Does Beverly Hills Have Rent Control?

Learn about rent control regulations in Beverly Hills. Find out what rules apply for landlords and tenants and how they affect rental housing.

Does Beverly Hills Have Rent Control?

Rent control is a complex issue that has been debated in many cities, including Beverly Hills. The city has taken steps to regulate rental housing, including the establishment of a rent stabilization commission and the creation of a registry of rental units. The rules related to rent control vary from city to city, but in Beverly Hills, the ordinance applies to all rental housing, including luxury units. The chapter to which your lease belongs is based primarily on the initial rent amount set out in your rental agreement and not on the current rent amount.

Chapter 5 limited the increase in permitted annual rent, the annual change in consumer prices and, most significantly, prohibited evictions without just cause. Chapter 6 limited the maximum rent increase allowed to 10% per annum and allowed only one increase in each 12-month period. In 1985, the city extended rent stabilization to all rental households that were not covered by the first program.The City will evaluate the effectiveness of the existing ordinance and consider amending it to require that a number of units in any converted building be reserved as affordable rental housing or ownership. Not everyone is in favor of rent stabilization measures because it applies to all rental housing, including luxury units.To evict a disruptive tenant, the landlord must file an application with the Rent Stabilization Program (“Rent Board”) to obtain a hearing on the matter.

Once the tenant receives their eviction notice, they will have thirty days to notify the landlord in writing that they are interested in reoccupying if the unit is offered in the future to rent again.Rules related to remodeling work, time frame for remodeling, setting rent for the newly remodeled unit, choosing a tenant to be relocated to a comparable building in the unit instead of relocation payment, evicted tenant's ability to reoccupy the unit finished and the rental reoccupied the calculation of rates is complex. Owners of multifamily buildings in Beverly Hills have fought hard against the city's rental regulations, arguing that they would drive more conversions to condominiums, forcing family owners out of the market. This week, however, local City Council established a rent stabilization commission, which is Beverly Hills' first body dedicated to rent regulation issues in decades. Los Angeles municipalities such as Inglewood, Glendale and Long Beach have been strengthening their rental regulations in recent months, instituting new protections for tenants, including limits on rent increases and mandatory relocation rates.

As well-conceived as it was, Beverly Hills' proposed Rental Housing Inspection Program was effectively dead when it came to town hall later in the year. To sum up, Beverly Hills has taken steps towards regulating rental housing by establishing a rent stabilization commission and creating a registry of rental units. The rules related to rent control vary from city to city but generally include limits on rent increases and evictions without just cause.