A host of recently-enacted and upcoming laws in the tenant protection realm have had locals wanting more information, something that was delivered to them this moth.
On Dec. 9, the Santa Monica Main Library’s Martin Luther King Auditorium hosted the 2024 Landlord & Tenant Forum, a joint venture between the Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office, the Rent Control Agency and the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA). Together, the groups discussed and took questions on changes to state law and updates to local tenant protections.
Towne Morton with LAFLA kicked off the proceedings with a roundup of state laws, such as changes to unlawful detainer proceedings and security deposit procedure.
For unlawful detainer eviction actions, Morton stated that AB 2347 (effective on Jan. 1) extends the period tenants can respond to such an action from five to 10 days. Earlier this year, Santa Monica Rent Control Board legislative advocate Brian Augusta said that AB 2347 has been “long discussed” and that it gives tenants more time to “seek advice, marshal their defenses … and have their day in court.”
Taking effect this past July, AB 12 prohibits landlords from demanding or receiving a security deposit exceeding the equivalent of one month’s rent, regardless of whether the property is furnished or unfurnished. While there is an exception for small-scale landlords, the bill answers the call of some lawmakers that argued more than one month’s rent for a deposit is a serious barrier for renters.
Security deposit procedure on the back end of a tenancy was also changed with AB 2801, effective on April 1, 2025. The bill will now require landlords to provide photographic evidence of necessary repairs after a tenant ends their lease, cutting off a tactic of landlords taking vast swaths of a security deposit for unspecified repairs or damages. In an October discussion, Rent Control Board Commissioner Anastasia Foster called the tactic “downright fraud” and that AB 2801 will “change lives of everyday people.”
Two other state bills will modify the procedure around screening fees, with AB 1764 prohibiting landlords from profiting off such fees, while AB 2493 ensures that fees are charged only to applicants whose applications are actually considered for tenancy. To prohibit profiting, AB 1764 states that costs of a screening fee must correspond to actual out-of-pocket expenses incurred from obtaining a prospective tenant’s credit report, as well as time spent verifying the applicant’s information.
Another major happening, though not bill-related, was the Barrington Plaza case this year. A Superior Court judge ruled the tenants of the Barrington Plaza apartment complex on the Westside were unlawfully evicted, on the grounds that the landlord had an intent to renovate the units for future use as residential rental housing, despite not meeting the requirements of the Ellis Act and the LA Rent Stabilization Ordinance.
Rent Control Agency Public Information Manager Dan Costello said that the Barrington case sets precedent for future local cases where a landlord attempts to evict tenants to renovate units and re-enter the housing market.
“While it’s not easy to tell intent, it is sort of (a) cautionary tale to owners who intend to actually just evict their tenants, fix up the units and rent them (out) for a lot more,” Costello added.
On the local end, the City Attorney’s Office walked locals through the March 2024 Tenant Protection Ordinance, with a host of new coverages for renters. The ordinance covers areas like permanent relocation fees, the expansion of buyout code to non-rent-controlled units, and the defense against evictions in bad faith situations.
The ordinance adds a defense to an eviction if the landlord, in bad faith, “imposed an excessive rent increase to induce the tenant to vacate through fraud, intimidation, or coercion in circumvention of any law requiring the landlord to have just cause to evict the tenant.” Examples given were excessive increases imposed within six months of a landlord’s unsuccessful attempt to evict a tenant for cause, or within six months of a tenant’s lawful complaints to the landlord about habitability or safety of a unit.
Bad faith actions such as that, as well as refusal to accept rent, are now classified as tenant harassment under the prohibited activities list. Any violation on this list will now carry a maximum potential statutory damage at $20,000 per violation, an increase from $10,000.
The ordinance also prohibits discrimination on the basis of housing status, meaning those currently or formerly experiencing homelessness, living in transitional, temporary or shelter housing, or lacking a residential rental housing history. Discriminatory conduct includes refusing to rent, denying access to common areas, evicting or withholding a rental unit.
To view the full presentation, visit the City of Santa Monica’s
.
