and verify registration each year. Fees are set by council resolution and due January 1, with a 50% penalty if delinquent.
• Local manager. An owner who does not live locally must name a manager within 50 miles of the city who is not a tenant.
• Inspections. One-to-four-unit rentals are in the inspection program, through random audits, complaints or staff-initiated visits, with at least twice-yearly inspections of problem properties. New units are exempt from inspection for five years.
• Buying a rental. The new owner must notify the city within 60 days of closing or recording, or any existing inspection certification for a single-family rental is void.
• Tenant information. Before each tenancy or renewal, owners give tenants a city-approved notice of rights and responsibilities, and owners arrange move-in inspections.
• Harassment and retaliation. The article bars tenant harassment, with statutory damages of $1,000 to $5,000 per offense and more for elderly or disabled tenants, and bars retaliatory rent increases after a complaint to the city.
• Relocation and return. If the city orders a unit vacated because of the owner’s deficiencies, the owner pays relocation under Health and Safety Code Section 17975 and gives the tenant a six-month right to return at the same rent.
• Exemptions. ADUs on owner-occupied lots, rooms in owner-occupied homes, mobile home parks and hotels are exempt from registration. Mobile home park closures and conversions are separately covered by Article 18.12.

Short stays and transfer tax. Stays of 30 days or less pay the city’s 12% transient occupancy tax. The city’s real property transfer tax is 27.5 cents per $500, in addition to the County’s $0.55 per $500 under Section 3-2.04.

Older buildings, balconies and student wear

Much of the apartment stock near campus is wood frame from the 1960s through the 1980s, and student turnover means more frequent unit turns and move-in inspections. Budget SB 721 balcony inspections for buildings of three or more units with elevated balconies or walkways, and consider a seismic retrofit review for buildings with tuck-under parking.

Underwriting a Davis multifamily purchase

1. Confirm the property is registered and fees are current, and plan to notify the city within 60 days of closing.
2. Add the city transfer tax to the county tax in closing costs.
3. Classify each unit under AB 1482 and model covered increases at or below 8.6%.
4. Check unit count against the R-3 or R-HD lot-area table by bedroom mix; extra units may be legal nonconforming.
5. Collect leases, the rent roll, move-in inspection forms and estoppel certificates.
6. Rebuild expenses with reassessed taxes, registration fees and SB 721 costs in our rental property analysis.

Questions people ask

Sources & notes

1. California Attorney General, Rent Caps
2. Davis Municipal Code, Article 18.11, Rental Registration and Inspection
3. City of Davis, Rental Resources Program
4. Article 18.02, Landlord-Tenant Relations
5. Articles 40.08 (R-3) and 40.09 (R-HD)
6. Article 40.13, Downtown Davis Zones
7. Article 41.01, Citizens’ Right to Vote
8. Articles 15.04 and 15.05
9. Yolo County Code Section 3-2.04

Note: We did not read the R-1, R-2 or P-D articles, Article 18.12, the city’s ADU provisions or fee resolutions. The age of the apartment stock is a general observation, not from a source.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.

Related: Davis real estate guide · Commercial real estate in Davis · Multifamily investing guide · Investor services