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TWELVE LEGAL REASONS FOR EVICTIONS IN THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES
Currently there are twelve legal reasons
that a Landlord may use to justify evicting a Tenant under the Rent
Stabilization Ordinance. I have taken the liberty of providing you with a
comprehensive list taken from the City of Los Angeles Website, setting forth the
12 reasons. Once again I warn you that if you intend to rely on any of these
reasons to initiate or defend an eviction, be sure and call the City of Los
Angeles and verify that they have not suspended, amended or removed any of the
reasons. For example - Currently there is a moratorium on removing your units
from the rental market to perform major work on the units as set forth in reason
number 9. How long this moratorium will last is anyone's guess.
SECTION 151.09. EVICTION (Amended by
Ordinance No. 164,685 Effective 4/10/89, Oper. 5/10/89)
A landlord may bring an action to recover possession of a
rental unit only upon one of the following grounds:
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The tenant has failed to pay the rent to which the landlord is entitled,
including amounts due under Subsection D of Section 151.06.
The tenant has violated a lawful obligation or covenant of the tenancy,
other than the obligation to surrender possession upon proper notice, and
has failed to cure such violation after having received written notice
thereof from the landlord.
The tenant is committing or permitting to exist a nuisance in or is
causing damage to, the rental unit or to the appurtenances thereof, or to
the common areas of the complex containing the rental unit, or is creating
an unreasonable interference with the comfort, safety, or enjoyment of any
of the other residents of the same or adjacent buildings.
The tenant is using or permitting a rental unit to be used for any
illegal purpose.
The tenant, who had a written lease or rental agreement which terminated
on or after the effective date of this Chapter, has refused, after a written
request or demand by the landlord to execute a written extension or renewal
thereof for a further term of like duration with similar provisions and in
such terms as are not inconsistent with or violate of any provision of this
Chapter or any other provision of law.
The tenant has refused the landlord reasonable access to the unit for
the purpose of making repairs or improvements, or for the purpose of
inspection as permitted or required by the lease or by law, or for the
purpose of showing the rental unit to any prospective purchaser or
mortgagee.
The person in possession of the rental unit at the end of a lease term
is a subtenant not approved by the landlord.
The landlord seeks in good faith to recover possession of the rental
unit for use and occupancy by:
-
the landlord, or the landlord's spouse, children, or parents, provided
the landlord is a natural person and not a corporation or partnership; or
for a resident manager, provided that: no alternative vacant unit is
available for occupancy by a resident manager; except that where a
building has an existing resident manager in order to replace her/him with
a new manager.
The landlord seeks in good faith to recover possession so as to
demolish, or perform other work on the building or buildings housing the
rental unit or units and (i) such work costs not less than the product of
(a) $10,000 times (b) the number of units to be rehabilitated and (ii) such
work necessitates the removal of the rental unit or units from rental
housing use for not less than 45 days, except that if the landlord seeks to
recover possession for the purpose of converting the unit into a
condominium, cooperative, or community apartment the landlord must have
complied with the notice requirements of Government Code Section 66247.1.
The landlord seeks in good faith to recover possession in order to
remove the rental unit permanently from rental housing use.
The landlord seeks in good faith to recover possession of the rental
unit in order to comply with a governmental agency's order to vacate, order
to comply, order to abate, or any other order that necessitates the vacating
of the building housing the rental unit as a result of a violation of the
Los Angeles Municipal Code or any other provision of law. (Amended by Ord.
No. 172,288, Eff. 12/17/98.)
The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is both the owner and
plaintiff and seeks to recover possession in order to vacate the property
prior to sale and has complied with all tenant notification requirements
under federal law and administrative regulations. (Amended by Ordinance
No. 173,224 Effective 4/26/00, Oper. 5/9/00)
REASONS OF EVICTION 3, 4 (when police reports and City Attorney are
involved) and 8-12 REQUIRE THAT A LANDLORD DECLARATION BE FILED WITH THE
DEPARTMENT.
EVICTION PROCEDURES UNDER
RENT CONTROL
EVICTIONS
There are several kinds of notices that a landlord can serve: 1) a
3-day eviction notice (to perform/pay or quit), 2) a 30-day eviction
notice (by either tenant or Landlord to terminate tenancy), 3) 60 day
notice (for no-fault evictions per California Civil Code 1946.1), 4)
120 day notice (for evictions due to demolition or removal from rental
market per California Government Code Section 7060). If a tenant fails to
respond to any of the above notices, a landlord can bring a suit to evict a
tenant from the premises. The name of this suit is an UNLAWFUL DETAINER.
3-DAY NOTICE
If the tenant has failed to pay the rent on time or is short in any
amount, the landlord must send the tenant a written 3-day notice to
pay rent or quit the premises. This notice must state precisely the premises
in question and the amount of rent due. The notice must also present an
unequivocal alternative to the tenant, i.e., pay rent within three days or
leave.
In situations where some other obligation has been breached, e.g., keeping
pets, the landlord must specify the fault and permit its correction within 3
days. The landlord must serve this notice on the tenant before he can bring
suit (unless the tenant's default is of a kind that could not possibly be
corrected within the allowed time, for example, he has done something to the
building which cannot be repaired.)
A 3-Day Notice expires at midnight of the third day after service, provided
that the third day is a business day. Otherwise it expires at midnight of
the first business day following the third day after service. You do not
count the day of service. Therefore, a 3-Day Notice served on a Friday will
expire at midnight on the following Monday (unless that Monday is a holiday,
in which case the notice will expire at midnight on Tuesday). A 3-Day Notice
served on Wednesday will also expire at midnight on the following Monday,
because the third day may not be a Saturday or Sunday.
3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit is not valid if served before the rent is
delinquent. Therefore, it may not be served on the due date, only after
the due date. If the due date does not fall on a business day, then the rent
is not due until the first business day following the due date and a 3-day
Notice to Pay Rent or Quit may not be served until the day after that.
If obligation demanded has not been corrected within three days after the
notice was served, the landlord can then file suit in court to have the
tenant evicted.
30-DAY NOTICE
Pursuant to California Civil Code Section 1946 any
month/month tenancy can be terminated by a 30 day written
notice by either the tenant or the landlord (if the tenant has resided in
the unit for less than 1 year) and if the eviction is for owner occupation
for a condominium and given by the new owner no more than 30 days from
acquiring the property. (See additional requirements California Civil
code 1946.1.e)
Except for the City of Los Angeles, a landlord may serve
this notice and end the tenancy for almost any reason or no reason at all.
When the 30 days expires, the landlord may sue. A tenant should examine a
written rental agreement to see if a special clause permits the landlord to
shorten the time of this notice to 7 or 14 days.
60-DAY NOTICE
If, on the other hand, the tenant has occupied the
unit for at least 1 year and the landlord simply wants to end the
tenancy even though the tenant has not done anything illegal, a different
notice is required. This is called a "sixty-day notice". (Amended from 30
days by California Civil Code 1946.1 effective 1/1/02 to apply to no-fault
evictions). It must be in writing and state that as of 60 days from the
date the notice is served the tenancy will be at an end. In the City of Los
Angeles, a landlord must meet one of the twelve legal reasons for eviction
pursuant to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, Section 151.09. (See above)
Also, in the City of Los Angeles, no written agreement may contain
provisions that are in violation of the RSO.
Generally, a lease relationship cannot be ended by a
30-Day Notice or 60-Day Notice before the expiration date of the lease. A
tenant, though, may be given a 30 or 60 Day Notice if he "holds over" after
lease has expired.
120-DAY NOTICE
A landlord evicting for the purpose of demolition or
removing the unit from the rental market must follow the procedures as
indicated in Ordinance 173,868 (Eff. 4/5/2001). Obtain the proper
Landlord Declaration Form from the Department.Record with the County
Recorder the Non-Confidential Memorandum and once recorded submit it along
with the landlord declaration with three copies of the same. Within 5 days
of submitting the completed Landlord Declaration Form and the recorded
Non-Confidential Memorandum the landlord shall give the tenants 120 day
notice and include additional information as mandated in Ordinance 173,868.
Tenants who are at least 62 years of age or disabled and who have lived in
the accommodations for at least one year prior to submitting the Landlord
Declaration Form may request an extension of up to 1 year. (See Ordinance
173,868).
UNLAWFUL DETAINER
An Unlawful Detainer is the legal name of the suit a
landlord brings to evict a tenant from the premises. There are several
possible grounds for such an eviction action. One is that the tenant has
failed to abide by some obligation in his lease or rental agreement with the
landlord, for example, by creating a nuisance, damaging the premises, or
keeping pets. Another is that the tenant has failed to pay the rent on time.
A third possibility arises when the tenant remains on the premises after
having been given lawful notice to terminate the tenancy.
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