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Which rent and eviction rules reach your duplex depends on the city it's in and the date on its certificate of occupancy. In the City of Los Angeles, a duplex certified on or before October 1, 1978 is under the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, even with you living in one of the units. A newer one falls under the statewide cap and the City's Just Cause Ordinance, and each of those exempts a certain kind of owner-occupied duplex.
- A City duplex certified on or before October 1, 1978 is covered by the RSO, and living in one unit doesn't take the other out of it.
- A newer City duplex falls under the state cap and just-cause rules unless an exemption fits.
- The owner-occupied exemptions depend on you living there, so moving out or selling can end them.
- Outside the City, the County's ordinance or another city's rules may apply first.
Where your duplex fits
| Where and when | Rent increases | Ending a tenancy |
|---|---|---|
| City of Los Angeles, certificate of occupancy dated October 1, 1978 or earlier | RSO allowable increase, set by LAHD each year | Only for a cause the RSO allows, with a Declaration of Intent to Evict and relocation money for no-fault causes |
| City of Los Angeles, newer, no exemption | State cap under Civil Code section 1947.12 | City Just Cause Ordinance after a tenant's first six months, or at the end of the first lease if that comes sooner, and state just cause after twelve months |
| City of Los Angeles, newer, you live in one unit of the two | Possibly exempt from the state cap | Possibly exempt from both just-cause laws, on the conditions below |
| Unincorporated Los Angeles County, built before February 1, 1995 | County Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protections Ordinance | County ordinance's eviction protections |
| Another city | That city's ordinance, or the state cap where none is stricter | That city's rules, or state law |
To see whether a City of Los Angeles address is on the RSO rolls, look it up on LAHD's RSO property search.
Both units of an older City duplex are under the RSO
LAHD lists duplexes among the kinds of property the RSO covers, and it exempts a parcel only if a single house is all the parcel holds. So the half you rent out is an RSO unit even though you live in the other half. Your own unit can get a break on fees. LAHD offers a temporary one-year exemption for the unit an owner lives in, covering registration and SCEP fees, one unit per owner on title.
The RSO rules that matter in a sale all concern the rented unit.
- The rent can rise each year only by LAHD's allowable increase. Since February 2, 2026, LAHD has based that figure on 90 percent of the average CPI, with 1 percent as the floor and 4 percent as the ceiling, and it is 3 percent from July 1, 2026 until June 30, 2027. According to LAHD, it no longer includes an add-on for landlord-paid utilities or an extra 10 percent when an occupant is added.
- A tenancy can end only for a cause the RSO allows, and selling the duplex isn't one of them. The no-fault causes, such as an owner or family member moving in, a resident manager, taking the unit off the rental market under the Ellis Act, or a government order to vacate, all need a Declaration of Intent to Evict and relocation assistance. LAHD's bulletin sets the amount, which turns on the tenant's category, how long they've lived there and their income.
- A new tenant's rent can be set fresh after the last tenant leaves by choice or is evicted for not paying rent. After an owner or family move-in, it stays controlled.
If you want the rented unit back to live in, or your buyer does, LAHD's owner occupancy rules set the terms. The owner needs at least a 25 percent share of the property, or 50 percent to move in a family member. Whoever moves in has to live there as their primary home for two consecutive years. Owner occupancy can't be used against a tenant who is terminally ill, or against one aged 62 or older, or disabled, who has lived there ten years or more.
What covers a newer City duplex
A City duplex certified after October 1, 1978 is outside the RSO. If it was first certified for occupancy after February 1, 1995, Civil Code section 1954.52 keeps local rent limits off it as well. State law and the City's Just Cause Ordinance cover it instead.
- The state cap. Civil Code section 1947.12 lets rent rise over any 12 months by the lower of 5 percent plus the percentage change in the cost of living, or 10 percent, measured from the lowest rent you charged at any point in the 12 months before. It runs until January 1, 2030 and exempts housing first certified for occupancy within the previous 15 years. An attempt to lower the cap, AB 1157, died on January 13, 2026 in the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
- State just cause. Under Civil Code section 1946.2, once a tenant has lived there lawfully and continuously for 12 months, ending the tenancy takes a just cause stated in the notice. A no-fault ending comes with relocation equal to one month's rent, paid or waived as the last month. SB 567, in effect since April 1, 2024, adds that an owner move-in means moving in within 90 days and staying at least 12 consecutive months, as the DRE's guide to terminations explains.
- The City's Just Cause Ordinance. The JCO covers most City rentals the RSO doesn't. Its protection begins after a tenant's first six months, or when the original lease expires if that happens sooner. A no-fault eviction under it comes with relocation assistance, and it sets no limit on rent.
The exemptions for a duplex you live in
The state cap and state just cause share one exemption for an owner-occupied duplex. Here is the statute's wording:
a property containing two separate dwelling units within a single structure in which the owner occupied one of the units as the owner's principal place of residence at the beginning of the tenancy, so long as the owner continues in occupancy, and neither unit is an accessory dwelling unit or a junior accessory dwelling unit.
Every part of it has to be true. Both units must be in one structure, so two separate houses on a lot don't qualify. You had to be living in one of the units when this tenant's tenancy began, and you have to be living there still. Neither unit can be an ADU or a junior ADU. The Attorney General's guide for landlords lists this exemption with the others.
The City's JCO has its own version, which exempts a two-unit property where an owner has lived in the other unit for the whole tenancy. Neither exemption does anything for a pre-1978 City duplex, which stays under the RSO.
What happens to the exemptions when you move out or sell
Both exemptions are written for an owner who lives there. The state's lasts "so long as the owner continues in occupancy", and the City's needs an owner in the second unit for the entire tenancy. If you move out, the words stop describing your building. A sale raises a harder question for your buyer. Can an exemption cover a tenancy that began while you owned the duplex, when the new owner wasn't the one living there at its start? The text doesn't answer that on its face.
So don't tell a buyer the exemption comes with the duplex. Give them dates instead: when you moved in, when each tenancy began, and whether you lived there the whole time. Shaya can lay that history out for buyers early, so the conversation about your tenant happens before escrow opens. He isn't an attorney, though, and whether an exemption survives a sale is for a landlord-tenant attorney to answer before anyone relies on it.
If your duplex is outside the City of Los Angeles
In the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, the County's own Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protections Ordinance covers rentals built before February 1, 1995 unless a full exemption applies. It limits annual increases on fully covered units and adds eviction protections, and the County posts the current limit on its rent increase page. In another city, check whether it has an ordinance of its own. Where no local rule is stricter, the state cap and state just cause described above set the floor.