The City of Maywood has an eviction limitation laws for most rental units within the City, under a 2008 Ordinance requiring just cause for evictions.   This article summarizes the City’s allowable just cause reasons for evictions, and the circumstances under which relocation assistance must be paid to displaced tenants. 

Exempt Properties

Single family homes are not covered by the Ordinance.  The other excluded properties are:

• rooms or accommodations in hotels

• housing accommodations in a hospital, convent, monastery, church, religious facility, extended care facility, asylum, non-profit home for the aged

• dormitories owned by an institution of higher education, or a high school or elementary school

• rental units that are temporary housing or drug counseling

Allowable Reasons for Eviction

The Ordinance lists several just cause reasons for an eviction, which are as follows:

• Non-Payment of Rent

• Violation of Rental Agreement, after tenant has been given opportunity to cure the violation.  There is an exception when the violation involves occupancy limits, and the additional occupant is a family member or the sole additional adult

• Nuisance, waste and disorderly conduct

• Illegal Purpose. The tenant is using, or permitting a rental unit, the common areas of the rental unit or rental complex containing the rental unit for an illegal purpose

• Tenant has refused landlord’s request to enter into a new lease having the same or similar terms and duration as the expiring one

• Denial of Access to Unit

• Unapproved subtenant – where a person in possession of the rental unit at the end of a lease term is a sub-tenant not approved by the landlord

• Owner/Relative Move-In subject to certain exceptions set forth in the Ordinance

• Demolition. The landlord seeks in good faith to recover possession in order to remove the rental unit permanently from rental housing use pursuant to state law or seeks in good faith to demolish the unit

• Compliance with Order to Vacate. The landlord seeks in good faith to recover possession of the rental unit in order to comply with a government agency’s order to vacate

Relocation Assistance Obligation

Subject to certain exceptions, a relocation assistance fee must be paid if the termination of tenancy is based one of the no fault reasons specified in the Ordinance.  The landlord must pay a relocation fee equal to two times the amount of the fair market rent as established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for a rental unit of similar size of that being vacated in Los Angeles County during the year the unit is vacated, plus one thousand dollars.

If a rental unit is occupied by two or more tenants, then each tenant of the unit must be paid a pro-rata share of the relocation fee.  The landlord must pay the relocation fee within fifteen days of service of a written notice of termination. The requirement to pay relocation assistance is applicable to all rental units, regardless of whether the rental unit was created or established in violation of any provision of law.

Please contact Lynx Legal with any questions regarding the above, and for all your eviction needs.  We can be reached at 888-441-2355 or [email protected].  You can also schedule a telephonic consultation on our website.  Our experienced professionals are standing by to answer any questions or complete the intake if you are ready to start a case.