The 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, and a duplex in West Hollywood are governed by three separate registries, three separate fee schedules, three separate deadlines, and three different allowable increases. Miss one filing and the consequence is not a warning letter — in several jurisdictions it is a bar on collecting rent at all, plus a penalty calculated per unit, per month.

This is the complete 2026–27 compliance calendar for Los Angeles, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and unincorporated LA County — every deadline, every fee, and every penalty, with the official source for each. Bookmark it.

The three changes that catch owners out this year

1. Santa Monica now requires registration for buildings that were never rent-controlled

This is the one most owners have not heard about, and it is the most expensive to miss.

Santa Monica adopted a citywide rental registry (Municipal Code Chapter 4.25) that took effect January 1, 2026. It applies to rental housing that is not covered by the city’s rent control charter amendment — in other words, the stock that has never had to register before:

• Duplexes and single-family rentals
• Condominiums and townhouses
• ADUs and JADUs
• SRO housing
• Multifamily buildings built after 1979

Beginning January 1, 2027, an owner may not demand or accept rent for a unit that requires a registration statement without displaying the certificate. The civil penalty is $200 per unregistered unit, per month.

If you own a post-1979 building, a converted duplex, or an ADU in Santa Monica and you have never filed anything with the Rent Control Board, this now applies to you. The fee amount and the exact annual filing date are still being set by regulation — which is precisely why this should be on your calendar now rather than next December.

2. Los Angeles cut the RSO increase and eliminated the utility add-ons

The allowable RSO annual increase is 3.0% from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The percentage looks unchanged from last year, but the arithmetic underneath it did change, and so did what you may add on top.

Los Angeles replaced the old 3%–8% band with a new formula: 90% of CPI, with a floor of 1% and a ceiling of 4%. In a higher-inflation year, the old rules could have produced 6% or 7%. They no longer can.

More immediately: the additional percentage increases for gas and electric service have been eliminated. Beginning February 2, 2026, a landlord can no longer add any utility percentage to the RSO annual increase. If your notices still carry the old 1% + 1% adders, they are wrong, and a defective notice is not a small problem — it can invalidate the increase.

For the full building-by-building picture across every Westside city, see our Westside rent increase caps for 2026–27.

3. LA County set a maximum indoor temperature — and the first deadline is January 1, 2027

Los Angeles County adopted a habitability standard requiring a maximum indoor temperature of 82°F in all habitable rooms.

• All landlords: every habitable room by January 1, 2027
• Small property landlords (10 units or fewer): at least one habitable room by January 1, 2027; all habitable rooms by January 1, 2032

It applies to rental housing in unincorporated LA County, and to any city that adopts it. Compliance can include portable cooling devices — but the cost of portable cooling cannot be passed through to rent-stabilized tenants. Extensions of up to two years are available on written request where portable cooling genuinely cannot achieve the threshold.

One important clarification, because this has been widely misreported: the City of Los Angeles has not adopted this. In February 2026 the City Council passed a motion directing the City to conform to the County ordinance. A motion is not an ordinance. There is no City of LA deadline today — but there is a clear direction of travel, and buildings will need a cooling plan eventually.

The 2026–27 compliance calendar

Deadlines are listed in the order they arrive.

Deadline	Jurisdiction	What is due	Cost
Sept 30, 2026	Unincorporated LA County	DCBA Rent Registry annual registration	$90/unit fully covered; $30/unit partially covered
Jan 1, 2027	Unincorporated LA County	82°F maximum indoor temperature — all habitable rooms	Varies
Jan 1, 2027	Santa Monica	Chapter 4.25 registry — rent may not be collected without a certificate	Fee being set by regulation
January 2027	City of Los Angeles	Annual RSO / JCO / SCEP bill issued	See below
Last day of Feb 2027	City of Los Angeles	Bill delinquent; Rent Registry filing due	Delinquent rates apply
~Aug 1, 2027	Santa Monica	Rent control registration fee (bills mailed in June)	Confirm current rate
Aug 31, 2027	Beverly Hills	Annual rental unit registration	No fee published
July 15, 2027	West Hollywood	Annual rent registration fee	$144/unit ($60 Section 8)
Jan 1, 2032	Statewide	Next SB 721 balcony inspection cycle (3+ units)	Inspection cost

City of Los Angeles

Annual registration is mandatory for all residential rental units in the City — RSO units and non-RSO units subject to the Just Cause Ordinance alike. New owners have 45 days from close of escrow.

Per-unit fees:

• RSO: $38.75 regular / $58.13 delinquent
• JCO (non-RSO units): $31.05 regular / $46.58 delinquent
• SCEP: $67.94 regular / $135.88 delinquent

Fees are not prorated — a unit rented for part of the year still owes the full amount. Where the unit is registered and written notice is given, you may pass through $1.61/month (RSO) and $2.83/month (SCEP) to the tenant.

What happens if you do not register. Los Angeles Municipal Code 151.05(A) is explicit: no landlord shall demand or accept rent without first procuring and serving a valid written registration statement. LAHD will not issue a Registration Certificate until every requirement is met and every fee is paid. Beyond that:

• A late-registration penalty of 150% of the registration fee, per unit
• A separate $250 per day fine for failing to post the required RSO notice after LAHD gives 7 days’ notice
• Tenants may raise unpaid RSO or SCEP fees as an affirmative defense against eviction

Registration is complete only when the fees are paid and the rent amounts, tenancy information, and emergency contact details are all on file. Paying the bill alone does not finish the job — a point that catches a surprising number of owners every February.

More on which buildings are covered: the LA Rent Stabilization Ordinance explained and Los Angeles rent control by zip code.

Santa Monica

The 2026 General Adjustment is 2.6%, capped at $70 per month, effective September 1, 2026 (Resolution 26-001, adopted June 11, 2026). The dollar cap matters: on a higher-rent unit the cap bites well before the percentage does.

Registration bills are mailed in June and are generally due at the start of August. Two consequences follow from paying late:

• A 4% penalty is added to the balance every month it remains unpaid
• You lose the right to pass half the fee through to the tenant — that pass-through is allowed only if the fee is paid in full by the due date

An owner who fails to register a tenancy loses eligibility for the annual increase and for pass-throughs entirely, and may be served with a Complaint for Non-Registration or Excess Rent Receipt and Retention.

Because the Rent Control Board sets fees annually, confirm the current per-unit amount with the Board at (310) 458-8751 before you budget it. And remember the new Chapter 4.25 registry above — it is a separate obligation from rent control registration, and it reaches buildings rent control never touched.

Background: how Santa Monica rent control works.

West Hollywood

The Annual General Adjustment is 2.75%, from September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2027. It applies to properties with two or more units first occupied on or before July 1, 1979, and is calculated at 75% of the regional CPI, with the city maintaining a 3% ceiling.

Registration fees are $144 per unit per year, or $60 for Section 8 tenancies, due July 15. Half — $6 per month — may be passed to the tenant in twelve equal monthly portions. It cannot be charged as a lump sum, cannot be back-billed, and cannot be billed for months in which you did not pay the City.

Two ongoing duties are easy to let slip: new tenancies must be registered within 30 days of lease execution, and a Property Information Update is due within 30 days of any change in ownership, management, or contact details.

The AGA may only be applied if the tenancy is registered and the fees are paid. West Hollywood is also holding community meetings on updating its Rent Stabilization Ordinance — expect changes, and check before you serve notices next season.

Beverly Hills

Maximum annual increases are 3.6% for Chapter 6 units and 3.35% for Chapter 5 units. The Chapter 6 figure is the greater of 3% or the LA-area CPI, updated each June. One increase per tenant per twelve months, with 30 days’ written notice.

Owners must register rental units annually and provide rent information for each unit. The 2026 deadline was August 31 — it has passed. If you did not file, do it now rather than waiting for the next cycle. New rents must be entered in the online registry within 30 days of executing the lease, and re-registered within 30 days of any re-rental or change.

Beverly Hills does not publish a per-unit registration fee. Confirm with Rent Stabilization at (310) 285-1000.

More detail: Beverly Hills rent control for owners.

Unincorporated LA County

The DCBA Rent Registry deadline is September 30, 2026. Register after that and a 10% late fee applies — but the real cost is steeper: owners with unpaid registration fees cannot increase rent or pass through any costs to tenants.

Fees are $90 per fully covered unit and $30 per partially covered unit. Allowable increases for July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 are 1.919% for fully covered units, 2.919% for small property landlords, and 3.919% for luxury units — calculated at 60% of CPI.

If your building sits in an unincorporated pocket — and several Westside-adjacent areas do — this deadline is days away.

Statewide obligations that apply everywhere

AB 1482 cap: 8.7%

For units covered by the Tenant Protection Act rather than local rent control, the maximum increase in the LA metro area is 8.7% — a 5% base plus 3.7% CPI — from August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027. The statutory rule is the lower of 5% + regional CPI, or 10%.

Where local rent control applies, the local cap governs. See how much landlords can raise rent in California.

Balcony inspections (SB 721)

Buildings with three or more units must have exterior elevated elements with load-bearing wood components — balconies, decks, landings, stairways, walkways, guardrails — inspected by a licensed contractor, architect, engineer, or certified inspector. At least 15% of each element type must be inspected.

The first inspection was due January 1, 2026; the cycle repeats every six years, so the next is January 1, 2032. If you have not had yours done, you are past due. Where repairs are needed, you must apply for a permit within 120 days of the report and complete the work within 120 days of permit approval. Civil penalties run $100 to $500 per day if repairs are not finished within 180 days of notice, and the city may record a building safety lien. Keep inspection reports for at least two cycles.

Security deposit photographs (AB 2801)

This one is already in force and is quietly the most common source of deposit disputes we see. You must photograph the unit:

• Immediately before or at the start of the tenancy
• After the tenant moves out, before any repairs
• Again after any repair or cleaning for which you claim a deduction

The photographs must be delivered with the itemized statement. Deductions must be reasonably necessary, and professional cleaning is chargeable only where it is genuinely needed to return the unit to its condition at the start of the tenancy — ordinary wear and tear excluded. Without the photographs, a contested deduction is very hard to defend.

Two laws that took effect January 1, 2026

• AB 628 — a working stove and refrigerator are now a habitability standard. Repair or replace within 30 days of written notice.
• AB 1414 — tenants may opt out of bulk internet subscriptions, and you may not retaliate for it.

Seismic retrofit: no calendar deadline

LA’s soft-story and non-ductile concrete programs, and Santa Monica’s retrofit ordinance, are all order-driven, not calendar-driven. Your clock starts on the date your Order to Comply is served. For LA soft-story that means plans within 2 years, permit within 3.5 years, and construction complete within 7 years of the order. If you have received an order, the dates on that document are the only ones that matter.

Frequently asked questions

Can I be stopped from collecting rent if I do not register?

In the City of Los Angeles, yes. LAMC 151.05(A) prohibits demanding or accepting rent without a valid registration statement. In Santa Monica, from January 1, 2027, the same applies to units covered by the new Chapter 4.25 registry. In unincorporated LA County, unpaid registration fees bar you from increasing rent or passing through costs.

Do I have to register if my building is not rent-controlled?

Increasingly, yes. Los Angeles requires registration for all residential rental units, not only RSO units. Santa Monica’s Chapter 4.25 registry specifically covers non-rent-controlled housing including ADUs, condos, and post-1979 buildings. Assuming you are exempt because rent control does not apply is the single most expensive mistake we see.

Can I still add a utility increase on top of the LA rent increase?

No. Beginning February 2, 2026, the additional percentage increases for gas and electric were eliminated in the City of Los Angeles. Notices that still include them are defective.

My building is in Santa Monica and rents are high. Does the 2.6% apply?

The 2026 General Adjustment is 2.6% capped at $70 per month. On higher-rent units the dollar cap is what limits you, not the percentage.

What if I missed the Beverly Hills August 31 deadline?

File now. The city’s guidance is to register to avoid enforcement action rather than wait for the next annual cycle.

What this actually costs you in time

Read the list again and count the moving parts: five registries, four different allowable increases, four fee schedules, two brand-new obligations, and a set of penalties that begin at “you cannot collect rent.” Every one of them has to be tracked per building — and on the Westside, a ten-building portfolio can easily sit across three jurisdictions.

This is the part of ownership that does not show up in a pro forma. It is also the part where a single missed filing costs more than a year of management fees.

At Lotus West Properties we manage 100+ buildings and well over 1,000 units across Santa Monica, Venice, West Hollywood, and Los Angeles. Registration, rent registry filings, increase notices at the correct cap for each specific building, and inspection deadlines are tracked for every property we manage, every cycle. Our owners do not receive these deadlines as reminders — they receive them as completed work.

If you are managing your own buildings and reading this list with a sinking feeling, that is the correct reaction. Request a free building evaluation or call (323) 487-2650, and we will tell you exactly which of these apply to your buildings — whether or not you hire us.

Further reading: 5 ways property management saves LA owners money · what property management costs in LA · how to choose a property management company · managing multifamily income properties in LA

This article is general information for property owners, current as of September 14, 2026, and is not legal advice. Fee schedules and allowable increases are set annually and change. Confirm current figures with the relevant agency — LAHD, the Santa Monica Rent Control Board (310) 458-8751, West Hollywood Rent Stabilization, Beverly Hills Rent Stabilization (310) 285-1000, or LA County DCBA — before acting.