Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Landlord in LA County / Legal Advice

I manage a property in LA County, a SFR with a �grandfathered� studio. The main house and studio are both rented to separate Tenants. A sub-meter was never installed, the utilities have been Landlord-paid for appx. 8 years. The rent hasn�t been raised enough to offset the utilities, b/c I think everyone was/is under the impression that the house is/should be covered under the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, even though it was never registered. I have tried a diplomatic discussion with the Tenants regarding the utilities; they insist that RSO restrictions apply. I�ve also researched getting sub-meters installed, as well as getting a legal separate address, all of which would be costly and complicated. I would like to find out what the criteria is for qualifying the house as a SFR, in order to get an official exemption from the RSO. I have considered just going to the RSO office and explaining the situation; but I don't want to raise any unnecessary red flags. I�ve also considered raising the rent to offset the utilities ( 20% increase), or simply vacating either or both units and renting to a single family, but unsure legally what to do. Can you help?


Asked on 6/18/08, 6:07 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Mitchell Roth MW Roth, Professional Law Corporation

Re: Landlord in LA County / Legal Advice

The house is not covered under the rent stablization law. You can raise the rent by 30 day notice or change any other terms of the tenancy by 30 day notice.

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Answered on 6/21/08, 5:36 pm


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