Los Angeles Ellis Act Violations Lawyer

The Ellis Act is a California state law that allows landlords to remove their residential rental property from the market, including those subject to rent control. If you are a current or former tenant, you have various legal rights to consider if your landlord discontinues a rental and evicts you under the Ellis Act.

A Los Angeles Ellis Act violations lawyer from CD Law could help protect your rights as a tenant by ensuring your landlord follows the rules for removing their property from the market. When violations occur, our habitability attorneys may take legal action on your behalf to recover civil remedies, including compensation for damages that result from your displacement.

Tenant’s Notice Rights Under the Ellis Act

To avoid a violation and action from a lawyer, a landlord can only remove their property from rental housing under the Ellis Act after providing proper written notice to the City of Los Angeles. The landlord then has five days to provide affected tenants with a copy of the notice and inform them of the pending removal. The Ellis Act requires landlords to wait 120 days after delivering notice to the City of Los Angeles before withdrawing the rental property and displacing a tenant.

The notice must also explain the tenant’s right to the first opportunity to rent the property from the landlord if it re-enters the market. As a tenant, you must provide a written notice to the landlord within 30 days of displacement and provide the landlord with an address to send future offers to renew your lease.

Additional Ellis Act Notice Protections for Disabled or Elderly Tenants

If you are disabled or over the age of 62, the Ellis Act requires landlords to give you a longer notice period of one year before they withdraw the rental property. To qualify, you must have lived in the property for at least one year when the landlord provides the withdrawal notice to the city. An attorney in Los Angeles could help identify if your case meets the criteria for an Ellis Act violation.

Two-Year Re-Rental Waiting Period for Landlords After Displacing Tenants

Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 151.25 allows tenants to recover civil penalties from landlords who offer their unit for lease within two years of removing it under the Ellis Act. Landlords are liable for actual damages they cause a tenant from their displacement under these circumstances. Examples of actual damages you may have a right to recover because of the displacement could include:

Moving or relocation costs
Additional rent paid for another rental
Emotional or physical injury suffered

Wrongfully displaced tenants can also claim exemplary damages from the landlord. An experienced Los Angeles attorney could help you recover these damages if your landlord has violated the Ellis Act.

The Deadline for Tenants To File a Claim for Ellis Act Violations

Tenants generally have three years to pursue a legal claim for Ellis Act violations after a landlord offers a unit for rent within two years of withdrawal. The three-year period to file a claim begins on the date the rental unit is withdrawn from the market.

Contact an Ellis Act Violations Attorney in Los Angeles Today