The City of Gardena, in partnership with the Fair Housing Foundation (FHF), offers a comprehensive Fair Housing Program that includes:

• Discrimination Complaint Intake and Investigation
• Outreach and Education
• General Housing (Landlord/Tenant) Counseling
• Enforcement and Impact Litigation

The Fair Housing Foundation provides direct client services from two offices located in Long Beach and Los Angeles. Their addresses are provided below:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: 

• How much can my landlord legally raise my rent?
  • That will depend on the type of property you live in and how long you have been living there. For applicable properties to the Tenant Protection Act 2019 (AB1482) the housing provider is limited to 5% + Cost of Living (CPI), not to exceed 10%. This amount of increase would require a thirty (30) day written notice and to be served one of the three legal ways. For exempt properties, there is not a cap on rent increases. However, under California law Assembly Bill 1110 (AB1110) for any increases over 10%, the housing provider is required to issue a 90-day written notice and to be served one of the three legal ways. Buildings under rent control in cities such as Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, and Santa Monica fall under different rules and a tenant in those areas would be able to follow up with Los Angeles Housing Department for any violations https://housing2.lacity.org/rental-property-owners/rent-control-property-overview
• When can my landlord enter my rental unit?
  • California laws state five (5) reasons a landlord is able to enter your unit.
    1. To respond to an emergency that threatens life or property.
    2. When the tenant has moved out or has abandoned the rental unit, or your landlord has obtained a court order.
    3. To make necessary or agreed-upon repairs, decorations, alterations, or other improvement.
    4. To show the rental unit to prospective tenants, buyers or lenders, or to provide entry to contractors or workers who are to perform work on the unit.
    5. If you have given permission to enter.
  • Except in the first two situations above (emergencies or abandonment), the landlord must give the reasonable advance notice (verbally or in writing) before entering your unit. Effective January 1, 2003, landlords will be required to provide a written notice prior to entering a dwelling unit. (Civil Code Section 1954)
• What is rent control?
  • Rent control ordinances limit or prohibit rent increase and notices to vacate tenancy. Some California cities have local ordinances but each community’s ordinance is different. As stated above, in the City of Los Angeles, rent increases are limited to a certain percentage each year. Also, some rent control ordinances allow landlords to evict tenants for “just cause”. This means the landlord must state and provide a valid reason for terminating a month-to-month tenancy. In California, the cities that have rent control are City of Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Berkeley, Campbell, East Palo Alto, Fremont, Hayward, Los Gatos, Oakland, Palm Springs, San Francisco, San Jose and Thousand Oaks.
• How do I know I have been a victim of housing discrimination?
  • Unlawful housing discrimination can take a variety of forms. Under the Fair Housing Act and California’s Fair Housing Employment and Housing Act, it is unlawful for a landlord, managing agent, real estate broker or salesperson to discriminate against any person because of the person’s gender expression, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, citizenship, immigration status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income or physical or mental disability. Basically, if you are being denied housing because of your personal characteristics you may be a victim of housing discrimination.
• I have a policy of charging new tenants a security deposit equal to one month’s rent. If a tenant has children, I add $50 extra per child to the security deposit since kids usually cause more damage than normal. Is this legal?
  • No. A landlord cannot require a higher security deposit or damage deposit from people who have minor children than from people without minor children. According to the California Supreme Court in Wolfson and the Federal Fair Housing Laws amended in 1988, it is unlawful to set deposits based on the stereotype that children as a class cause more damage to property than others.
• I recently found out that the on-site manager of the building I own has been harrassing the female tenants. Am I legally liable for this?
  • Yes. As the owner of the building, you are legally responsible for the actions of your management personnel, maintenance staff and any other agents you employ. Under both federal and state fair housing laws, sexual harassment of tenants is illegal.