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Renting, credit & your rights
Straight answers for renters and landlords in Los Angeles. Everything here is free and open — no account needed.
How Much Can My Landlord Raise Rent in LA? 2026
The three 2026 rent-increase rules in Los Angeles — city RSO, county RSTPO and AB 1482 — with caps, notice periods, and how to fight an illegal hike.
Read guide → Rent & increasesIs My Apartment Rent-Controlled in LA?
Step by step: find out whether your LA apartment falls under city RSO, county RSTPO, statewide AB 1482 or is exempt — and what that means for your rent.
Read guide → Your buildingWho Owns My Building in Los Angeles?
Find the landlord behind the LLC and read your LA building's public record — code cases, complaints, eviction filings and RSO status. Step by step.
Read guide → Money & depositsSecurity Deposits in LA: Caps and 21-Day Return
California and LA deposit rules: the AB 12 one-month cap, the 21-day itemized return, lawful deductions, AB 2801 photos, and how to demand your money back.
Read guide → Getting approvedRenting in LA With No SSN or an ITIN
Leasing an LA apartment without a Social Security number: using an ITIN, your AB 291 protections, and how to prove income without a credit score.
Read guide → Getting approvedRental Application Fees in LA: Limits & Refunds
California caps rental application fees under CC §1950.6. Here is the 2026 limit, when you get a refund, and how to stop paying $50 per LA application.
Read guide → EvictionsI Got an Eviction Notice in LA — What Now?
A plain-English guide to eviction notices in Los Angeles: the notice types, what makes one valid, your real deadlines, and free legal help you can call.
Read guide → EvictionsJust-Cause Eviction in LA: Your Rights
LA's Just Cause Ordinance and AB 1482 limit why you can be evicted. At-fault vs. no-fault reasons, the 6- and 12-month rules, and relocation assistance.
Read guide → Getting approvedSection 8 Vouchers in LA: Your SB 329 Rights
An LA landlord generally cannot reject you for paying with a Section 8 voucher. How SB 329 and SB 267 protect you, and what to do if you are denied.
Read guide → Your buildingRepairs & Habitability in LA: Force a Fix
Your LA rental must be safe and livable. How the warranty of habitability, repair-and-deduct, LAHD and 311 complaints, REAP and retaliation rules work.
Read guide → EvictionsLA Relocation Assistance: How Much Landlords Must Pay Renters
Ended through no fault of your own? Owner move-in, Ellis Act, demolition and renovation payouts — what LA city and county rules owe you and how to claim.
Read guide → EvictionsEllis Act Eviction in LA: Rights & Payouts
The Ellis Act lets an LA landlord empty a building and evict everyone. Notice periods, relocation pay, your right of first refusal, and fake-Ellis signs.
Read guide → Renter helpWildfire Price Gouging in LA: Penal Code §396
California caps rent increases at 10% during a declared emergency. How the price-gouging law protects LA renters after the fires, and where to report it.
Read guide → Getting approvedRenting an ADU or Back House in Los Angeles
Renting a granny flat in LA: what counts as an ADU, whether AB 1482 caps your rent, unpermitted units and habitability, deposits, and your tenant rights.
Read guide → Renter rightsYour Rights as a Los Angeles Renter (2026)
A plain-English map of your rights as an LA renter in 2026: rent control, deposits, fees, evictions, discrimination and repairs, with official sources.
Read guide → Rent & increasesIs My LA Apartment Rent-Stabilized? RSO Rules & Increase Caps (2026)
Check if your LA unit is under the RSO: a 3% max increase through June 2027, the 8.7% statewide cap for most other units, and your eviction protections.
Read guide → Money & creditHow LA Renters Build Credit With Their Rent
AB 2747 gives LA renters the right to have on-time rent reported to the bureaus. How it works, who is exempt, what it costs, and whether it lifts a score.
Read guide → RepairsNo Heat or Hot Water in Your LA Apartment
Heat and hot water are legally required in every LA rental. How to document it, report to LAHD or 311, and use repair-and-deduct to force a fix.
Read guide → Renter rightsTenant Harassment in LA: The TAHO Ordinance
Cut power, bogus notices, ignored repairs, immigration threats — what counts as landlord harassment in Los Angeles, the penalties, and how to document it.
Read guide → Money & creditIllegal Rental Fees in LA: How to Get Them Back
What an LA landlord can and cannot charge — application fees, deposits, move-in fees, broker fees and junk fees — plus how to get illegal ones refunded.
Read guide → Getting approvedRenting Without a Guarantor in LA: What Works
No co-signer in LA? Here is how landlords really screen, plus the legal alternatives: bank-verified income, capped deposits, and reusable reports.
Read guide → Getting approvedRenting in LA With No Credit History
No credit score in LA is a thin-file problem, not a rejection. How landlords really approve renters, what to show instead, and how to dodge scams.
Read guide → Renter helpHow to Avoid Rental Scams in Los Angeles
Phantom listings, cloned ads and “no credit check” cons target LA renters. Learn the red flags and how to verify the real owner before you pay a dollar.
Read guide → Money & creditBroker Fees & Move-In Costs in LA: What's Legal
What an LA landlord can legally charge at move-in: the AB 12 deposit cap, application fees, first month's rent, junk fees, and the truth about broker fees.
Read guide → Renter rightsIs Subletting Illegal in LA? What Happens If You Get Caught
Subletting without permission can mean eviction — but a legal sublet is straightforward. How rent control treats unauthorized subletting, your rights as a subtenant, and how to avoid sublet scams.
Read guide → Money & creditMove-In & Move-Out Inspection in LA (AB 2801)
AB 2801 photos, the one-month deposit cap, the 21-day clock and the pre-move-out inspection — how each protects your LA deposit and what can be deducted.
Read guide → EvictionsLA Unlawful Detainer: Landlord Eviction Steps
How to evict a tenant in Los Angeles lawfully: just cause, the right notice, the unlawful detainer suit, the sheriff lockout, and traps that void a case.
Read guide → Renter helpThe LA Renter Toolkit: Official Resources
Every official LA renter resource in one place — LAHD, HACLA, DCBA, the courts, legal aid, ZIMAS and the Assessor — sorted so you can get help fast.
Read guide → Renter helpLA Wildfire Renters Recovery Hub
For renters displaced by the Palisades and Eaton fires: price-gouging limits, breaking a lease, getting your deposit back, insurance, and free legal help.
Read guide → Renter rightsIllegal Lockouts in LA: Your Rights & Damages
Only a sheriff can remove a tenant in California. If your LA landlord changes the locks or cuts utilities, here is the law, the damages, and who to call.
Read guide → Getting approved“No Section 8” Is Illegal in Los Angeles
SB 329 and SB 267 bar LA landlords from rejecting vouchers and limit income screening to your share of the rent. Here is how to use those rules.
Read guide → Money & creditRent Reporting for LA Renters: AB 2747 Explained
How rent reporting builds credit in LA, what AB 2747 requires landlords to offer, how to opt out, the fee cap, and why not every score counts your rent.
Read guide → RepairsLandlord Won't Make Repairs in LA? Do This
When your LA landlord ignores repairs: the warranty of habitability, repair-and-deduct, free LAHD complaints and REAP, and protection from retaliation.
Read guide → Getting approved“No Credit Check” Apartments in LA: The Truth
“No credit check” is often marketing and sometimes a scam. How LA renters get approved with no score using alternative evidence, plus the fraud red flags.
Read guide → Getting approvedWhat Counts as Proof of Income to Rent in LA? (Free Checklist)
Which documents LA landlords accept, how bank-verified income works, a fictional sample packet, and the SB 267 alternative-evidence rule for renters with a rent subsidy.
Read guide → Money & creditRent Certificate: Verified Proof of Your Rent History
A downloadable, QR-verified PDF proving your bank-verified rent-payment history — for benefits, taxes, immigration filings, loans, eviction defense, and new landlords.
Read guide → Renter rightsBreaking a Lease for Domestic Violence in LA (Civil Code §1946.7)
California lets survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and trafficking end a lease early. The documentation you need, the 14-day rule, and lock changes.
Read guide → Money & depositsPet Deposits & Pet Rent in LA: What's Legal
How California's AB 12 deposit cap folds in pet deposits, whether monthly pet rent is legal, and why service/support animals can't be charged a pet fee at all.
Read guide → Money & depositsNormal Wear and Tear vs. Damage in LA: The Real Line
What California law actually treats as deductible damage versus normal wear and tear, who has the burden of proof, and how to document your unit to win a deposit dispute.
Read guide → Renter rightsCan I Airbnb My LA Apartment? The Real Rules
Your lease, LA's Home-Sharing Ordinance, and rent-control just-cause rules all limit short-term subletting. What's allowed, what's risky, and what can get you evicted.
Read guide → Renter helpThe LA Move-Out Checklist: Protect Your Deposit
Every step from giving notice to getting your deposit back in Los Angeles — the pre-move-out inspection, documentation, utility transfers, and the 21-day deadline.
Read guide → RepairsRepair-and-Deduct vs. Rent Withholding in LA
Two different self-help remedies for a landlord who won't fix things — Civil Code §1942 repair-and-deduct and §1942.4 rent withholding — and why one is far riskier than the other.
Read guide → EvictionsServed an Unlawful Detainer in LA? Your 5-Day Clock
Once you're served an unlawful detainer, you generally have 5 court days to respond. Deadlines, defenses, fee waivers, and where to get free legal help fast.
Read guide → Money & creditBest Rent Reporting Services in LA (2026): AB 2747 vs. Paid Options
AB 2747 requires covered LA landlords to offer rent reporting, for no more than their actual cost or $10 a month. A straight comparison of the paid alternatives, and when they're actually worth it.
Read guide → Renter rightsHousing Discrimination in LA: Your Fair Housing Rights
California protects more than federal law — source of income, immigration status, and more. What counts as discrimination, and how to file with CRD or HUD.
Read guide →