Los Angeles Municipal Code Art. 4 Property Management Training Program

Section 154.00 Declaration of Purpose. 154.01 Definitions. 154.02 Scope. 154.03 Penalties. 154.04 Duties of the Los Angeles Housing Department.

(Article and Section Added by Ord. No. 171,761, Eff. 11/30/97.)

It is the purpose of the provisions of this section to provide a property management training program to instruct property owners on how to improve the management of their properties. Substandard building owners and managers are not equipped to properly manage these properties. The training will encompass marketing, preparing units for rental, repair and maintenance of the property, techniques on early detection of drug and gang activity on the property and the use of rental agreements and leases to enforce house rules for proper management.

Owners who received substandard orders because of a multitude of habitability violations or because they have not complied with a Department of Building and Safety Order to Comply will benefit from the program because these owners often lack expertise and experience in managing these properties.

Further, some owners need to recognize that property ownership is a business enterprise and in order to stay in business, the properties will have to be managed as a business. Property management training will be beneficial to achieve this goal.

Based on the foregoing reasons, the City Council finds that a property management training program will improve the management of the rental units in the City of Los Angeles thereby resulting in better managed housing stock.

(Amended by Ord. No. 173,810, Eff. 4/16/01.)

The following words and phrases, whenever used in this article, shall be construed as defined in this section. Words and phrases not defined here shall be construed as defined in Sections 12.03, 151.02, 153.02 and 162.02, if defined there.

Order to Repair. Any order or notice to comply, correct or abate or any substandard order issued by the Department of Building and Safety, the Los Angeles Housing Department, or the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services or any notice of fire and life safety violation issued by the Fire Department. (Amended by Ord. No. 187,122, Eff. 8/8/21.)

(Added by Ord. No. 171,761, Eff. 11/30/97.)

A. Any landlord of an apartment house who has been issued an Order to Repair for habitability violations that also violate Section 1941.1 of the California Civil Code or for fire, life safety violations and is 45 or more days delinquent, shall complete a City-approved property management training program. However, the Los Angeles Housing Department (hereinafter “Department”) may waive this requirement where it is established to the Department’s satisfaction that the ability to effect repairs are beyond the landlord’s control. (Amended by Ord. No. 187,122, Eff. 8/8/21.)

B. Any landlord of an apartment house who has been found to have a habitability violation pursuant to the Habitability Enforcement Program, Section 153.00 et seq. of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, shall complete a City-approved property management training program.

(Added by Ord. No. 171,761, Eff. 11/30/97.)

Any landlord who does not complete a City-approved property management training program within 60 days from the date the landlord is ordered to complete the program as required in Section 154.02 above, shall be guilty of an infraction. Notwithstanding any provision of this Code to the contrary, such infraction is punishable by a fine of $250.00.

(Title Amended by Ord. No. 187,122, Eff. 8/8/21.)

The Department shall develop a property management training program and rules for implementation including regulations for the program and requirements for independent contractors to provide the training program.

The Department shall be responsible for carrying out the provisions of this article.

It shall have the authority to promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this article. All such rules and regulations shall first be submitted for approval to the City Council and once approved, be published once in a daily newspaper of general circulation in the City of Los Angeles. All such rules and regulations shall take effect upon such publication.