Rental Housing Habitability
in Los Angeles County

New Rental Housing Inspection Program in the Unincorporated Areas of the County of Los Angeles

On April 16, 2024, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved two ordinances that establish a new proactive rental housing inspection program in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. The new inspection program is called the Rental Housing Habitability Program (RHHP) and inspections will begin in October 2024. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) is the primary agency responsible for administrating the RHHP and conducting the inspections.

The RHHP applies to almost all rental housing units in the unincorporated areas of the County, including single-family homes that are rented. The RHHP has a proactive process for completing a prescheduled inspection of each rental housing unit once every 4 years. In addition, Public Health will also respond to habitability complaints made by tenants. The RHHP contains an administrative compliance process that provides landlords a specified period of time to correct habitability violations cited by Public Health. For noticed violations that remain uncorrected beyond the required correction date, the RHHP includes administrative actions to incentivize correction of habitability violations, including rent reductions and the potential for placement into the County's Rent Escrow Account Program (REAP) until all necessary repairs are made.

The goal of the Program is to ensure the health and safety of all rental units thereby improving the lives of renters, helping property owners maintain property values, and preserving the housing stock in the unincorporated areas of the County.

Background

In April 2022, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a motion directing the Department of Public Health to develop an ordinance to implement a Rental Housing Habitability Program in unincorporated Los Angeles County that is centralized, routine, and proactive.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Rental Housing Habitability Program Ordinance and Rent Escrow Account Program Ordinance are available for viewing.

Events

Presentation: Rental Housing Habitability Program (RHH Program) and Rent Escrow Account Program (REAP) Virtual Stakeholder Meeting

Public Health and the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs hosted six virtual stakeholder and community engagement meetings between March 2023 and January 2024, to collect public comments from tenants and landlords, housing stakeholders, and other interested parties. Five of the six meetings were broadcast in both English and Spanish using simultaneous interpretation.

Past RHH Program and REAP Virtual Stakeholder Meeting

Date/Time	Event Title	Stakeholder(s)	Resource(s)
April 16, 2024	Board of Supervisors - Public Hearing	Tenants, Tenants' Organizations, and Landlords	-
April 3, 2024	Cluster Meeting	-	Presentation : English ⋅ Español ⋅ 한국인 ⋅ 简体中文
February 28, 2024	Cluster Meeting	-	Meeting Agenda
January 24, 2024	Stakeholder Meeting	Tenants, Tenants' Organizations, and Landlords	Presentation Meeting Recording
July 10, 2023	Stakeholder Meeting	Tenants, Tenants' Organizations, and Landlords	-
June 29, 2023	Stakeholder Meeting	Tenants, Tenants' Organizations, and Landlords	-
June 14, 2023	Stakeholder Meeting	Marina Del Rey Lessee Association	-
April 25, 2023	Stakeholder Meeting	Landlords	-
April 20, 2023	Stakeholder Meeting	Tenants & Tenants' Organizations	-

Next Steps: We want to hear from you!

Please send your feedback and questions to the Environmental Health Division: ehconsultative@ph.lacounty.gov

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for future updates on the Rental Housing Habitability Program (RHH Program).