Culver City · Renting & eviction

Renting in Culver City: the rules that apply

Culver City adds its own rent cap, eviction protection, relocation pay, harassment and buyout rules on top of state law. Culver City has no deposit or entry rule of its own, so state law applies to both.

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Key points

Rent increases: Culver City caps yearly increases on covered units at the CPI change, or up to 2% when CPI is below 2%, never above 5%.
Just cause: Culver City requires just cause once a tenant lives there over 12 months, except units sharing a bath or kitchen with landlord or family.
Relocation pay: For a no-fault eviction, Culver City requires relocation pay of 3 times the greater of monthly rent or HUD fair market rent, plus $1,000.
Buyouts: Culver City requires a written disclosure before a buyout offer, a 45-day cancel right, and filing the agreement within 20 days.
Ending a tenancy: State law requires 60 days' notice to end a tenancy, or 30 days if the tenant has lived there less than 1 year.
Deposits: Culver City has no deposit rule; state law limits deposits to 1 month's rent, or 2 months for some small landlords.

Each rule below is marked Culver City code or CA state law and links to the section it comes from (checked October 2026). General information, not legal advice.

Rent increases

Culver City code Culver City caps yearly increases on covered units at the CPI change, or up to 2% when CPI is below 2%, never above 5%.

All 6 Culver City rules on rent increases, with the code text and the state law underneath →

Eviction and just cause

Culver City code What Culver City's code adds
When protection starts	After more than 12 months. Applies: Once at least 1 tenant has lived in the unit continuously and lawfully. § 15.09.310 · code text This § 15.09.310 shall only apply after at least one tenant has continuously and lawfully occupied the rental unit for more than 12 months.
Units covered	Any notice ending a tenancy for a rental unit. Applies: Once a tenant has lawfully lived there over 12 months; excludes units sharing a bath or kitchen with the landlord or immediate family. § 15.09.310 · code text Except as provided in § 15.09.310.A.2 and 3, this § 15.09.310 shall apply to any notice of termination.

CA state law Underneath, California law still applies. Just cause required: After 12 months of lawful occupancy, the owner may terminate only for a just cause stated in the notice (Civ. Code § 1946.2(a)). Just-cause eviction in California — the full state rule →

Relocation payments

Culver City code For a no-fault eviction, Culver City requires relocation pay of 3 times the greater of monthly rent or HUD fair market rent, plus $1,000.

All 7 Culver City rules on relocation payments, with the code text and the state law underneath →

Notices

Culver City code What Culver City's code adds
What a notice must say	That tenant may have mediation rights through the city's Landlord Tenant-Mediation Board, in conspicuous 12-point or larger text. Applies: Every rent-increase notice for a unit in a rental complex covered by mandatory mediation. § 15.09.050 · code text Every notice of rent increase on a rental unit in a rental complex subject to the mandatory mediation requirements of this Chapter, including new units and existing units, entered into, renewed, or continued month-to-month, shall include the following statement in text of no less than twelve (12) point font size: “Tenant may have rights to mediation services provided by the City of Culver City Landlord Tenant-Mediation Board, pursuant to Culver City Municipal Code Chapter 15.09.”

CA state law The statewide rule underneath
Notice of a rent increase	At least 30 days' notice for an increase of 10% or less; at least 90 days for an increase of more than 10% Applies: The 10% is measured against the rent charged at any time in the 12 months before the increase, counting all increases in that period together. Civ. Code § 827(b)(2), (b)(3)(A)
Notice to end a month-to-month tenancy (landlord)	60 days' notice; 30 days if the tenant has lived there less than one year Applies: Where the unit is covered by just cause (Civ. Code § 1946.2) or a local ordinance, the notice must also state a qualifying cause. Civ. Code § 1946.1(b), (c)
Notice to end a month-to-month tenancy (tenant)	At least as long as the rental period (one month for a month-to-month tenancy) Civ. Code § 1946.1(b)
30-day notice when the unit is sold to an owner-occupant	30 days' notice when a separately sellable unit is in escrow to a natural person who will live there for at least a year Applies: Notice within 120 days of opening escrow, given once, and all § 1946.1(d) conditions met. Civ. Code § 1946.1(d)
Notice to pay rent or quit	3 days, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and judicial holidays, stating the amount due and how to pay Applies: May be served any time within one year after the rent became due. Code Civ. Proc. § 1161(2)
Notice to cure a lease violation or quit	3 days, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and judicial holidays, to perform the broken lease term or leave Code Civ. Proc. § 1161(3)
No fee for serving notices	A landlord may not charge the tenant a fee for serving or posting a notice Civ. Code § 1946.1(i)

Security deposits

CA state law Culver City has no rule of its own on this, so California law applies. Security deposit cap: One month's rent, on top of the first month's rent (Civ. Code § 1950.5(c)(1), (c)(6)). Deposit return deadline: 21 calendar days after the tenant moves out, with an itemized statement of any deductions (Civ. Code § 1950.5(h)(1)). California security deposit law — the full state rule →

Retaliation

Culver City code What Culver City's code adds
Presumption period	6 months before the alleged retaliation. Applies: If the tenant used rights under these rules or other applicable law in that time, retaliation is presumed. § 15.09.345 · code text proof of the exercise by the tenant of rights under this subchapter or other applicable law within six months prior to the alleged act of retaliation shall create a rebuttable presumption that the landlord's act was retaliatory.
Protected activities	Using rights under these rules or other applicable law. § 15.09.345 · code text Retaliation against a tenant because of the tenant's exercise of rights under this subchapter is prohibited.
Remedies	Raise retaliation as a defense in an eviction or other court case; the city does not enforce it. § 15.09.345 · code text Retaliation claims may be raised as a defense in an unlawful detainer action or may be raised in other appropriate judicial proceedings

CA state law Underneath, California law still applies. Retaliation protection period: For 180 days after a tenant complains about habitability (to the landlord or an agency), the landlord may not evict, raise rent or cut services in retaliation (Civ. Code § 1942.5(a), (b)). Retaliatory eviction in California — the full state rule →

Harassment and lockouts

Culver City code Ending, not renewing, or otherwise forcing out a tenant mainly to retaliate, when the tenant is current on rent. Bad-faith interrupting, ending or failing to provide required housing services.

All 19 Culver City rules on harassment and lockouts, with the code text and the state law underneath →

Repairs and habitability

Culver City code What Culver City's code adds
Tenant remedies	Temporary relocation to a safe, sanitary, comparable motel or hotel in Culver City (or within two miles of the unit if none is available), paid by the landlord even if it costs more than the rent; reasonable compensation for meals if it lacks cooking facilities and for laundry if the unit had in-unit laundry; accommodation for permitted pets; and the costs of moving to the temporary housing and back Applies: Covered work (substantial rehabilitation, code-compliance work, a government order to vacate, or fumigation) will make the unit untenantable or expose the tenant to toxic or hazardous materials § 15.09.330 · code text If the activities described in § 15.09.330.C will make the rental unit an untenantable dwelling, as defined in Cal. Civil Code § 1941.1, or will expose the tenant at any time to toxic or hazardous materials including, but not limited to, lead-based paint and asbestos, the landlord shall provide tenant with the following temporary relocation benefits during the temporary displacement period: The landlord may instead provide comparable housing at any time during the displacement; the tenant may stay there for the whole displacement and the landlord pays all its costs, including rent, even if it costs more. The tenant may agree to a noncomparable unit only if compensated for any reduction in accommodations, amenities and services Applies: Landlord's option in place of motel or hotel relocation, during covered work (substantial rehabilitation, code-compliance work, a government order to vacate, or fumigation) § 15.09.330 · code text The landlord shall have the option, in lieu of providing tenant relocation in accordance with § 15.09.330.E.1.a, of providing the tenant with comparable housing at any time during the period of the displacement, subject to the following: Landlord must let tenants stay safely during the work or temporarily move them to comparable housing. Applies: When covered rehab, code-compliance work, a government order to vacate, or fumigation makes the unit temporarily unlivable. § 15.09.330 · code text Landlords must mitigate untenantable conditions resulting from the activities described in § 15.09.330.C, below, either through actions to ensure that tenants can safely remain in their rental unit during the work or through the temporary relocation of tenants to comparable alternative housing accommodations.

CA state law Underneath, California law still applies. Duty to keep the unit habitable: The landlord must deliver a unit fit to live in and repair conditions that make it untenantable (Civ. Code § 1941). Repair and deduct: A tenant may make a repair the landlord neglects and deduct the cost from rent, up to one month's rent, no more than twice in any 12 months (Civ. Code § 1942(a)). Habitability and repair-and-deduct — the full state rule →

Landlord entry

CA state law Culver City has no rule of its own on this, so California law applies. Landlord entry notice: Reasonable written notice, presumed to be 24 hours, and entry only during normal business hours (Civ. Code § 1954(d)(1), (e)). Landlord entry notice in California — the full state rule →

Buyout agreements

Culver City code What Culver City's code adds
Required disclosure	Yes — a written disclosure on a form approved by the housing services division, stating the tenant may refuse buyout negotiations, may consult an attorney, may rescind within 45 days after full execution, may contact the housing services division, and that the buyout amount must be no less than the relocation assistance under § 15.09.325.A Applies: Before making a buyout offer § 15.09.335 · code text Prior to making a buyout offer, a landlord shall provide the tenant a written disclosure, on a form approved by the housing services division, that shall include all of the following:
Filing with the city	Yes. File the signed buyout agreement with the city within 20 days after everyone signs. Applies: A copy of the signed buyout agreement plus proof the disclosure notice was served, filed with the city's housing services division. § 15.09.335 · code text The landlord shall file a copy of the executed buyout agreement, along with proof of service to the tenant of the disclosure notice as required in this § 15.09.335, within 20 days after the buyout agreement is executed by all parties.
Required terms	In the tenant's primary language, with the proposed agreement given at least 10 business days before signing. Applies: A buyout agreement that does not meet these requirements is void. § 15.09.335 · code text Be in writing in the tenant's primary language. The landlord shall give tenant a copy of the proposed buyout agreement at least ten business days before it is executed. Statements in bold, at least 14-point type, near the tenant's signature: the tenant may cancel in writing before the 45th day after all parties sign; has a right not to enter a buyout agreement; the buyout amount must be no less than the relocation assistance under § 15.09.325.A; and may consult an attorney § 15.09.335 · code text Include the following statement in bold letters in at least 14 point type in close proximity to the space reserved for the tenant's signature: The buyout amount must be listed. § 15.09.335 · code text List the buyout amount. The tenant must get a copy of the fully signed buyout agreement. Applies: After everyone signs. § 15.09.335 · code text The landlord must provide to the tenant a copy of the fully executed buyout agreement.
Time to cancel	Up to 45 days. Applies: Counted from when all parties sign; the tenant cancels by hand delivery, email or certified mail to the landlord. § 15.09.335 · code text A tenant shall have the right to rescind a buyout agreement for up to 45 days after its execution by all parties.

Who this affects

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Frequently asked questions

Does a landlord in Culver City need a reason to evict?

Culver City requires just cause once a tenant lives there over 12 months, except units sharing a bath or kitchen with landlord or family.

How much notice does a Culver City landlord have to give?

State law requires 60 days' notice to end a tenancy, or 30 days if the tenant has lived there less than 1 year.

How much can a Culver City landlord charge for a security deposit?

Culver City has no deposit rule; state law limits deposits to 1 month's rent, or 2 months for some small landlords.

General information, not legal advice.

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