Rent Control - City of Los Angeles
Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO)

The purpose of the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) is to protect tenants from rent increases.

Residential rental units covered by the Los Angeles RSO include:

  • Apartments

  • Condominiums

  • Town homes

  • Duplexes

  • Two or more dwelling units on the same lot

  • Mobile homes

  • Mobile home pads

  • Rooms in a hotel, motel, rooming house or boarding house occupied by the same tenant for 30 or more consecutive days.

 

To be subject to the RSO of the City of Los Angeles, a property must meet the following three criteria:

  • The property must be within the City of Los Angeles; and

  • There must be two or more units on the lot; and

  • The building must have a Certificate of Occupancy issued on or before October 1, 1978. (In the case of mobile homes and mobile home pads, the park must have been issued a permit to operate before February 10, 1986).

 

Properties exempt from the RSO are as follows:

  • Properties located in other municipalities or within unincorporated areas within the County of Los Angeles;

  • Single family dwellings, used as such;

  • Properties (except mobile homes and mobile home pads) with a Certificate of Occupancy issued after October 1, 1978 (new construction);

  • Mobile homes or mobile home pads when the park was issued a permit to operate after February 10, 1986;

  • Government owned properties;

  • Units occupied by an owner or family member where no rents are collected;

  • Vacant units (10 days to register upon rental of the property);

  • Properties permanently removed from the rental market;

  • Luxury Housing Accommodations issued a Department Certificate;

  • Demolished RSO properties;

  • Schools/Hospitals;

  • Hotel/Motels - with tenancy under 30 days

  • Non-profit owner units, with certain qualifications.

 

The Rent Stabilization Ordinance covers four broad categories:

  • Allowable rent increases;

  • Registration of rental units;

  • 12 legal reasons for eviction;

  • Causes for eviction requiring relocation assistance payment to the tenant.

Rent Control Laws

Rent control laws in California transfer wealth from property owners to renters. This is undeniably true. Rent control laws exist because the voting power of renters exceeds the voting power of property owners. Thus, many politicians are motivated to take wealth from property owners and give it to renters in order to secure their positions of power as elected officials.

Notwithstanding the benefit to renters and politicians who vote for the transfer of wealth, rent control has several disadvantages: (1) The value of rental units is depressed resulting in the loss of wealth and lower property taxes for the government, (2) reduced new construction of rental units in rent controlled areas, (3) The inability of rental unit owners to maintain their properties due to the loss of income. Rent controlled areas are continuously deteriorating. Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland are perfect examples of what happens under rent control.

 

Pacific Apartment Management
818-991-5200