RE: RENTAL HOUSING HABITABILITY INSPECTION PROGRAM

Dear Rental Property Owner:

This letter is to introduce you to a new rental housing habitability inspection program in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County that will be administrated by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health). This letter will provide a brief description of the new program, ask you to confirm or correct Public Health's information about your rental property, and, if you choose, to identity a person to Public Health as your designated local contact representative for your rental property.

NEW RENTAL HOUSING HABITABILITY PROGRAM ORDINANCE

On April 23, 2024, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors enacted two ordinances: Chapters 8.53 and 8.55 of the Los Angeles County Code, which establish a new proactive rental housing habitability inspection program in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Public Health will administer the new inspection program, called the Rental Housing Habitability Program (RHHP) and will conduct inspections of rental properties beginning in November 2024.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RENTAL HOUSING HABITABILITY PROGRAM

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. Public Health will also respond to housing habitability complaints made by tenants. The RHHP contains an administrative compliance process that provides landlords with a specified time period to correct habitability violations cited by Public Health.

For observed violations that remain uncorrected beyond the compliance date, the RHHP includes administrative actions to incentivize rapid correction of habitability violations, including rent reductions and the potential for the placement of the rental property or unit into the County's Rent Escrow Account Program (REAP) until all necessary repairs are made.

RHHP and REAP are operated on a cost-recovery basis. Every year, Rental property owners will be assessed an annual fee of $86 per unit, to fund the operations of both programs. The annual fee will appear as a line item on the subject property's property tax bill issued for 2024-25 by the Los Angeles County Treasurer - Tax Collector. Rental property owners are authorized to pass on 50% of the per unit annual fee on a monthly basis to their tenants. Rental property owners may begin collecting the monthly fee of $3.58 per unit starting July 2024.

CURRENT INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR RENTAL PROPERTY

Public Health has identified your property as being a property with two or more units that is subject to the ordinance, unless specific exemptions are met. Please use the attached Property Information Verification Form to correct information regarding your rental property information or visit the Rental Housing Habitability Program website to submit the information to Public Health electronically.

Please note that rental units occupied by the property owner or removed from the rental market are exempt from the Rental Housing Habitability ordinance and are not subject to the new annual $86 per rental unit fee. It is important that you promptly provide the correct number of rental units at the rental property, so that the County can ensure that your property tax bill accurately reflects the correct information.

Additionally, it is vitally important that Public Health has a reliable way to contact rental property owners regarding both scheduled and complaint investigations, and to discuss repairs and corrective measures that may need to be made within the time prescribed by the ordinance. To allow for timely and reliable communication, when confirming the numbers of rental units at your rental property, please provide Public Health with the contact information, including cell phone number and email address, for you as the rental property owner, and/or a designated local contact representative or agent authorized by you, to resolve any issues and respond to any inquires, notices of inspection or notices of violation issued by Public Health, or any other governmental agency. Public Health requests that you or your designated local contact representative be easily accessible by phone and email and able to respond quickly to any urgent issue with the rental property that may arise.

If you have any additional questions, comments, or concerns, please contact the Rental Housing Habitability Program via email at DPH-RHHP@ph.lacounty.gov.

Interested in learning more about the Rental Housing Habitability Program?
Please visit Rental Housing Habitability Program website.