Summary of Key Culver City Landlord Rights and Responsibilities According to the City's Permanent Rent Control and Tenant Protection Ordinances
With permanent Rent Control and Tenant Protections ordinances in place, the City of Culver City seeks to inform Culver City landlords of their rights and responsibilities regarding evictions, rent registration, rent caps and fees. Residents, landlords and property owners can learn more about these ordinances at the City's Rent Control & Tenant Protection Measures webpage.
First, landlords are required to register their rental units under these regulations. The deadline for registration was extended from July 31, 2021 to March 31, 2022. Late payment penalties will be waived so long as landlords register their units by March 31, and each landlord must also re-register their units each July 31st going forward. You can register with the City’s Rental Unit Registration Portal.
Second, all landlords are required to post the Rent Control Ordinance Notice in a conspicuous place or common area, at the entry of the building or units or other similar locations to provide tenants the opportunity to see the notice in both English and Spanish.
Third, landlords should become familiar with the maximum permissible annual rent increases and know they cannot impose more than one rent increase for any covered rental unit in a twelve-month period. Landlords should only increase rent based on the average annual change in the consumer price index (“CPI change”). If the CPI change is less than 2%, landlords may increase the rent by up to 2%. If the CPI change is more than 5%, the maximum allowable rent increase is 5%.
Landlords can apply to request a rent adjustment through the Application for Rent Adjustment so long as they can demonstrate the allowed rent increases prevent the landlord from receiving a fair and reasonable profit.
A landlord may re-establish rents at market rates if a tenant voluntarily vacates (with certain limitations), a tenant is evicted based on “for cause” grounds, or a tenant is evicted because a landlord or landlord’s relative is moving in, which requires the unit remain the landlord’s or relative’s primary residence for three years.
Finally, evictions must be based on either “for cause” or “no fault” grounds. “No fault” could mean recovery of a unit for occupancy by the landlord or landlord’s relative, to demolish or remove the unit from the rental market or to comply with deed or regulatory restrictions or government orders necessitating vacancy, while “for cause” includes failure of the tenant to pay rent or provide access to a unit or a breach of the rental agreement. “For cause” also includes a tenant’s use of a unit to create a nuisance or for an illegal purpose or if the tenant was a resident manager who has been terminated. Long-term tenants who are 62-years-or-older, disabled, terminally ill, low-income or have school-aged children are protected from eviction but these protections do not apply within the first 12 months of tenancy.
For more information about their specific situation, landlords can reference Culver City Municipal Code Section 15.09.200, et seq. (Rent Control) and Section 15.09.300, et seq. (Tenant Protections). If landlords have questions about their rights and responsibilities, they should contact the Culver City Housing Division by email at Rent.Control@CulverCity.org, via phone (310) 253-5790 or by visiting the Division Office on the second floor of City Hall at 9770 Culver Boulevard.
Culver City is a five-square-mile, urban community of 40,779 residents surrounded mostly by the City of Los Angeles but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. It is centrally located on the Westside near Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and Los Angeles International Airport. Culver City is particularly known for its well-run public school system, "small town" charm, growing high-tech and creative economies, and a dynamic downtown that is regionally known as a destination for restaurants, live theater, and art galleries.
