Rent And Eviction Controls
There has been a growing trend in California of cities enacting local ordinances restricting rent increases, limiting the grounds for eviction and otherwise regulating the landlord-tenant relationship. In many cases, these ordinances impose additional disclosure, notice and reporting obligations on landlords and add additional procedural requirements for rent increases and evictions. We assist our clients in complying with these ordinances.
Difference Between Rent Control and Eviction Control
The term “rent control” is often used to refer to both rent control ordinances and eviction control ordinances. However, there is a distinction. Rent control ordinances limit the amount of rent that can be charged by the landlord. Eviction control ordinances limit the permissible grounds for eviction.
Cities with Rent and/or Eviction Control Ordinances
Cities with rent and/or eviction control ordinances include:
Alameda, Antioch, Baldwin Park, Bell Gardens, Berkeley, Beverly Hills, City of Commerce, Concord, Cudahy, Culver City, East Palo Alto, Fairfax, Gardena, Glendale, Hayward, Inglewood, Larkspur, Lagnua Beach, Los Angeles City, Los Angeles County (Unincorporated), Los Gatos, Mountain View, Oakland, Oxnard, Palm Springs, Pasadena, Pomona, Richmond, Sacramento, San Anselmo, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Ana, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, Thousand Oaks, and West Hollywood.
The City of Los Angeles includes many communities that many people mistake for separate cities, but which are actually a part of the City of Los Angeles and are governed by the City of Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) and/or Just Cause Eviction Ordinance (JCO). These communities include, but are not limited to, the following:
Adams-Normandie, Alsace, Angelino Heights, Arleta, Arlington Heights, Arlington Park, Atwater Village, Baldwin Hills, Bel Air, Berkeley Square, Beverly Crest, Beverly Glen, Beverlywood, Boyle Heights, Brentwood, Brookside, Byzantine Latino Quarter, Cadillac-Corning, Cahuega Pass, Cahuenga Pass, Canoga Park, Carthay, Castle Heights, Central City East, Central-Alameda, Century City, Century Palms/Cove, Chatsworth, Cheviot Hills, Chinatown/Historic LA, Cloverdale/Cochran, Country Club Heights, Country Club Park, Crenshaw, Crenshaw Manor, Crestview, Cypress Park, Del Rey, Downtown LA, Eagle Rock, East Hollywood, Echo Park, El Sereno, Elysian Park, Elysian Valley, Encino, Exposition Park, Faircrest Heights, Fairfax, Figueroa Park Square, Florence-Firestone, Franklin Village, Fremont Place, Glassell Park, Gramercy Park, Granada Hills, Green Meadows, Griffith Park, Hancock Park, Hansen Dam Rec Area, Harbor City, Harbor Gateway, Harbor Pines, Harvard Heights, Harvard Park, Hermon, Hidden Village, Highland Park, Historic Filipinotown, Historic West Adams, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Hyde Park, Jefferson Park, King Estates, Kinney Heights, Koreatown, L.A. International Airport, La Brea Hancock, La Tuna Canyon, Lafayette Square, Lake Balboa, Lakeview Terrace, Larchmont Village, Leimert Park, Lincoln Heights, Little Armenia, Little Bangladesh, Little Tokyo, Longwood, Los Feliz, Manchester Square, Mandeville Canyon, Maplewood-St. Andrews, Mar Vista, Marina Peninsula, Melrose, Melrose Hill, Mid-City, Mid-City West, Mid-Wilshire, Miracle Mile, Mission Hills, Montecito Heights, Monterey Hills, Mt. Washington, North Hills, North Hollywood, Northridge, Olympic Park, Pacific Palisades, Pacoima, Palisades Highlands, Palms, Panorama City, Park La Brea, Picfair Village, Pico Park, Pico Union. Playa del Rey, Playa Vista, Porter Ranch, Rampart Village, Rancho Park, Redondo Sycamore, Regent Square, Reseda, Reseda Ranch, Reynier Village, San Pedro, Sawtelle, Shadow Hills, Sherman Oaks, Silver Lake, South Carthay, South Park, South Robertson, St. Andrews Square, St. Elmo Village, Studio City, Sugar Hill, Sun Valley, Sunland, Sycamore Grove, Sycamore Square, Sylmar, Tarzana, Temple-Beaudry, Terminal Island, Thai Town, Toluca Lake, Toluca Terrace, Toluca Woods, Topanga State Park, Tujunga, University Expo Park West, University Hills, University Park, Valley Glen, Valley Village, Van Nuys, Venice, Vermont Knolls, Vermont Square, Vermont Vista, Vernon Central, Victoria Park, View Heights, Watts, Wellington Square, West Adams, West Adams Heights, West Adams Terrace, West Hills, West Los Angeles, West Toluca Lake, West Vernon, Westchester/LAX, Western Heights, Western Wilton, Westlake, Westside Village, Westwood, Wholesale District, Wilmington, Wilshire Center, Wilshire Park, Wilshire Vista, Wilshire Vista Heights, Windsor Square, Windsor Village, Winnetka, and Woodland Hills.
Likewise, there are properties with a Los Angeles address that are not actually located in the City of Los Angeles, but rather in an unincorporated area of the County of Los Angeles. The City’s ordinances do not apply to unincorporated portions of the County of Los Angeles. The County of Los Angeles has its own rent and eviction control ordinances.
Exemptions
Under California law (Costa-Hawkins), newly-constructed housing (whether multifamily or single family) issued a certificate of occupancy after February 1, 1995 is permanently exempt from any rental rate controls. (Civil Code § 1954.52(a)(1) & (2)) Likewise, tenancies in a single-family home, condominium, townhouse, stock cooperative or any unit that could be sold or transferred separately are generally exempt from any rental rate controls. (Civil Code § 1954.52(a)(3)) Also, cities with rent and/or eviction control ordinances often contain other exemptions. As such, it is important to review both state and local law to determine whether a rental unit is subject to a rent or eviction control ordinance.
Good Cause For Eviction
For properties subject to an eviction control ordinance, the landlord may only terminate the tenancy if the landlord has good cause as defined by the ordinance. Common examples of good cause include: (1) non-payment of rent, (2) violation of the rental agreement or lease, (3) unreasonable interference with the comfort, safety or enjoyment of other tenants, or damaging the rental unit or the property, (4) using the rental unit or the common areas of the property for an illegal purpose, (5) refusal to renew a lease or rental agreement of like terms and conditions, (6) refusing the landlord reasonable access to the rental unit for repairs, (7) the person in possession of the rental unit at the end of a lease term is a subtenant not approved by the landlord, (8) the landlord seeks in good faith to recover possession of the rental unit for use and occupancy by the landlord, the landlord’s relative or a resident manager, (9) the landlord seeks to recover possession to permanently remove the unit from the housing market, (10) the landlord seeks to recover possession so as to undertake substantial renovation work, and (11) the landlord the landlord seeks possession to comply with a government agency’s order.
Special Eviction Requirements
Rent control and just cause for eviction laws often require landlord’s to comply with special eviction procedures. These procedures may include, among other things, serving a warning notice (i.e. notice to cease or notice) before terminating the tenancy, providing certain information in an eviction notice and/or eviction complaint, filing a copy of the eviction notice with the local rent board, providing a renter protections notice to the resident and/or posting a copy in a common area, and/or serving a tenant with a copy of the landlord’s statement of registration with a local rent board.
Relocation Assistance
In certain circumstances, a landlord may be required to pay relocation assistance to evict a tenant.