What is the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) & is Your Property Included?

By Kali Lamarine

The city of Los Angeles is located within Los Angeles County but does not include all properties in the county. An easy way to determine if your property is located within the city of Los Angeles is by going to neighborhoodinfo.lacity.org/#. You can enter your address into the website and if it shows “Nothing Found,” your property is not located within the city of Los Angeles. You can also go to zimas.lacity.org, enter your address and the RSO field will tell you “yes” or “no.” The third option is to text “RSO” to (855) 880 – 7368 and follow the prompts.

If your property is not located within the city of Los Angeles, you can get more information from the Los Angeles County website at rent.lacounty.gov for Tenant and Landlord housing information.

RSO units are located within in the city of Los Angeles, have a permit and/or certificate of occupancy issued by the department of building and safety on or after 10//01/1978. Some properties that were built after 7/16/2007 may also be subject to the city’s RSO if the original property was subject to the RSO and then demolished or replaced with a new residential property. There are approximately 118,000 properties and 640,000 units subject to the RSO in Los Angeles.

What is the purpose of the Rent Stabilization Organization?

• Stabilizes Rents through Annual Rent Increases

• Provides Just Cause Evictions (Tenant At-Fault & No-Fault)

• Relocation Assistance for No-Fault Evictions

Registration is required for all RSO Units. Registration consists of the Annual Bill & completion of the Rent Registry Form. You can create an account with LAHD.bill.org to complete these steps online or you may respond to the bill you receive in the mail. Registrations must be completed each year no later than February 28th to avoid late fees and penalties. Landlords may provide tenants with 30 days advance written notice to recoup 50% of the fees below.

Current Registration Fees:

• RSO Fee Per Unit: $38.75

  • The monthly RSO surcharge is allowed to be passed through to tenants at $1.61 per month. This is 1/12 per month of 50% of the RSO fee of $38.75

• SCEP (Systematic Code Enforcement) Fee Per Unit: $67.94

  • The monthly SCEP surcharge is allowed to be passed through to tenants at $2.83 per month. This is 1/12 per month of 50% of the RSO fee of $67.94

Once registration fees are paid and the rent registry is completed and submitted, an RSO Certificate will be provided to the Landlord. Without this certificate, a Landlord cannot legally demand and collect rent from a tenant.