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.
Oxnard, California Rent Control and Just Cause Ordinance Applicability
Oxnard, California has implemented a rent control and just cause for eviction ordinance which can be found here.
Rent Control Covered Units
In Oxnard the rent control measure covers residential real property except for the following:
- Any residential real property that has a certificate of occupancy issued after February 1, 1995.
- Low income or affordable housing.
- Dormitories owned and operated by an institution of higher education or a kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, school
- Residential real property that is alienable, separate from the title to any other dwelling unit, provided that the owner is not a real estate investment trust, corporation, or limited liability company in which a member is a corporation and the tenants have been issued a specific notice is contained in the rental agreement (though the notice is not required if the lease was entered into after the ordinance was enacted).
- A duplex (but not a house and an accessory dwelling unit) if one of the units is owner occupied.
- A unit in a hotel, motel, inn, tourist home, or rooming and boarding house which is rented primarily to transient guests for a period of less than 30 days; and other transient occupancies as defined in Cal. Civil Code, Section 1940(b).
- A unit in an institutional facility, including a hospital, medical care facility, residential care facility, asylum, group home for seniors or the disabled; a rental unit in a transitional housing program that assists homeless persons; a convent or monastery owned and operated by a religious organization; and a fraternity or sorority house affiliated with a college or university.
- A unit that the owner or the owner’s immediate family occupied as their principal place of residence at the beginning of the tenancy so long as the owner or the owner’s immediate family continues in occupancy.
Just Cause Covered Units
The Oxnard just cause for eviction ordinance applies to residential real property “or residential circumstances” except for the following:
- Transient and tourist hotel occupancy … and properties that have obtained a City of Oxnard short term vacation rental permit and are operating in compliance with that permit and regularly remitting the required transit occupancy tax demonstrating active use as a vacation rental property.
- Housing accommodations in a nonprofit hospital, religious facility, extended care facility, licensed residential care facility for the elderly, or an adult residential facility.
- Dormitories owned and operated by an institution of higher education or a kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, school.
- Housing accommodations in which the tenant shares a bathroom or kitchen facilities with the owner who maintains their principal residence at the residential real property.
- Single-family owner-occupied residences, including a residence in which the owner-occupant rents or leases no more than two bedrooms.
- A duplex in which the owner occupied one of the units as the owner’s principal place of residence at the beginning of the tenancy, so long as the owner continues in occupancy.