The Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO), Chapter XV of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, was enacted by City Council in 1978 and requires all property owners with qualifying residential rental units to register their units every year with the City of Los Angeles. The RSO restricts how much an owner can increase the rent each year (e.g., 5% through June 30, 2008 and 3% effective July 1, 2008), lists the 12 legal reasons for eviction, and establishes other laws relative to the renting of residential units.
All residential rental units in the City of Los Angeles, except for one-family dwellings that are the sole dwelling on a lot and units that qualify for any of the RENT exemptions. Units subject to Rent Registration include apartments, duplexes, and properties with multiple one-family dwellings; condominiums and town houses; mobile homes and mobile home pads; and rooms in a hotel, motel, rooming house, or boarding house occupied by the same tenant as a primary residence for more than 30 days.
The Systematic Code Enforcement Program (SCEP) is designed to routinely inspect all residential rental properties with two or more housing units on a periodic basis and to respond to reports of property violations. Inspections are conducted to ensure the safety and habitability of all occupied rental dwelling units.
The Los Angeles Housing + Community Investment Department (HCIDLA) schedules each property for a thorough inspection. A Notice of Inspection is mailed to each residential rental property owner approximately 30 days before the scheduled inspection. A secondary notice is posted at the site 5-7 days prior to the inspection to inform the tenants of the date and time to anticipate the arrival of the inspector. Properties that do not meet the minimum standards of the City and State codes regarding issues of maintenance, use, or habitability are identified and a written notice describing the violations is mailed to the owner and posted at the site. This document is called a Notice and Order to Comply or Notice and Order of Abatement. For most violations, property owners must abate all substandard property conditions within 30 days and according to the Compliance Date specified on the notice. However, when dangerous or hazardous conditions are observed the compliance period is reduced accordingly. Soon after the compliance date indicated on the notice, a second inspection is performed to verify that the corrective work has been completed.
If repairs are not completed within the time period specified on the Notice and Order to Comply or Notice and Order of Abatement, the owner will be summoned to an administrative General Manager’s Hearing to explain the reason(s) for non-compliance and specify the date the repairs will be completed. If further enforcement steps become necessary, the file may be forwarded to the Office of the City Attorney as a criminal complaint. The property may also be subject to inclusion in the Rent Escrow Account Program.
Property owners are charged an inspection fee of $43.32 per unit, per year. This fee is due annually even if the units are not inspected during that year of the current cycle.
Incorporated cities within Los Angeles County have their own individual code enforcement agencies, and should be contacted for violations in their respective jurisdictions, such as Burbank, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Inglewood, Santa Monica, and the City of West Hollywood. Please see the Government Pages in the front of the local phone directory for more information.
All residential units in the City of Los Angeles, except for one-family dwellings that are the sole dwelling on a lot and units that qualify for any of the SCEP exemptions in the preceeding table. Units subject to SCEP include apartments, duplexes, dwelling groups, and residential hotels.