Southern California Landlords…How to Avoid Trouble and Save Money! Follow These Laws and Ideas for 2014! – by Patricia A. Harris

It is our continuous goal to aid and support you in making this business of providing housing for others more profitable, easier and yes, more enjoyable. AOA wishes each and every one of you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year and we look forward to being of service to you throughout the years to come!

Below is a compiled list of suggestions, new laws for 2014, regulations and standard requirements which landlords must follow to avoid trouble, stay out of court, and save money in unnecessary penalties.

1. For Los Angeles  rent-controlled properties, be sure to have the required notice posted providing information about the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, as well as contact information for the Los Angeles Housing Department. Inspectors will be looking for these notices and you could be fined $250.00 per day if it is  not posted. The notice must be the LAHD form and be posted in a  conspicuous location in the lobby of the property, near a mailbox used by  residents of the property, or in or near a public entrance to the  property.  AOA  members can download the form for FREE on the AOA web site at www.aoausa.com under forms. The notice is called LARSO Notice to Post.
2. Pay Rent Registration and SCEP fees on time.

LOS ANGELES rent-controlled unit registration fees are due January 1^st and delinquent if not paid by the last day of February.  Late fees are applied to delinquent payments. If you do not receive your renewal notice by January 22^nd, contact LAHD at (213) 808-8900.

SANTA MONICA: Owners who pay all outstanding registration fees by August 3rd may, with proper written notice, recover the registration fee from tenants at the rate of $13 per month beginning September 1^st. For more information, visit

http://www01.smgov.net/rentcontrol/own_rent_sm/Owner_Info_2004.pdf. 

WEST HOLLYWOOD – The registration fee is due on or before July 1st of each year. The penalty for late payment of the registration fee, depending upon when the fees and penalties are paid, may range from 20 to 100 percent of the annual fee. For more information on tenant pass-throughs, please visit http://www.weho.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/detail/navid/113/cid/786/. 

3. Los  Angeles Rent  Control:  Mark your calendars for May 1, 2014 – Serve tenants the 30-Day Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Rent Registration one-time pass-through of half of your registration fees – to be collected in the month of June only. (This form will be printed in the April edition of the AOA Magazine and can also be downloaded by members at www.aoausa.com – form #170). You are required to include a copy of your Rent  Registration Certificate with your notice. 
4. Your paid SCEP fees may also be collected at this time as a rent adjustment. You may raise your rents by amortizing your total paid fee over 12 months. Example: Last year’s SCEP fee of $43.32 per unit amortized over a 12 month period was collectible at a monthly rate of $3.61. A 30-Day Notice of Change of Terms of Tenancy (AOA Form 102) must be served to each tenant after you pay  your bill before you can collect this fee. Please  check your current SCEP bill for the correct figure to use as it may have gone up this year! Every little bit helps! (Note: Delinquent fees cannot be passed through to tenants.)
5. Read and understand Attorney Dale Alberstone’s article in this issue regarding resident managers. Prepare and sign a Written Employment Agreement with all of your resident managers.
6. Download and always use AOA’s updated, “new and improved” Rental Agreement and/or Lease.
7. When negotiating a lease – speak in English and use an English rental agreement. If you and your tenant discuss the lease in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalong, Vietnamese or Korean, you must give the tenant an unsigned version of the rental lease in that language before asking him to sign. This rule does not apply if you present your English version only and the tenant has supplied his own translator who is not a minor and can speak AND read the particular language AND English fluently. Remember, if you use a Spanish rental agreement, all further notices served on the resident must also be in Spanish.
8. Make sure to offer all vacating tenants the AB2330 Walk Through Move-Out Inspection at least 15 days before tenant is due to move to avoid Small Claims court action and penalties on security deposit refunds.
9. Send your Security Deposit Refund  Letter to vacated tenants within 21 days after move-out  along with required receipts and proper interest payments. Failure to do so could cost you the entire security deposit plus substantial penalties.
10. If you are not yet in compliance  with the EPA’s Certified Renovator regulations, (RRP), put this on your immediate list of things to do. Follow all the rules of this one folks – financial penalties are now up to $37,500 per occurrence.  Be sure to also  give all new tenants a copy of the EPA Lead-Based Paint pamphlet with all leases and the Renovate Right pamphlet before commencing any work  involving the disturbance of lead-based paint.
11. Always run credit, eviction and criminal reports with AOA BEFORE renting.
12. Send the required AOA “Tenant  Rejection Notice” to all unaccepted applicants.
13. Prepare and plan ahead to replace plumbing fixtures with the required water-conserving fixtures before January 1, 2019. SB 407 [Padilla] will require all plumbing fixtures be replaced with water-conserving plumbing fixtures on or before January 1, 2019 for any residential, multifamily or commercial property. SB 407 also requires any building permit applicant to replace noncompliant plumbing fixtures with water-conserving ones as a condition to receive a certificate of final completion and occupancy or approval of a final building permit for any building alterations after January 1, 2014.

1. 2014 NEW Carbon Monoxide Detector Law. As of January 1, 2014, all smoke alarms installed in residential rental units must be on the State Fire Marshal’s list of approved devices. In order to be on the list of approved devices, the device must:

• Display the date of manufacture on the device
• Provide a place on the device where the date of installation can be written
• Incorporate a hush feature
• Incorporate an end-of-life feature that provides notice that the device needs to be replaced; and
• Contain a non-replaceable, non-removable battery that is capable of powering the smoke alarm for a minimum of 10 years (this last requirement applies only if the device is battery operated).
• Owners’ Obligations:  As of January 1, 2014, owners of both, multi-family and single family rental units who rent or lease their property will be responsible for testing and maintaining the smoke alarms within all of the units in, or on, their properties.  (For more information on this new law, refer to the article in the October 2013 AOA News and Buyers Guide.)

15. Know and be in compliance with all Fair Housing Laws.  Do not discriminate.
16. Test and maintain the working order of all smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.
17. Save money with AOA’s Group Insurance Program. Contact our group insurance team today for YOUR FREE QUOTE at 800-827-4262 or email [email protected].
18. Go Green this year! Save money with a recycling program, increase your bottom line by replacing burnt out incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. (CFL) or save money by using Energy Star appliances. You may qualify for rebates or federal tax credits. For more information, visit http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=tax_credits.tx_index.
19. Serve 3-Day Pay or Move-Out notices the day after unpaid rent was due. Do not wait until the tenant is weeks or months behind in payment. Do not include late fees in the 3-Day Notice as that will nullify proper service.
20. Join AOA and regularly attend the FREE member seminars and  workshops. Mark your calendars for the next AOA “Million Dollar” Trade Show and Educational Conference which is scheduled May 15, 2014 at the Long Beach Convention Center. Be sure to attend this money-saving and money-making event! Learn the laws. Knowledge is power!

If you have any additional suggestions, or have experience that you’d like to share with other members, please email [email protected]. Patricia A. Harris is Senior Editor of the AOA Magazine.