If you’re a Los Angeles property owner seeking to evict or temporarily displace a tenant, you may be required to provide relocation assistance to the tenant in accordance with Los Angeles’ Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO).  This article summaries the properties falling within the RSO, and the circumstances under which relocation assistance is required.    

What Units are Covered by the RSO?

Generally, the RSO applies to rental properties first built on or before October 1, 1978, if they are any of the following:

• Apartment
• Condominium
• Townhome
• Duplex
• Two or more single family dwelling units on the same parcel
• Rooms in a hotel, motel, rooming house or boarding house occupied by the same tenant for 30 or more consecutive days
• Residential unit(s) attached to a commercial building
• Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU)
• Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit (JADU)
• Mobile Home
• Recreational Vehicle

What Types of Evictions Require Relocation Assistance under the RSO?

Under the RSO a landlord is only required to pay monetary relocation assistance payments to tenants being evicted through no fault of their own. Without a RSO cause, a tenancy may not be terminated. There are several no-fault reasons under the RSO in which a landlord can legally evict a tenant. For each reason, landlords must file a landlord declaration application with the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) before issuing a notice to move-out. The following eviction reasons require the payment of relocation assistance:

1. The landlord evicts for their own occupancy, a resident manager, or for the landlord’s spouse, children, grandchildren, parents or grandparents. Landlords must file a Declaration of Intent to Evict for Landlord Occupancy or Declaration of Intent for Owner/Family Occupancy or Declaration of Intent to Evict for Resident Manager;
2. The eviction is due to condominium conversion, demolition or the property is going to be permanently removed from the rental housing market (Ellis Act). Landlords must file Notice of Intent to Withdraw Units from Rental Housing Use;
3. The landlord evicts to comply with a governmental agency’s Order to Vacate. Landlords must file a Declaration of Intent to Evict in Order to Comply with a Government Agency’s Order;
4. The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is both the owner and plaintiff and seeks to recover possession in order the vacate the property prior to the sale. Landlords must file Declaration of Intent to Evict From a HUD-Owned Property Prior to Sale;
5. The rental unit is in a Residential Hotel and the landlord is going to convert or demolish the unit(s); and
6. The Landlord seeks in good faith to recover possession of the rental unit to convert the property to an affordable housing accommodation. Landlords must file a Declaration of Intent to Evict to Convert to Affordable Housing Accommodation.

Relocation Assistance Amount

The amount of relocation fees owed to the tenants by the landlord depends on whether the tenant is an eligible or qualified tenant, the length of tenancy, and the tenant’s income. Relocation Assistance is paid per unit, not per tenant. The amounts range from $9,200 to $23,000.

When Must Landlords Provide Payment?

The Ordinance requires timely relocation assistance payments to be made available to the tenant within fifteen days of service of the written notice of eviction. He landlord may elect to pay the monetary relocation benefits through an escrow account.

Tenant Remedies for Violation of the RSO’s Relocation Assistance Provisions

In an action by the landlord to recover possession of a rental unit, the tenant may raise as an affirmative defense the failure of the landlord to provide relocation assistance. The tenant may also file a Complaint with the LAHD for illegal eviction when the landlord has not provided relocation assistance.

Please contact Lynx Legal Services with any questions regarding the above, or if you are ready to start a case.  We can be reached at 925-237-9216, or online at [email protected].  You can also schedule a telephonic consultation with one of our representatives by clicking “Schedule a Consultation” on our website.