Why is getting the rent control status of your unit correct so important?
Navigating the world of rental property management comes with a maze of legal responsibilities—and one of the most critical factors to understand is whether your property is subject to rent control. For landlords, this isn’t just a legal technicality. Rent control can significantly impact how much you can charge for rent, when and how you can increase it, and even your ability to evict tenants. Failing to understand your property’s rent control status can lead to costly legal missteps, compliance issues, and potential tenant disputes.
Not Knowing A Units Just Cause Status Can Be Costly
Failing to understand whether a rental unit is subject to Just Cause for Eviction protections can lead to serious legal and financial consequences for owners and managers. Attempting to evict a tenant without proper cause in regulated areas can result in lawsuits, hefty penalties, and damage to a landlord’s reputation. As tenant protection laws expand and evolve, staying compliant becomes more complex — and ignorance of the law offers no protection. Uncertainty around a unit’s status can also delay or derail property sales, as buyers seek assurance that all tenant issues are resolved. For landlords, this makes legal guidance not just helpful, but essential to avoiding costly mistakes and safeguarding their investments.
Why Rent Control Status Matters in Automated Legal Workflows
Joiner’s real estate management platform streamlines critical landlord functions—automating everything from rent increase notices and notices of entry to cure-or-quit and pay-or-quit notices. Each of these documents is generated with built-in legal disclosures tailored to your property’s specific requirements. One key factor that shapes these legal templates? Rent control status. Whether or not a unit is subject to rent control directly impacts what language and requirements must be included in the notices you serve. That’s why accurately identifying rent control status isn’t just important—it’s essential for compliance and avoiding legal risk.
Disclaimer & Legal Guidance
This post is designed to help you assess whether your rental unit falls under rent control by summarizing key aspects of applicable laws. However, it is not a substitute for legal advice. Because rent control regulations vary widely by city and sometimes county —and because a unit not covered by a local ordinance may still fall under California’s statewide rent control and just cause eviction laws (see this post) —it’s important to consult the relevant local statutes or seek advice from a qualified attorney to make a definitive determination.
Joiner partners with BrightWork Law PC, a firm known for delivering efficient, cost-effective legal counsel tailored to the needs of property owners and managers across California. If you are not sure about the status of your unit we recommend that you contact BrightWork or any other law firm.
Santa Monica Rent Control and Just Cause Ordinance Applicability
Santa Monica, California has implemented a rent control and just cause for eviction ordinance which can be found here.
In Santa Monica the rent control measure covers residential real property except for the following:
- Units in hotels, motels, inns, tourist homes and rooming and boarding houses which are rented primarily to transient guests for a period of less than fourteen (14) days
- Units in any hospital, convent, monastery, extended medical care facility, asylum, non-profit home for the aged, or dormitory owned and operated by an institution of higher education.
- Units which a government unit, agency or authority owns, operates, manages, or in which governmentally subsidized tenants reside only if applicable Federal or State law or administrative regulation specially exempt such units from municipal rent control.
- Units in owner-occupied dwellings with no more than three (3) units where the owner is a natural person owning at least fifty (50) percent of the property.
- Rental units and dwellings constructed after the adoption of this the rent control ordinance (April 10, 1979).
- Where a unit is actually used for purposes of providing, on a nonprofit basis, child care or other residential social services in accordance with applicable laws.
It should be noted that exemptions are not automatic but are granted by the Rent Board and, in many cases, if the reason for the exemption no longer applies neither does the exemption.