Posts by Byron Yamada
California FAIR Plan Rates Rise 29% on October 15, 2026: What Los Angeles Landlords and Tenants Should Do Now
FAIR Plan rates rise 29.1% on October 15, 2026. What LA landlords and tenants should check now: renewals, loss-of-rents coverage, SB 610 evacuation rights.
Read MoreThe 2026–27 Westside Landlord Compliance Calendar: Every Deadline, Fee, and Filing
If you own rental property on the Westside, 2026 quietly changed more of your obligations than any year since the pandemic. Two of those changes carry the same penalty: you lose the legal right to collect rent. The rules now differ block by block. A fourplex in Santa Monica, a 12-unit building in Los Angeles,…
Read MoreResponsive. Trustworthy. Caring. – Our New 30-Second Film on How Lotus West Manages Your Building
A 30-second look at how Lotus West Properties manages Westside apartment buildings – the walk-throughs, our in-house maintenance crew, and the 15 written guarantees behind Ari Chazanas’s line: “Your success is our success.”
Read MoreWestside Rent Increase Caps for 2026–27: Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Culver City, and LA — Building by Building
We’ve already covered how California’s rent-increase system works statewide — AB 1482, the LA RSO overhaul, notice rules — in our guide to how often landlords can raise rent in California. But that guide ends where westside ownership actually gets complicated: Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and Culver City each run their own rent control, with…
Read MoreNew California Rental Laws in 2026: What Owners and Tenants Need to Know
Quick summary: Four things changed for California rentals in 2026. Landlords must now provide a working stove and refrigerator (AB 628). Security deposits paid electronically must be returned electronically on request (AB 414). Renters gained defined protections after natural disasters (SB 610). And in Los Angeles, the RSO rent formula was rewritten on July 1…
Read MoreCan My Landlord Raise My Rent $300? (California 2026 Answer)
Whether a $300 rent increase is legal in California depends on your cap: 8.0% for L.A.-area AB 1482 units (8.7% from Aug 1, 2026), 3% for City of L.A. RSO units. Do the math and know your notice rights.
Read MoreTop 10 Property Management Companies in Los Angeles (2026)
An honest, criteria-based ranking of the top 10 property management companies in Los Angeles for 2026 – with a clear “best for” verdict on every firm.
Read MoreHow to Evict a Tenant in California (2026 Guide)
Evicting a tenant in California is not a matter of asking them to leave — it’s a formal legal process with strict rules, and in Los Angeles those rules go further than almost anywhere else in the country. Get a step wrong and the case gets thrown out; take a shortcut like changing the locks…
Read MoreDoes a Landlord Have To Provide Air Conditioning in California?
California summers can be brutal, and heat waves are getting longer and more intense across the state. So it’s a fair question for renters and owners alike: is a landlord required to provide air conditioning in California? The short answer is no. As of 2026, California does not require landlords to provide air conditioning. But…
Read More