Welcome

Welcome to the Rent Control Board’s redesigned website! The changes make it easier to answer your questions about Santa Monica’s Rent Control Law. Take a look around and please share your comments and suggestions.

The Rent Control Law has five basic principles: to Control rents on residential dwellings; to Limit reasons for evictions; to Preserve residential rental housing; to Encourage maintenance; and to Provide a fair return for property owners. Among the many services provided by the Rent Control staff are:

Informing owners and tenants of their rights and responsibilities under the Rent Control law

Providing information for all rent-controlled properties

Advising how much rent may be collected for any rent-controlled unit

Resolving disputes and providing mediation services for owners and tenants regarding rent overcharges, property maintenance and amenities

Conducting hearings regarding individual rent increases and decreases

Providing referrals to other services and resources in the community

Adjusting rents upon vacancy as mandated by state law

Highlights

Everyone Counts In the upcoming weeks, you will receive your Census questionnaire. The information collected determines how $300 billion of government funding will be allocated. It is in your interest and the interests of all who live with you to be counted so that we in Santa Monica will receive our fair share of these dollars. Please include all members of your household in your response. Anything you tell the Census Bureau is confidential. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share an individual’s responses with anyone, including Rent Control, your landlord, other federal agencies or law enforcement entities. For more information about the Census 2010, please go to www.census.gov/2010census or call (866) 861-2010.

60-Day Notice for No-Fault Evictions Now Permanent Effective January 1, 2010, State Law requires landlords to provide at least 60 days’ notice to terminate a residential tenancy. In Santa Monica, tenants may only be evicted from a controlled rental unit for good cause as stated in the Rent Control Law. The 60-day notice provision applies to evictions for owner-occupancy and to lease terminations that are exempt from rent control.

		The Santa Monica City Attorney’s office recently launched a web page that explains the City’s new law prohibiting smoking in common areas of all multi-family residences. The law went into effect in February 2009 and covers both multi-unit rental properties and condominiums. For further information, go to http://www.smgov.net/departments/cpu/ smokefree.aspx.

Fall 2009 Newsletter Inside the Fall 2009 edition: Guidelines for entering into temporary rent-reduction agreements Water conservation tips Utility bill assistance programs for low-income households Rebate programs that gas and electric companies offer to owners of multi-family buildings Other articles of interest to property owners and tenants

	Santa Monica’s 2009 General Adjustment is 1% with an $8 floor and a $16 ceiling. The increase for mobile home spaces is 1%. The Rent Control Law requires the Board to adjust rents each year to cover changes in owners’ operating expenses.