Landlord

A 1031 exchange lets you defer tax on a California rental sale, but the state’s clawback rule requires an annual filing for years afterward if you buy replacement property out of state.

The Ellis Act lets a California landlord exit the rental business and evict every tenant to do it — but the notice periods, mandatory relocation payments, and five-year rental restriction change the math for a lot of owners.

No California statute requires a residential tenant to sign an estoppel certificate — the obligation comes from the lease, if it comes from anywhere. What buyers are actually verifying, what happens when a tenant refuses, and why a rent roll is not a substitute.

Cash for keys is a negotiated surrender, not a legal process — which is why the agreement matters so much. What belongs in one, how it compares to the cost of an unlawful detainer, and why the City of Los Angeles regulates it under LAMC 151.31 with a mandatory disclosure and a 30-day tenant cancellation right.

No written lease does not mean no tenancy. California law turns a handshake arrangement into a month-to-month tenancy with the same protections as any other. The 30 and 60-day rules, why just cause still applies, and the narrow lodger exception under Civil Code 1946.5.

California has exactly one lawful way to remove a tenant: an unlawful detainer action in court. Which notice fits which situation, why just cause changes everything at twelve months, the 10-court-day answer window under AB 2347, and what self-help actually costs you.

You can sell a California house with tenants in it without their permission, but the lease runs with the property and the buyer inherits it. Showing rules under Civil Code 1954, the security deposit handoff, just cause after twelve months, and the three ways owners actually get this done.

Selling an RSO-covered apartment building in Los Angeles is a specialized transaction. The rent roll, not the market rent, drives the price. Transfer tax can take a large bite. And…

If you own rental property in Los Angeles and want a unit vacant — to sell, to move in, or to renovate — a voluntary tenant buyout is often the…