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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. This article focuses on the City of Los Angeles requirements to pay Relocation Assistance and the County of Los Angeles 2022 Tenant Protections which apply to all tenant occupied properties in the County of Los Angeles that are not covered by a local rent control ordinance (including all single family homes, condos, duplex, triplexes, etc… ).
If you have additional questions regarding relocation assistance for tenants in Beverly Hills, Culver City, Glendale, Long Beach, Pasadena or West Hollywood, or would like the assistance of a Los Angeles landlord tenant attorney with 25+ years of experience, please schedule a low cost SAME DAY telephone consultation (as little as $129) 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," or any rental property for that matter located in Los Angeles County (while the Covid moratoriums seem to endlessly continue) are required to provide monetary relocation assistance when evicting tenants from a rental units for no cause (e.g. owner or family member occupancy, Ellis Act removal from the rental market, substantial rehabilitation, government order to comply, etc..)
Los Angeles City Relocation Assistance Fees.
In the City of Los Angeles, a landlord is only required to pay monetary relocation assistance payments to tenant IF: (1) the tenant is being evicted through no fault of their own; (2) the rental unit was built on or before October 1, 1978; and (3) the rental unit is not a single family home (condos built on or before October 1, 1978 are subject to the Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance’s Eviction Control provisions and the requirement to pay relocation assistance fees).
Without a RSO cause, a tenancy may not be terminated. There are 7 no-fault reasons under the RSO in which a landlord can legally evict a tenant. For each reason, landlords must file a landlord declaration and application with the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) before serving the tenant with a Notice to Terminate the Tenancy. The following six (6) no-fault legal reasons permitting a landlord to terminate a tenancy require the payment of relocation assistance fees:
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 1½ 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 is seeking to evict the tenant for occupancy of the rental unit by the owner or a qualified family member, then the landlord is required to pay $8,650 for "Eligible" Tenants and $17,400 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 |
---|---|---|---|
Eligible | $8,950 | $11,700 | $11,700 |
Qualified | $18,900 | $22,350 | $22,350 |
Eligible Tenant |
Qualified Tenant |
---|---|
$8,650 | $17,400 |
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 2007, or live in a building built after 1978 but before 2007, 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 SAME DAY low cost telephone consultation by completing our Telephone Consultation Request Form and Melissa Marsh will call you back at the time you select.
Los Angeles County Relocation Assistance Fees.
Until the termination of the Los Angeles County moratorium on evictions (allegedly due to Covid 19), any owner or landlord seeking to evict a tenant for owner or qualified family member occupancy, must pay the relocation fees set forth in the Los Angeles County Code unless the rental unit is subject to a local city relocation assistance fee. The Relocation Fees owed under Los Angeles' County's code is not based on the length of time a tenant resided in the property as it is in the City of Los Angeles. Instead, Los Angeles county's Relocation Assistance Fees are based on the size of the rental unit and the tenant's status.
Again and to be clear, as long as the Los Angeles County Covid 19 Eviction Moratorium remains in effect, an owner seeking to occupy a home they just purchased, or a home they own for use by them or a qualified family member as their personal residence will have to pay the tenant the required relocation assistance fees set forth below UNLESS the local city in which the home is located has its own relocation fee ordinance (e.g. Culver City).Type of Tenant Eligible or Qualified |
Standard | Senior, Minors, Disabled | Lower Income Tenants |
---|---|---|---|
Studio | $7,654 | $9,272 | $10,980 |
1 Bedroom | $8,662 | $10,675 | $12,688 |
2 Bedroom | $10,797 | $13,359 | $15,921 |
3 Bedroom | $13,115 | $16,043 | $18,971 |
If you have additional questions, or would like the assistance of a Los Angeles county landlord tenant attorney, please schedule a SAME DAY low cost telephone consultation 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.