Rent Control, Los Angeles Ouch!

Something to think about, Los Angeles rent stabilization ordinance.

Let’s say your mom is 70 years old, she lives off her social security of 680.00 per month, try it. She’s a bit lonely ‘cause you don’t come by so much any more and well, she could use a couple extra bucks so she rents a room in her home to a college student. That student stays a semester. Now your mom has a rental unit ‘cause if the student stays more than 30 days such accommodation shall become a rental unit subject to the provisions of the rent stabilization ordinance. She’s happy to have that extra 100 bucks a month from the student. But then she realizes, he’s not a bad kid she just doesn’t want him around any more. Well, he happens to be studying law and lets her know she can’t just evict him for no reason cause she lives in Los Angeles and in Los Angeles we have rent control and even though he’s only paid 300dollars ‘cause he’s been there for a semester, if she wants him to leave it’s going to cost her 6,810 ‘cause in Los Angeles we have rent control. Well all she has in the bank is 187.46 and she can’t pay the kid the relocation assistance. So the city pays the kid the relocation assistance then comes after your mom for repayment but she can’t ‘cause remember, she only has 187.46 in the bank. So they slap a lien on her house. ‘cause in Los Angeles we have rent control. I guess my question is How far from the truth is this scenario?

Fortunately Rent control is only in effect if there are 2 or more legal units on the property.  So if someone rents a room in their single house, not a problem.  However if Grandma rented a unit above her garage, then rent control would be in effect.  Also under rent control, you can not ask someone to move, just because you no longer want them there, there are only a few reasons:

To tear down the unit and remove it from renting out forever

To move a family member in

It's really ridiculous and violates property owners rights.

Hi Bernadette,

I would "think" that if one is used soley for storage, it would not fall under relocation assistance, since you are just taking back a storage place...but I'd check it out with the Housing Authority before doing anything.  Do you plan to have someone move into that unit? Is it registered with the city as multiple units? I would definitely investigate all of your uncle's rights prior to taking any action.  If I can help you, please let me know.

Mrs. Chambliss,

i have been living in San Pedro now for almost four years, i have been miserable ever since.  The reason being, my landlords.  We live in a two bedroom cottage sized house in the back of two other units, we have had nothing but problems the last two years.  Starting with a crazy neighbor who has harrassed me, broken into my home, had her son threaten to beat me up in front of my two children(the landlords were informed of this and all they did was tell her she can't do that and went home)i have been informed by neighbors and a couple former tenants that she has managed to create problems with every tenant that moves in,& with some others in the neighborhood. My landlords Sissa and Alan have been totally disrespectful to me and my family in almost every way possible.  For some reason the lady who has put us through misery seems to have everything done for her all the time, they literally cater to her and ignore important issues with our house.  I have sent them letters in regards to plumbing in the kitchen(which they did not fix until two months later when i called the health department)and also in the bathroom.  It turns out the main pipe was cracked and items were catching on the crack and blocking up. I went through such a hard time to get these people to come and take care of this and they were very rude to us while doing it.  The plumber even made a comment to my husband that the couple is cheap and they want things done quick and cheap. While the pipe was being replaced the owners father came into our home while we were gone without any notice, he claims that their was a leak and he needed to stop the washer, but their was not.  About half of the items i had stored in the cellar were ruined due to the pipe being cracked.  I had furniture stored down there that would not fit in the house and some of the pieces were antiques.  The furniture all had dark green spots, splitting and swelling.  They never had any one clean up the mess in the cellar they left all of that nasty water down there.  I talked to the landlord about this last week(making yet another attempt to have that matter resolved)and today i got a letter in the mailbox from Sissa stating that they are raising are rent from 1175 to 1228.  Can they do this?  I thought a landlord had to go put in a request and show just cause and get it approved from the rent control board to be able to increase rent. The house is not even worth the 1175 we were paying to begin with.  We have an infestation of ants(which i have informed the owners about on a few occasions)they are even burrowing through the panels of the house on the exterior.  Two days ago we witnessed a mouse running through the living room and down into the heater.  The owner told my husband to by a couple traps and he would reimburse us or deduct from the rent. We are by no means dirty people, i am very clean. Our heater did not work for months and the inspection cap was missing. We had to cook from a barbecue for a couple of months because our stove did not work properly. The stove was fixed, but poorly.  The oven only gets one temperature, extremely hot. To many issues about the house to list in this, but i am sure you get the drift.

One more thing i was curious about.  When we first moved here we lived in one of the front units, we moved from the one bedroom in front to the two bedroom in back and almost three months after us living in the two bedroom the landlord sends us a letter stating that we need to pay him an additional three hundred dollars deposit for the two bedroom.  They have also decided now from the recent letter to not renew our lease but to have a month to month tenancy with the same conditions as the lease.

Any advice you can provide would be wonderful.  I would very much appreciate it.

Sincerely,

 Elena Rico

Hi Elena,

First of all, I am sorry to hear about all your troubles.  It's never nice to live somewhere so stressful.  I have to say, I am not an attorney, but I will give what information I can.  If you have an active lease, your landlord must abide by the lease during that time.  They can not raise the rent, ask for more deposit etc..but it must all be in writing.  They also can not discontinue the lease and go to month to month unless the lease is actually over.  They would be wise to keep you in a lease because it protects them from rent control.  If you are on a month to month, your unit would be subject to rent control (if it was built pre 1979) and there are stricter rules.  The landlord can in fact raise the rent under rent control 4-5% a year depending on conditions, but only once a year.  $1228 for a 2 bedroom in San Pedro is quite low.  Rents have sky rocketed in the recent past.  I would suggest you contact the Housing Authority with your paperwork and concerns or a landlord/tenant attorney for specific questions.

Hi Elena,

My brother bought a home in North Hollywood a few years back.  It has 3 units (2/1, 1/1, 1/1).  My brother moved into the 2/1 when he bought the home and paid the tenant to moved out.  The realtor whom helped him bought the home told him that the property wasn't located in rent control area and that's one of the reason he went ahead to sign the purchase agreement.  However, during escrow he was too busy to read everything in the paper and didn't know what he signed and only found out later after he moved into the property, it is under rent control.  His plan was to have our mother and his father (separated) each to live those individual units so they can live closely.  But the tenants didn't want to move out. 

I am also concern about the safety of the tenants because it seems too crowded for them to live in such a small space.  One of the 1/1 unit has 2 adults + 3 children and the other 1/1 unit has 2 adults + 2 children.  Both unit is less than 600sqft. 

Do you by chance know any real estate attorney that may be able to help with my brother's situation?

There are regulations as to how many people can live in each unit..These units are over the limit..however the problem comes if the people keep having children.

If it wasn't disclosed that the property was under rent control when he purchased it, he can go after both Realtors and the Seller of the property for damages, which would probably be the relocation fee for both units and attorney fees, however if it was disclosed and he didn't read it...it is 100% his fault.

If he wants to move out the tenants, he would have to file his plan with the city, follow procedure and pay relocation fees...which is WAY too much in my opinion $17,400 per unit.  He can only move them out on certain circumstances...like moving a family member in.

He should first contact the city to find out his rights and the procedure to relocate the tenants and then look for a landlord/tenant attorney if he needs one.

The other thing to do is to negotiate directly with the tenants, offer them money to move with terms like helping them find a new rental, plenty of time etc and if they accept it (in writing) you can go that route rather than the relocation process.

How much relocation money do I have to give to a couple living in my duplex in order to move in myself?

They have lived there 5 months.

Chris,

If your tenants do not have minor children living with them, are not over the age of 62 and have no disabilities and make over $45,000 combined you would need to pay them $7300.

If they do have minor children, are over 62 and make less than $45000 you have to pay them $15,500.

Keep in mind you will need to live in the property for 2 years after they move out.

Sucks, doesn't it?  Thank the mayor and city council for continously raising the relocation fees.

I have lived in a rental house for 20 years going on twenty one and i have 1 minor and a 61 year old disabled adult living with me. The landlord wants us to move because she wants to sell the property. How much money does the landlord have to pay me in relocation fees?

I have lived in a rental house for 20 years going on twenty one and i have 1 minor and a 61 year old disabled adult living with me. The landlord wants us to move because she wants to sell the property. How much money does the landlord have to pay me in relocation fees?

I have lived in a rental house for 20 years going on twenty one and i have 1 minor and a 61 year old disabled adult living with me. The landlord wants us to move because she wants to sell the property. How much money does the landlord have to pay me in relocation fees?

I have lived in a rental house for 20 years going on twenty one and i have 1 minor and a 61 year old disabled adult living with me. The landlord wants us to move because she wants to sell the property. How much money does the landlord have to pay me in relocation fees?

Hi, thanks for the site and I am going to try to keep this simple.

My landlord owns what I suppose is a duplex. A front home and a much larger home built behind the front home.

She tried to rent the back home but could not get what she was asking so she started renting rooms individually.

It has been a diaster because she has an abusive ex con she rented to who is not paying her and terrorizing the other tenants. 

She wants to serve him with a 3 day but is afraid.  She her husband and his family have made a habit of entering the home whenever they like, even though none of them live there without notice.

Is this legal and because I really care for this woman when she does try and evict this very problematic tenant will have recourse under the relocation program, where she may end up owing him money?

Lastly is it legal for her to rent the rooms out in Pedro or is that considered a boarding house and is not legal for her to operate?

I've seen her make some very expensive mistakes by not checking with the local ordinances and laws in other areas of her life. 

Would love to help her stay out of trouble and get rid of the bad guy all at the same time.

Any advice?