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FAA
FOOTHILL APARTMENT ASSOCIATION ANEWS UPDATE
s the summer progresses, we have as to how and when these will be enforced. What we been getting many questions at the can say for sure is that if you have a property exempt office concerning rent increases. Can from the state rent control law, and you are going to I raise the rent? How much can I raise raise the rent more than 10%, you do need to give the the rent? And are there any other tenants a 90-day notice.
considerations I need to be aware of?
The answers to all of these questions depends on where the rental property is located and
what type of property we’re discussing.
In the unincoprporated areas of Los Angeles County there is a “rent freeze,” this means no rent increases are allowed until the eviction moratorium is lifted. The same goes for the City of Los Angeles. But every other incorporated city in our region has no rent freeze, therefore you can raise the rent. Many cities had rent increase freezes last year, but all have since expired.
The allowable increase, under the terms of the California State Tenant Protection Act of 2019, for our region, is currently 8.6%. Of course, if your property is a single-family home, or an owner occupied duplex, you are exempt from the state rent control law, so you are not limited to 8.6 percent, but there is a special consideration. If there is a “state of emergency” in effect in the state, you are not supposed to raise your rent more than 10%. This was part of the price gouging laws that were enacted due to the wildfires we were experiencing a few years back. Needless to say, Covid-19 qualifies as well. But these laws have never been challenged in court, so it is anyone’s guess
Other considerations would be checking to see if your city has any local ordinances. For example, the City of Glendale enacted a law in March of 2019 that requires all properties of 5 units or more to pay relocation fees in the amount of 3-6 times the proposed rent (depending on how long the tenant has occupied the unit) if they give an increase in rent that is over 7%. Single family homes, duplex, townhouse, condos, and ADUs are exempt from this ordinance, but units of 3-4 units on a lot will have to pay relocation fees to tenants who make less than 130% Area Median Income.
The city of Pasadena passed a similar Tenant Protection Ordinance a few months later in 2019, though the terms of qualification and amounts of assistance vary, in spirit, each of these cities enacted these laws in response to the ongoing affordable housing crisis.
As you can see, things have gotten pretty complicated. The Foothill Apartment Association’s website faaonline.net can help. Each of the notices and guides to the above-mentioned local ordinances are on our forms page, free to our members. We are constantly updating our news, information, and resources so check in often for all the latest.
All content within this column is provided for general information and should not be treated as a substitute for the legal advice of your lawyer or any other financial or legal professional. The FAA is not responsible or liable for any decision made by a reader based on the content of this article. The FAA is not liable for the contents of any external internet sites listed, nor does it endorse any commercial product or service mentioned or advised on any of the external sites listed.
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