Inglewood Rent Ordinance
What is the Inglewood Rent Ordinance?
The Inglewood Rent Ordinance attempts to provide more stability and fairness for tenants. It has four main pillars. Rent control, eviction protections, anti-harassment provisions, and a buyout provision. These serve to reduce landlord leverage over tenants and ensure that tenants experience a fair process when it comes to rent raises, evictions, and living conditions.
Rent Control in the Inglewood Rent Ordinance
The Inglewood Rent Ordinance protects tenants through regulating rent increases to reasonable yearly amounts. For units that the ordinance covers, rent cannot be increased by an amount more than the greater of either three percent in twelve months or the percent change in the cost of living using the CPI in Los Angeles.
For properties with four or fewer units, the landlord cannot increase the rent in an amount more than the lower of either five percent plus the percentage change in the cost of living, or ten percent. There are a few more specifics that can be read in Inglewood Municipal Code § 8-127.
What units are covered by the Inglewood Rent Ordinance?
All rental units are covered under the Inglewood Rent Ordinance just cause for eviction protection except for the following:
- Units in transient and tourist hotels.
- Units in nonprofit hospital, religious facilities, extended facilities, licensed residential elderly facilities, or adult residential facilities.
- Dormitories owned and operated by schools and universities.
- Housing built within the last fifteen years.
- Owner-occupied residences in which the owner-occupant rents or leases no more than one dwelling unit, and the tenants have been provided written notice that the rental unit is exempt.
Eviction Protections in the Inglewood Rent Ordinance
The ordinance protects tenants by forcing landlords to enumerate the just cause reason for the eviction. Landlords cannot take any action to evict a tenant or terminate a rental period, or threaten to do so, when there is no just cause reason for eviction. Eviction can only occur if the tenant is informed of the reason, in writing.
What are the just cause reasons for eviction under the Inglewood Rent Ordinance?
The ordinance lists fourteen just cause reasons to evict a tenant. The following are some (the entire list can be seen in Inglewood Municipal Code § 8-121):
- Tenants’ failure to pay rent.
- A breach of the lease terms and ignoring a valid written notice to correct the breach.
- Maintaining, committing, or permitting the commission of a nuisance.
- Tenants alleged criminal activity in the unit or property.
- Using the unit for an unlawful propose.
- Failure to provide reasonable access to the landlord after receiving written notice of entry for repair work.
Anti-Harassment in the Inglewood Rent Ordinance
The Inglewood Anti-Harassment Ordinance protects all tenants from landlord harassment. Under the ordinance, the following actions are examples of such unlawful landlord harassment (one can find the full list in Inglewood Municipal Code § 8-133):
- Interrupting, terminating, or failing to provide housing services required by the lease or by law.
- Failing to perform repairs and maintenance required by the lease or by law.
- Abusing the tenant with offensive words inherently likely to provoke an immediate violent reaction.
- Influencing or attempting to influence a tenant to vacate their home through fraud, intimidation, or coercion.
- Threatening the tenant, by word or gesture, with physical harm.
- Violating any law prohibiting discrimination based on race, gender, sexual preference, sexual orientation, ethnic background, nationality, religion, age, parenthood, marriage, pregnancy, disability, AIDS, occupancy by a minor child, or any other legally protected class.
Buyout Provision in the Inglewood Rent Ordinance
The Inglewood Rent Ordinance has a buyout ordinance. Where a landlord attempts to negotiate a buyout, which is a private agreement in which the tenant volunteers to vacate their home in exchange for payment, the ordinance provides tenant protections. The buyout must comply with the following four requirements to be considered valid:
- A buyout agreement may not pay out less than the Inglewood tenant is entitled to recover in relocation assistance the ordinance.
- Before engaging in buyout negotiations, the landlord must serve a written buyout disclosure document to the tenant.
- The landlord must provide a copy of the fully executed buyout agreement to the tenant.
- The landlord must file a copy of the fully executed buyout agreement with the Inglewood Rental Housing Board within three (3) calendar days of execution.
More information can be found in Inglewood Municipal Code § 8-123.1.
What must the disclosure agreement contain?
The buyout disclosure document must contain the following information:
- The tenant has the right not to enter into the buyout agreement.
- The tenant has the right to consult an attorney.
- The tenant has the right to revise the proposed buyout agreement before signing the buyout agreement.
- The tenant has the right to consult the City of Inglewood about the proposed buyout agreement.
- The tenant has the right to rescind the buyout agreement at any time up to thirty calendar days after the tenant signs the buyout agreement.
What should if a landlord violates the Inglewood Rent Ordinance?
You should seek help from tenants’ rights attorneys such as the ones here at Tenants Law Firm. Contact us by calling (310) 432-3200 or by using this form.