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Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Tenant Relocation Assistance Last Updated: July 2019
Every week I receive questions about relocation assistance from California tenants in the greater Los Angeles area who have been served with a notice to vacate inquiring about whether or not they are entitled to relocation assistance. This article explains: (1) who is entitled to relocation assistance; (2) what amount a landlord must pay in relocation assistance; and (3) when the relocation assistance must be paid.
If you have additional questions regarding relocation assistance for tenants in Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Pasadena or Glendale or would like the assistance of a Los Angeles county landlord tenant attorney, please schedule a low cost SAME DAY telephone consultation (as little as $125) by completing our Telephone Consultation Request Form and Melissa Marsh will call you back at the time you select.
Landlords with multi-family residential properties, or single family residences operating as a "boarding house," located in Los Angeles County that were originally built on or before October 1, 1978, are required to provide monetary relocation assistance when evicting tenants from units covered by the Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) if:
In addition, California Health & Safety Code Section 50651 and Ordinance 174,477 (effective 3/21/2002) provide for tenant relocation fees when a local enforcement agency orders the unit vacated due to an immediate threat to the tenants’ health and safety and the owner fails or refuses to pay the relocation fee to displaced tenants. The fees may be paid by the enforcement agency issuing the order and shall be recovered from the owner at the rate of 1˝ times the original relocation fee paid.
And lets not forget those illegal garage conversions in Los Angeles. Los Angeles landlords are required to provide the mandated relocation assistance and to file a Declaration of Intent to Evict with the Los Angeles Housing Department BEFORE serving the tenant with a notice to vacate pursuant to a government order to comply.
If you have determined that you are entitled to relocation assistance, or must pay relocation assistance, the next question is what amount of relocation assistance is the landlord required to pay?
If a tenant is residing on a "Mom and Pop" Property (4 or less units owned by a person who has 4 or less residential units in Los Angeles and a single family residence on a separate lot), AND the landlord seeks to have an eligible relative move into the rental unit, then the landlord is required to pay $8,200 for "Eligible" Tenants and $16,500 for "Qualified" Tenants.
If the tenant is residing on a property with more than 4 units, OR if the landlord owns more than four units in Los Angeles County (e.g. 2 separate 4 unit buildings), the required relocation assistance depends on: (a) how long the tenant has resided on the property, (b) whether the tenant is "qualified," and (c) whether the tenant's income is below 80% of the average medium income.
A "qualified" tenant is any tenant who is: (1) 62 years of age or older; or (2) disabled as defined under California Health and Safety Code Section 50072; or (3) residing with one or more minor dependent children. All other tenants are "Eligible."
Type of Tenant Eligible or Qualified |
Resided in the Rental Less Than 3 Years |
Resided in the Rental 3 Years or More |
Income Below 80% AMI ($54,250 for 1 tenant; and $62,600 for 2 tenants) |
---|---|---|---|
Eligible | $8,500 | $11,150 | $11,150 |
Qualified | $17,950 | $21,200 | $21,200 |
Eligible Tenant |
Qualified Tenant |
---|---|
$8,200 | $16,500 |
Another frequently asked question is how much is owed if there are multiple tenants in a rental unit. When there is only one tenant, the entire relocation assistance fee is to be paid in full to the only tenant in the rental unit. If there are multiple tenants in a rental unit (e.g. roommates), then each tenant is entitled to a pro-rata share of the relocation assistance fee.
If you own a multi unit building built after October of 1978 but before 2005, or live in a building built after 1978 but before 2005, then a landlord seeking to evict a tenant without "Just Cause" (e.g. without a 3 Day Notice to Cure or Quit), may be required to pay relocation assistance under the newly enacted California Tenant Protections and Relief Act.
If you have additional questions, or would like the assistance of a Los Angeles county landlord tenant attorney, please schedule a telephone consultation for as little as $125 by completing our Telephone Consultation Request Form and Melissa Marsh will call you back at the time you select.
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Located in Los Angeles, California, the Law Office of Melissa C. Marsh handles business law and corporation law matters as a lawyer for clients throughout Los Angeles including Burbank, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Valley Village, North Hollywood, Woodland Hills, Hollywood, West LA as well as Riverside County, San Fernando, Ventura County, and Santa Clarita. Attorney Melissa C. Marsh has considerable experience handling business matters both nationally and internationally. We routinely assist our clients with incorporation, forming a California corporation, forming a California llc, partnership, annual minutes, shareholder meetings, director meetings, getting a taxpayer ID number (EIN), buying a business, selling a business, commercial lease review, employee disputes, independent contractors, construction, and personal matters such as preparing a will, living trust, power of attorney, health care directive, and more.