News and Announcements

2018 General Adjustment Announced by Board

Need Help Calculating This Year's Rent Increase?

New Limits on Surcharges Start in September 2018

After months of work, on May 10^th the Rent Control Board adopted a new regulation that limits the amount of property-tax-related assessments that owners may pass through to tenants to no more than $35 per month or 4% of the rent, whichever is less. The Board's action came after hearing from tenants that the property-tax-related surcharges have escalated significantly in recent years.

The new limits for existing tenants go into effect with the 2018 General Adjustment on September 1^st.  The Board adopted a regulation in January that eliminates surcharges entirely for new tenants who move into their unit on or after March 1^st of this year and for tenants in units on properties sold or reassessed due to major improvements after that date.

The new regulation will provide relief for tenants who pay unusually high surcharges, most of whom live on properties sold and reassessed in recent years. As building sales prices have risen in the city's feverish real estate market, so too have property taxes and assessments that are based on the assessed value of the property. 

As part of their deliberation, the Board analyzed the impact caps of various amounts would have on pass-throughs across the city. The analysis showed a $35 cap would result in a reduction in surcharges for about 30% of units on the most common size properties citywide (7-15 units), leaving surcharges for the remaining 70% of units unchanged. On properties sold and reassessed since 2012, however, tenants in about 90% of units will see a reduction. The end-result is that most property owners will not be affected by this change, but tenants who live in buildings sold in recent years will receive some relief from the impact of property sales over which they had no control.

A 4%-of-rent cap will affect a relatively small number of units with rents below $860. In setting the 4%-of-rent limit, the Board took into consideration that most occupants of these units moved in before 1999 and therefore are likely to be older tenants, many of whom have limited income and less wherewithal to afford high surcharges.

Spring Newsletter Delivered

Our spring Rent Control News was delivered recently to all tenants and property owners of rent-controlled properties. The spring issue is full of important information for everyone, including an overview of the discussion the Rent Control Board recently had regarding limitations on the pass-through of property-tax related surcharges and new regulations. A second feature article includes highlights from the Rent Control Agency’s 2017 Annual Report. Each tenant’s newsletter also includes the MAR for the unit as it is registered with Rent Control. Check out the newsletter here and learn what’s happening that may affect you.

Rent Control Board 2017 Annual Report

The Rent Control Board's 2017 Annual Report has been released!  Reviewed by the Board at its April meeting, the report includes sections on the Status of Controlled Rental Housing, the Impact of Market-Rate Vacancy Increases and the Impact of the Ellis Act. The report also highlights the work of the Rent Control Board's five elected commissioners and explains how the Agency's four divisions act to inform the public of its rights and responsibilities and to enforce the rent control law.  Take a look at the report here.

OWNERS: Register New Tenancies Online

Owners Must Provide This Rent Control Info Sheet to All New Tenants

Recognizing that knowledge may lead to more effective communications, the Rent Control Board recently adopted a regulation requiring that for all tenancies starting on or after July 31, 2017, landlords must give new tenants a Board-produced information sheet about the Rent Control Law at the time of lease signing.

The single-sheet document contains rent control basics including information about rent levels and rent increases, eviction protections, maintenance and repairs, and base amenities. It also includes information on other important issues affecting Santa Monica tenants and landlords such as home-sharing, smoking restrictions, harassment, and construction work in occupied buildings. Tenants are encouraged to acknowledge receipt of the information sheet by signing and dating the form. If a landlord fails to provide the information sheet to a tenant at the beginning of a tenancy, the landlord will not be able to implement the general adjustment for the unit until they comply with the requirement.

NEW SEMINAR WEBPAGE

Rent Control staff is frequently asked for copies of the PowerPoint slide presentations used at our various annual seminars.  Also, it has been suggested that we videotape seminars and make the video accessible through our website for those who were unable to attend.  In response to both of these requests, we have added a new webpage, entitled “Rent Control Seminars,” that can be found under “Information & FAQs” on our homepage.  The Rent Control Seminars page now includes not only a calendar of all tentatively planned seminars for the current year, but also full-length videos and modified PowerPoint slide presentations of past seminars. You can access the Rent Control Seminars page here.

Owners Must Disclose Tenant Rights Prior to Making Buyout Offers

At the Board's March 12th meeting, a new regulation was adopted (Regulation 9011) to effectuate Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 4.56.050(b), which requires landlords to serve a notice on tenants of certain rights before the landlord makes a buyout offer to the tenant. The notice required by the regulation is now available at the Board's office and here. At its April 9th Board meeting the Board amended the new regulation to require landlords to file "buyout agreements" with the Rent Control Board. Tenants are under no obligation to accept buyout offers and should realistically evaluate whether any amount offered is sufficient to cover the loss of a controlled rental unit.