A: In April 2022, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a motion directing the Department of Public Health (DPH) along with numerous other relevant County departments to develop an ordinance to implement a Rental Housing Habitability (RHH) Program along with a Rent Escrow Account Program (REAP) in unincorporated Los Angeles County.
A: To create a proactive rental housing inspection program whereby each rental housing unit in unincorporated Los Angeles County will be inspected at least once every 4 years. The RHHP will contain provisions that encourage the rapid correction of habitability violations.
A: The proposed ordinance will apply to all residential rental housing properties with two or more rental housing units within the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County and all rental housing properties registered in the County's Rent Registry.
This ordinance will not apply to:
A: There are two types of inspections: Routine (scheduled) inspections every four years and complaint-based inspections.
A: The purpose of REAP is to assist in resolving the most severe habitability violations found in rental housing properties. Tenants who have their units placed into REAP may be allowed to pay a reduced rent into an escrow account based on an order by an administrative hearing officer. REAP provide funds for correction of housing habitability violations. Any County agency may refer any building or rental unit within the scope of this ordinance for inclusion in REAP if certain conditions are met.
A: Enforcement of habitability standards is carried out by various County departments, including DPH, Dept of Public Works, Dept of Regional Planning, and the Los Angeles County Development Authority.
A: "Significant" progress is determined when the inspector observes substantial advancement or improvement in a particular situation. This may be that work has begun but not been completed, or a contractor has been hired and the job scheduled, but work has not yet commenced. If significant progress toward correcting a habitability violation is determined to exist by the inspector, an extension of the compliance date may be granted.
A: DPH originally intended to use independent contractors as hearing officers to prevent bias. However, DPH has been advised that hearing officers are required to be county employees. DPH is exploring using hearing officers from other sections of DPH or other county departments which are not involved in the Rental Housing Habitability Program enforcement. Furthermore, this will be a two-tier process where the hearing officer's decision can be appealed based on an error or abuse of discretion. The appeals board will be comprised of county employees who know the applicable laws and are not part of the Rental Housing Habitability Program.
A: The Rental Housing Oversight Commission will not hear the appeals. The ordinance provides for a separate Hearing Board to hear the appeals of the decisions of the administrative hearing officer's related to the Rental Housing Habitability Program and REAP.
A: The RHHP is part of the County's Department of Public Health, and the Rental Housing Habitability Program staff will handle all the inspections and complaint investigations.
A: Yes, fully covered properties, subject to the County's Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protections Ordinance, may still apply for rent adjustments related to a habitability issue.
A: The landlord will be issued an order to comply if habitability violations are found during an inspection, and if the landlord does not correct the violation by the reinspection date, the unit may be referred to County Housing Program Manager for a recommendation to the administrative hearing officer that the unit be placed into REAP due to ongoing and uncorrected violations.
A: No. However, not all repairs require permits, but for those that do, having an order to comply from an inspecting agency does not allow the owner to forego any required permits.
A: A notice will be issued to the landlord to pay any utilities that were the landlord's responsibility in the lease agreement. If the utilities were the tenant's responsibility, a notice to abate will be issued to both the landlord and the tenant to restore utilities because occupying a unit without essential services is still illegal. The Department will investigate what role it can play in restoring utilities when the landlord abandons a property.
A: Currently, third-party inspection reports are not accepted as evidence for the issuance of a notice to abate by the Department of Public Health.
A: Should the ordinance be adopted by the Board of Supervisors, it will go into effect July 1, 2024, with inspection beginning 6- months after the adoption of the ordinance.
A: Inspections will be prioritized based on the inspection history of the properties in our inventory.
A: After a property is placed into REAP, tenants have the option to pay their rent directly into the rent escrow account or to continue paying their landlords. However, if a tenant does not pay their rent into the rent escrow account, they will not be eligible to request funds to complete repairs or to be reimbursed for relocation expenses.
A: A complaint should be filed with the County Agricultural Commissioner/Weights and Measures using their website https://acwm.lacounty.gov/pesticide-complaint/.
A: Yes, a tenant occupied single-family home will be subject to the Rental Housing Habitability Program.
A: You may contact the Department of Public Health for complaints about rental housing habitability issues at 888-700-9995. A new phone number will be established specifically for the RHHP when the program is implemented.
For general tenant/landlord questions, you may reach out to Los Angeles County Department of Consumer & Business Affairs at:
Phone: 800-593-8222
Website: rent.lacounty.gov
Email: rent@dcba.lacounty.gov
A: Rental Housing Habitability Program Environmental Health Division: ehconsultative@ph.lacounty.gov
Last Updated: 2024-02-21
