The Regulatory Compliance and Code Bureau serves as a resource to landlords and tenants, to provide information on their rights and responsibilities under the Rent Stabilization Ordinance and the City and State Housing Codes. Assistance is also provided at any one of our public counters and over the phone, and we provide year-round workshops on various landlord-tenant topics.

Our housing inspectors respond to code violation complaints and conduct scheduled inspections for each of the 760,000 rental units in the City of Los Angeles. Rental properties with persistent code violations are referred for further enforcement to programs; such as the Rent Escrow Account Program (REAP), where outreach service providers are available to assist landlords and tenants become familiar with their rights and obligations in maintaining rental properties, or to the Office of the City Attorney for criminal prosecution.  Our housing investigators are ready to assist tenants and landlords with RSO questions and resolving violations.

We invite you to learn more about the various resources and services we offer rental property owners and tenants in the City of Los Angeles.

A look at our programs and services:

Rent Stabilization Division

The Rent Stabilization Division oversees and enforces the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO). The RSO addresses allowable rent increases, the registration of rental units, legal reasons for eviction, and the causes for eviction requiring relocation assistance payment to the tenant. Our staff educates landlords and tenants about their duties under the RSO.

Programs managed by the Rent Stabilization Division:

• Customer Service Counters and Public Hotline provide information about the RSO, code enforcement, and provide referrals to fair housing and related housing matters to property owners and tenants.
• Investigation and Enforcement of RSO Violations investigates complaints of alleged violations of the RSO.
• Rent Adjustments staff processes landlords’ applications for rent adjustments allowed under the provisions of the RSO.
• Landlord Declarations staff processes applications for no-fault evictions and ensures that tenants receive relocation assistance payments and services as required by the RSO.
• Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) protects tenants from excessive rent increases on their residential rental unit, while at the same time allowing landlords a reasonable return on their investment.

Code Enforcement Division

The Code Enforcement Division maintains the habitability of the City’s rental housing by enforcing housing regulations and ordinances. The Division staff identifies and facilitates the abatement of unsanitary and substandard conditions in residential rental units. We work proactively with property owners and tenants to educate and guide them through the Department’s inspection programs in order to maintain their property and rental units.

Services provided by the Code Enforcement Division:

• Systematic Code Enforcement Program (SCEP) routinely inspects the City’s residential rental units to verify compliance with State health and safety codes and building codes.
• Case Management Inspectors conduct compliance inspections and related code enforcement activities for non-compliant cases referred to a General Manager’s Hearing and help landlords with addressing their violations.
• Property Management Training Program (PMTP) staff educates property owners about managing their properties.  
• Specialized Enforcement addresses abatement of community nuisance concerns including abandoned vehicles and parking violations on multifamily properties.
• Urgent Repair Program (URP) helps preserve tenancy and prevents the vacation and relocation of tenants from residential rental units.
• Primary Renovation/Tenant Habitability requires property owners to submit construction and renovation plans for review for work that impacts the habitability of their tenants’ units.
• Residential Hotels maintains the quality of residential hotel units through routine habitability inspections and enforcement of the Housing Code.

Compliance Division

The Compliance Division is committed to preserving safe and affordable rental housing for all residents of Los Angeles. Through the administration of the Rent Escrow Account Program (REAP), Utility Maintenance Program (UMP), conducting public hearings and preparing legal cases for the Office of the City Attorney against property owners that fail to maintain their properties in a safe and habitable condition, and operating the billing and collections of various legally mandated fees which support these programs, we help reduce blight, and ensure that rental properties are free from harm, injury, danger or risk for the residents of Los Angeles. Compliance Division programs have made 31,000 units more livable for our residents and prevented 840 utility shut-offs since 2008.

Programs of the Compliance Division:

• Billing & Collections manages the billing and timely collection of the RSO, SCEP, and Housing Code Services fees, which support various Department enforcement programs.
• Rent Escrow Account Program (REAP) administers REAP to ensure rental properties in Los Angeles are restored to safe and habitable living conditions, and that they continue to be well maintained in order to preserve safe and affordable rental housing citywide.
• Utility Maintenance Program (UMP) administers the UMP to ensure utility services are maintained in master-metered rental properties subject to the RSO.
• Hearings conducts administrative hearings, and ensures due process, for the Bureau’s various programs.
• Legal Referral prepares cases referred to the City Attorney for criminal prosecution.