Editorial News Alert: L.A. City Creates New Enforcement Program Against All Non-RSO Property Owners
Editorial News Alert
L.A. City Creates New Enforcement Program Against All Non-RSO Property Owners
By Janet M. Gagnon,
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs & External Relations
On November 5th, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to create a new enforcement program applicable to all rental housing providers with properties that are not currently subject to the city’s existing rent stabilization ordinance (RSO). All property owners who have multifamily properties built after October 1, 1978, single-family houses (including mansions), condominiums, accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and Junior ADUs (collectively, “Non-RSO” owners) will now be required to pay $31.05 per rental housing unit to the City of Los Angeles in order to pay for this new enforcement program, which will hold rental property owners accountable to comply with several, recently passed ordinances targeting Non-RSO owners, and that will be implemented in December 2024.
The new ordinances include:
- Requiring property owners to pay mandatory relocation fees to renters of up to $12,211 if the owner raises the annual rent by more than 10% or Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus 5%, whichever is lower.
- Restricting evictions to specific Just Cause reasons only, including mandatory relocation fees for No-Fault evictions to be paid by property owners to existing renters in amounts up to $27,500.
- Restricting evictions to renters who have fallen behind in paying rent by at least one month’s worth of fair market rent (“threshold”).
- Restricting owners from asking certain questions or taking certain actions towards renters, including actions that disturb the comfort, repose, peace or quiet of a renter or interfering with their use and enjoyment of the rental unit, as forms of harassment with severe mandatory judgment awards.
- Mandating the continued allowance of pets obtained by renters during COVID-19 without the property owner’s permission.
AAGLA’s Advocacy Efforts
AAGLA zealously advocated both behind the scenes and in-person at committee meetings as well as the full city council to delay the implementation of this program for six months to allow the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) to conduct a robust, citywide outreach campaign to Non-RSO owners in order to make them aware of these new ordinances. We argued that NO outreach had been conducted by the City to make property owners aware of these new regulations despite the City paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to educate renters on their rights via the Stay Housed LA program. Also, we highlighted the fact that LAHD does not have email addresses for many of these owners and that a simple email blast and a few social media postings would be woefully inadequate to reach the majority of Non-RSO owners.
In addition, we urged the reduction of the 150% penalty for non-compliance within 60 days as way too severe and setting up a dynamic of hostility between the City and owners. We argued that such a penalty was inappropriate given that the City would only be able to conduct very minimal outreach between now and the end of the year when LAHD intends to implement the new program and start sending out bills for the new fee. As a result, the City is creating a “gotcha” penalty without proper advanced notice to educate owners.
Unfortunately, these reasonable requests were completely ignored by the City Council as it made no changes and moved forward rapidly and unanimously through committees as well as a full City Council vote. It is greatly disturbing that the City Council now seems to view rental housing providers as presumptively guilty of intentional misconduct without the need for any advanced education to private property owners by the City or a reasonable opportunity to remedy unintended deficiencies.
We would urge all rental housing providers, especially those new to the industry, to acquaint themselves with these many new ordinances. AAGLA will be offering a webinar in the near future to help walk owners through these many new restrictions. We also encourage everyone to spread the word to anyone renting out their single-family properties, condominiums, accessory dwelling units (ADUs), Junior ADUs and newer multifamily buildings of all sizes to become AAGLA members and get educated on these ordinances and the City’s new enforcement program.
This article is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions regarding your property or specific tenancies and the requirements of any local law changes described herein, please consult with an attorney.