Los Angeles County Rent Control Laws

Many of our clients ask us, "What are the Los Angeles County rent control laws?" 

The Los Angeles County rent control laws are defined as follows: 

There are two categories of protections under the County’s RSO: Rent Stabilization Ordinance

1. Fully Covered Units, which have rent restrictions and “Just Cause” eviction protections; and

2. Partially Covered, or “Just Cause” only units, which protect tenants from evictions without “Just Cause” and applies to most rental units in unincorporated LA County

Fully Covered Units must:

• Be located in unincorporated Los Angeles County; and
• Be a residential dwelling on a property with two or more rental units, such as apartment complexes and duplexes; and
• Have an initial Certificate of Occupancy or equivalent issued on or before February 1, 1995

Apartments built from late 1978 to 2005 are subject to the statewide rent control laws. Other cities in and around Los Angeles County may have their own rent control laws. For rent control laws in surrounding cities and counties, Click Here.

The County’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance is a local law that limits rent increases above the allowable limit within a 12-month period and provides “just cause” eviction protections for most residential rental units in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. The RSO went into effect on April 1, 2020.

The RSO limits rent increases based on changes in the Consumer Price Index. The current allowable increase is 3% for rent-restricted units through June 30, 2021. The RSO does not limit rent increases for rental units covered only by “Just Cause” eviction protections. However, the State may limit how much rent can be increased for these units.

At-Fault: Tenant has broken the rental agreement in one or more of the following ways:

• Failure to pay rent within three days of receiving written notice from the landlord demanding payment
• A material breach of rental agreement (if a tenant has not fixed the problem within 10 days of receiving notice from the landlord)
• Failure to provide landlord reasonable access to the rental unit
• Creating a nuisance or using the rental unit for illegal purposes
• Failure to sign a substantially similar lease
• Failure to move out of the rental unit as required by an approved relocation application
• Household is above income limits in government-regulated units

No-Fault - "Just cause" (may require relocation assistance): Landlords can evict a tenant who has not broken the agreement for the following reasons:

• Owner move-in: Landlord or their spouse, registered domestic partner, children, grandchildren, dependent aunt or uncle, parents or grandparents want to move into the rental unit
• The landlord wishes to demolish or remove the property from the rental housing market per Government Code sections 7060 through 7060.7
• Government order

For rent control laws in surrounding cities and counties. Click Here

To find out if a rental unit is in unincorporated Los Angeles County visit the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk website at lavote.net/precinctmap, select “District Look Up by Address” and type the number and street name of the rental unit.