AB 1482 & Long Beach
Landlord Law: What Selling
Landlords Need to Know

AB 1482: California's Statewide Rent Cap

Assembly Bill 1482, effective January 1, 2020, established statewide rent control for most California residential rentals. Here's what it means for Long Beach landlords:

Covered Properties

AB 1482 applies to most residential rentals in California more than 15 years old that are not single-family homes owned by individual landlords (with specific notice requirements) and not condominiums sold separately. In Long Beach, this covers a large proportion of the rental housing stock.

Rent Increase Cap

For covered units, annual rent increases are capped at 5% + local CPI (Consumer Price Index), with a maximum of 10%. In recent years with elevated inflation, this has occasionally reached the 10% cap, but has typically been 5–8%.

Just Cause for Eviction (AB 1482)

For covered units, landlords can only evict tenants for specific "just cause" reasons, divided into:

• Fault-based causes: Non-payment of rent, breach of lease, nuisance, illegal use
• No-fault causes: Owner move-in, withdrawal from rental market (Ellis Act), substantial renovation requiring vacancy, government order to vacate

No-fault evictions require relocation assistance equivalent to one month's rent paid to the tenant.

Long Beach's Additional Just Cause Eviction Ordinance

Long Beach has its own local Just Cause Eviction Ordinance that is stricter than AB 1482 in several ways and applies to units not covered by AB 1482 (specifically single-family homes and newer buildings that are exempt from the state law).

What This Means for Landlords Who Want to Sell

You Cannot Simply Evict Tenants to Sell

"I want to sell the property" is not a recognized just cause for eviction under either AB 1482 or Long Beach's ordinance. To sell a vacant property, you would need to:

• Wait for a legitimate fault-based eviction cause to arise, or
• Pursue a no-fault eviction (with 3+ months' relocation assistance in Long Beach), or
• Offer the tenant a cash-for-keys agreement (often $15,000–$40,000+), or
• Withdraw the property from the rental market under the Ellis Act (with significant restrictions)

The Cash-for-Keys Alternative

Many Long Beach landlords negotiate voluntary departures by offering tenants a lump sum (cash-for-keys) above the mandatory relocation minimum. Market rates in Long Beach currently range from $15,000–$40,000 per unit for long-term tenants, depending on tenure and unit desirability.

Selling Tenant-Occupied to a Cash Buyer

The cleanest exit for many Long Beach landlords is selling to a cash buyer with the tenant in place. Jay Buys Houses buys tenant-occupied properties throughout Long Beach — we price the tenant situation into our offer and manage the tenant relationship ourselves after closing. You avoid the relocation costs, legal risk, and months of process entirely.

Ellis Act: Withdrawing from the Rental Market

The Ellis Act allows landlords to "go out of the rental business" by removing all units from the rental market permanently. Key points:

• Requires 120 days' notice to tenants (1-year notice for elderly or disabled tenants)
• Requires relocation assistance (typically 1 month's rent minimum; more under local ordinance)
• Significant re-rental restrictions for 5–10 years (prevents immediately re-renting to different tenants)
• Not usable if you plan to sell to a buyer who will rent it out

Ellis Act evictions are typically only viable when the property is being converted to owner use or genuine removal from the rental market. Misuse of the Ellis Act carries significant legal risk.