A property owner's digest — January 2026 through the present, plus what's coming down the pike through June 2027
Quick disclosure: This newsletter is intended as a practical summary of significant rental housing developments and is not legal advice. Laws change frequently, local ordinances may vary, and application depends on the facts of a particular property. Owners should consult qualified legal counsel before making compliance decisions.
Before relying on any update, determine whether your property is subject to: AB1482, LA City RSO, LA County Tenant Protections Ordinance or other local ordinances.
This Newsletter Covers: LA City (including San Pedro, Wilmington, and Harbor City), LA County, Carson, El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lomita, Long Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, and Torrance.
Heads Up: What's Still in the Pipeline (not law yet)
AB 1157 (Kalra) — The Big Rent Cap Tightening Bill
Status as of this writing: stalled. It failed to advance out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee on January 13, 2026. If it had passed, it would have significantly lowered the statewide AB 1482 rent cap, pulled more units under coverage, and removed the law's scheduled 2030 sunset. It's not dead — bills like this tend to resurface — worth keeping on the radar through 2027.
SB 522 (Wahab) — Rent Caps on Disaster-Rebuild Units
Sent to the inactive file on September 10, 2025. Would apply rent caps and just-cause eviction rules to new units built to replace homes lost in a disaster. Not currently law, but could get a second life before this session ends.
The Timeline: Oldest to Newest
January 1, 2026 — Statewide (every city on this list)
AB 628 (McKinnor) — Working Stove & Refrigerator Now Required
For any lease signed, renewed, or amended on or after January 1, 2026, a unit isn't legally "habitable" unless it has a working stove and refrigerator — joining heat, water, and electricity on the required-basics list. Landlord and tenant can agree in writing that the tenant will supply their own fridge, but if the landlord provides either appliance, they're responsible for keeping it working and repairing or replacing it within a reasonable time. If an appliance is recalled, there's a 30-day window from the date of notice to deal with it. Practical note: month-to-month tenancies already in place before Jan 1, 2026 aren't automatically pulled in — but the moment any term of that tenancy changes after the effective date, compliance kicks in.
AB 246 (Bryan) — Social Security Tenant Protection Act
If a tenant's rent goes unpaid because of a delay or cut in their Social Security benefits, that alone can't be used as grounds for eviction. Practically, this means a documented Social Security disruption is a valid defense a tenant can raise.
AB 414 — Security Deposit Return Overhaul
Although the statute appears modest, it significantly changes security deposit administration.
- Electronic returns: if a tenant paid their deposit electronically (Zelle, Venmo, ACH, etc.), they can now require the deposit — and the itemized deduction statement — to be returned through that same electronic method, rather than a paper check.
- Timing flexibility: landlords and tenants can now agree, at any point (not just after move-out, as before) on how the deposit refund and statement will be delivered. That agreement can be built right into the lease or move-out paperwork.
- Multi-tenant leases: when several roommates are on one lease, the law now spells out how the deposit gets divided and returned depending on how they leave — if all co-tenants vacate at the same time, the full deposit (minus lawful deductions) is returned as one payment, typically to a single designated tenant or split as the co-tenants direct in writing. If tenants vacate at different times, the landlord isn't required to return any portion of the deposit until the last co-tenant on the original lease has moved out — closing the previous ambiguity about whether a partial refund was owed to an early-leaving roommate. Co-tenants can still agree among themselves, in writing, to a different split.
- The 21-day clock is unchanged— the deposit and itemized statement are still due within 21 days of move-out, new tenant or not. What changed is the mechanics of how it can be delivered.
AB 2493 — Pre-Repair Photo Documentation Requirement
For any security deposit taken on or after January 1, 2026, landlords are now required to photograph the interior condition of the unit immediately after regaining possession — before any cleaning, painting, or repair work begins. This is meant to create a clear, timestamped record of what the unit actually looked like at move-out, before deductions are made against the deposit.
- Practical implications: a standard move-out photo checklist (every room, flooring, appliances, walls, fixtures) taken before cleaning crews or contractors start work — not after — is now effectively required practice.
- Keeping photos organized and dated alongside the itemized deduction statement matters: if a deposit dispute ends up in small claims court, this documentation is the primary evidence that deductions were justified and pre-existing (not caused by the repair process itself).
- This pairs directly with AB 414 above — between the two laws, security deposit disputes are going to hinge heavily on documentation discipline going forward.
AB 747 — Mandatory Fee Disclosure
Every mandatory recurring fee — trash collection, utility pass-throughs, sewer charges, or any other charge a tenant can't opt out of — now has to be spelled out clearly in both the lease itself and any rental listing/advertisement.
- What counts as "mandatory": if the tenant has no real choice but to pay it as a condition of the tenancy, it needs to be disclosed up front — it can no longer be introduced as a surprise line item after move-in.
SB 610 — Disaster-Related Tenant Protections
Following a declared disaster affecting a rental unit, tenants now have defined rights — including requiring landlords to handle debris removal and, in certain disaster scenarios, pausing rent obligations. Relevant for any properties in fire- or flood-prone areas.
January 1, 2026 — Inglewood
Housing Protection Ordinance (HPO) Gets a Major Overhaul
Inglewood significantly expanded its rent control and just-cause ordinance:
- Sunset clause removed— the ordinance was set to automatically expire December 31, 2024; it's now permanent.
- Small-owner coverage expanded— buildings with 4 or fewer units, previously mostly exempt, are now largely pulled into coverage.
- "Substantial remodel" no-fault eviction loophole closed— a remodel can no longer be used as grounds for a no-fault termination the way it previously could.
- Registration required even if exempt— owners who believe their property is exempt from the ordinance now have to formally register and provide proof of that exemption, rather than simply not registering.
- Registration fee — annual registration is now $206 per unit, regardless of building size.
- 2026 rent cap: for the January 1 – December 31, 2026 cycle, Inglewood's cap sits at 3% for buildings with 5+ units, and up to 8% (5% + CPI, capped at 10%) for buildings with 4 or fewer units.
February 2, 2026 — LA City
Utility & Dependent Rent Adders Eliminated
The old +1% (gas paid) or +1% (electric paid) surcharges, and the +10% "additional occupant" bump, previously allowed on top of an RSO increase, are gone as of this date. The increase is now capped at the base RSO percentage only.
April 16, 2026 — LA County (unincorporated pockets only)
Two-Month Eviction Threshold for Nonpayment
County supervisors amended the Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protections Ordinance so landlords in unincorporated county territory can't file a nonpayment eviction until the tenant is behind by two full months of HUD Fair Market Rent— double the old one-month trigger. This only reaches unincorporated slivers of the county (parts of Marina del Rey, East LA, Florence-Graham, and similar unincorporated areas) — it does not touch incorporated cities like Torrance, Carson, or Redondo Beach.
July 1, 2026 — LA City
New RSO Rent Formula Phases In
The rewrite the City Council passed back in December 2025 fully kicks in. Pre-October-1978 buildings under LA City rent control now calculate increases off 90% of CPI (down from 100%), with a tighter 1% floor / 4% ceiling (down from 3%/8%). For the year running July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, the actual number lands at 3%.
August 1, 2026 — Statewide
AB 1482 (Tenant Protection Act) — Annual Cap Reset
Every August 1, the statewide rent cap recalculates based on updated regional inflation data. For the LA–Long Beach–Anaheim metro, the cap for the year starting August 1, 2026 landed at 8.7% (up slightly from 8.6% the prior cycle). This is a ceiling, not a target, and it only applies where a stricter local ordinance doesn't already govern the unit.
Standing Rules Worth a Reminder (unchanged this window, but often confused with new law)
- Long Beach Just Cause for Termination of Tenancies Ordinance (LBMC 8.99): no local rent cap, but a locally stricter just-cause eviction law than AB 1482 — protections kick in after 12 months of tenancy.
- Gardena Rent Mediation Ordinance: not rent control — a mandatory 30/90-day notice plus a mediation-rights disclosure, unchanged since 1987.
- Carson, El Segundo, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Lawndale, Lomita, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance: no local rent control or just-cause ordinance identified — AB 1482 is the operative statewide law for covered units in these cities.
Bottom Line for Owners
The theme this cycle is documentation and disclosure— AB 414, AB 2493, and AB 747 together mean deposit and fee practices that used to be informal now need to be in writing, timestamped, and disclosed up front. Pair that with LA City's tightened RSO formula and Inglewood's expanded coverage, and the operational lift for 2026 is real. As always, this digest is a starting point — confirming anything address-specific with an attorney or the relevant city's housing department is worthwhile, especially for the smaller cities where minor code changes are easy to miss.