During the worst years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the City enacted a number of emergency measures, including a moratorium on evictions and rent increases. As our economy recovered from the crisis, the City Council extended deadlines for the end of these emergency rules, but the public health emergency is over and ordinary regulation of rental agreements is resuming.
All rent owed from October 1 - January 31, 2023 must be paid by February 1, 2024.
Your City Council office cannot resolve housing issues, that is the role of the Los Angeles Housing Department.
For further information on your rights as a renter in the City of Los Angeles, visit: housing2.lacity.org
In the last year, the City Council enacted a new set of ordinances to protect renters from arbitrary evictions, while allowing rental property owners to collect the rent they depend on. Here are the basic rules that are now in effect.
- Landlords cannot evict tenants for non-payment who owe less than one month’s rent.
- If you’ve rented your apartment for at least six months, and have paid your rent, your landlord must show “Just Cause” for eviction.
- A renter may also be evicted through a “No Fault” eviction process. A landlord must pay three months fair market rent plus moving fees for “No Fault” evictions.
- If the landlord has raised your rent by more than 10 percent and you cannot afford to pay the increased rent, your landlord must pay three months fair market rent plus moving fees.
- If your rental unit was built before October 1978, it is covered by the City's Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO).
- Between now and June 30, 2024, landlords can raise rent on RSO units by 4 percent, if they do not pay for gas and electricity.
- If they pay for gas and electricity, they can raise the rent by 6 percent.
- After June 30, 2024, the allowable increase will be based on the Consumer Price Index, but cannot be more than 7 percent per year.
If you have further questions, or if you received an eviction notice or need help, contact the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) at housing.lacity.org/ask-housing or call (866) 557-7368 daily from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm.
If you have received a court document (summons for unlawful detainer) contact StayHousedLA at: (888) 694-0040 or online at stayhousedla.org or @stayhousedla.
If you need legal assistance, contact Public Counsel at publiccounsel.org or call (213) 385-2977.