Del Aire and Alondra Park Have a Hawthorne Mailing Address But a County Rent Cap

Published August 10, 2026

Del Aire and Alondra Park are unincorporated Los Angeles County, not the City of Hawthorne, even though the mail says otherwise. That one fact changes your legal rent cap from the state formula ceiling to 1.919 percent.

Last verified: August 10, 2026

Del Aire and Alondra Park are unincorporated Los Angeles County communities, not part of the City of Hawthorne, despite Hawthorne mailing addresses. Rental property there falls under LA County Code Chapter 8.52, the Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protections Ordinance. For fully covered units the current cap is 1.919 percent, far below what a Hawthorne city landlord may take.

The mailing address is not the jurisdiction

The Postal Service assigns ZIP codes for delivery efficiency. It does not draw city limits. Del Aire is an unincorporated census designated place in the inland South Bay, wedged between El Segundo and Hawthorne, and most of it carries a 90250 Hawthorne mailing address, with a slice in 90304. Alondra Park, also known as El Camino Village, is an unincorporated community southeast of Hawthorne in 90249, where mail is commonly addressed Gardena.

Neither community has a city council. Both are governed directly by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. County ordinances apply. City of Hawthorne ordinances do not.

Other unincorporated pockets in and around the South Bay work the same way, including Lennox, West Athens, and Westmont. All of them sit under the County ordinance while their neighbors across the street may not.

What the County ordinance actually allows

Chapter 8.52 of the Los Angeles County Code took effect April 1, 2020 and applies to rental units in unincorporated areas of the County. Beginning January 1, 2025, annual rent increases for fully covered rental units subject to LACC Section 8.52.050 are limited to 60 percent of the change in the average Consumer Price Index over the previous twelve month period ending in September, not to exceed 3 percent.

The published figures for the current period, July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, are:

• General fully covered unit: 1.919 percent
• Eligible Small Property Landlord: 2.919 percent
• Luxury unit: 3.919 percent

For the prior period the general figure was 1.930 percent. These numbers reset annually, so an owner working off last year's notice template is already wrong.

Which units are fully covered

Per the County's published bulletin, fully covered rental units are units in unincorporated County areas on a rental property with two or more rental units, regardless of legal permit status, plus accessory dwelling units with a certificate of occupancy issued on or before February 1, 1995, plus mobilehomes offered for rent by the mobilehome owner.

A separately transferable single family residence or condominium is a partially covered unit. The County rent cap does not apply to it, but the County just cause eviction protections do, and the statewide rent cap may still apply.

This is the trap. Two rentals on the same Del Aire street can sit under two different caps because one is a duplex and one is a detached house on its own lot.

The conditions attached to any increase

An increase on a fully covered unit is lawful only if the paperwork holds up. The County requires all of the following: a minimum 30 day written notice under California Civil Code Section 827 per LACC 8.52.050(A), at least twelve consecutive months since the last increase per LACC 8.52.050(F), current registration of the unit with the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs and fees paid under LACC 8.52.080, the Notice of Tenant Rights under LACC 8.52.120, and specific language in the notice where the owner claims Small Property Landlord or luxury unit status. Small Property Landlords must self certify with DCBA under LACC 8.52.050(D)(1)(a).

An owner who takes the right percentage but never registered the unit has still served a defective notice.

What a Hawthorne city landlord may do instead

The City of Hawthorne has no local rent stabilization ordinance. Rental housing inside city limits is governed by the statewide Tenant Protection Act, codified at California Civil Code Section 1947.12, which caps annual increases at the lesser of 5 percent plus the regional change in cost of living or 10 percent. Confirm the current figure before serving any notice, since it resets every August 1 off the April CPI reading.

So the gap between one side of a Del Aire property line and the other can be several percentage points on the same asset class in the same school district. That is not a rounding error. Over a five year hold it is a materially different valuation.

How to check your specific parcel

Do not rely on your leasing software, your ZIP code, or the city name printed on your tax bill envelope.

1. Open the LA County Assessor Portal at portal.assessor.lacounty.gov and search your property address or ten digit Assessor's Identification Number to confirm the parcel and legal description.
2. Use the County Registrar-Recorder district lookup by address, which states directly whether an address sits in an incorporated city or unincorporated County territory. This is the authoritative jurisdiction check, not the Assessor portal.
3. Cross check against LA County Planning's community and area plan pages, which name the unincorporated pockets (Del Aire, Alondra Park/El Camino Village, Lennox, West Athens, Westmont) by boundary.
4. Confirm coverage status and register the unit through the County Rent Registry at rentregistry.dcba.lacounty.gov. The registry itself tells owners and renters whether a unit is covered.
5. Count the rental units on the property. Two or more changes the answer.

If steps 1 through 3 disagree, stop and call DCBA at 800-593-8222 before serving anything.

Frequently asked questions

Is Del Aire part of the City of Hawthorne?

No. Del Aire is an unincorporated community in Los Angeles County, governed by the Board of Supervisors, even though most Del Aire addresses use a Hawthorne 90250 mailing address. County ordinances including LACC Chapter 8.52 apply there.

How much can I raise rent on a Del Aire duplex right now?

For a fully covered unit under LACC 8.52.050 the general allowable increase is 1.919 percent for the period July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, subject to the notice, twelve month spacing, and registration requirements. Eligible Small Property Landlords may go to 2.919 percent.

Does AB 1482 still matter if I am in the unincorporated County?

Yes. The County ordinance controls fully covered units. For partially covered units such as a separately transferable single family home or condominium, there is no County rent cap, so California Civil Code Section 1947.12 governs the increase unless the property is exempt, while County just cause protections still apply.

Is Alondra Park part of Gardena or Torrance?

Neither. Alondra Park, also called El Camino Village, is unincorporated Los Angeles County territory southeast of Hawthorne, commonly addressed Gardena for mail purposes, but governed by the County Board of Supervisors rather than either city.

Rules and percentages here change on an annual cycle and the Board of Supervisors has amended Chapter 8.52 repeatedly. Confirm current figures with a licensed professional, and confirm your specific parcel's jurisdiction via the LA County Assessor map tool.

Topics: rent control, LA County RSTPO, AB 1482, Del Aire, Alondra Park, Hawthorne, South Bay, unincorporated LA County, landlord compliance, property management

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