Does Hermosa Beach Have Rent Control? No, and the County Ordinance Does Not Reach It

Published August 10, 2026

Hermosa Beach has no rent stabilization ordinance, and LA County's Chapter 8.52 covers only unincorporated areas. Here is what actually caps your rent increase, and the exemption most local owners get wrong.

No. Hermosa Beach has no rent control or rent stabilization ordinance. The Los Angeles County RSTPO (County Code Chapter 8.52) covers only unincorporated County areas, and Hermosa Beach is an incorporated city, so it does not apply. Rent increases here are governed by state law, the Tenant Protection Act (Cal. Civ. Code §1947.12).

Last verified: August 10, 2026

The short answer, in more detail

Hermosa Beach has never adopted a rent stabilization ordinance. No local rent board. No registration requirement. No city-set annual allowable increase. No local relocation fee schedule. Nothing in the Hermosa Beach Municipal Code caps what you can charge a residential tenant.

That surprises owners who came over from Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Inglewood, Culver City or the City of Los Angeles, all of which run their own ordinances. Hermosa is not on that list. Neither is Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, El Segundo or Torrance. The South Bay runs on state law.

Why the County ordinance stops at the city line

The confusion starts with the Los Angeles County Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protections Ordinance, County Code Chapter 8.52. It is real, it has teeth, and it gets written about as "LA County rent control," which sounds like it covers everything inside the county.

It does not. Chapter 8.52 applies to dwelling units in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. The County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs, which administers the program, puts it plainly: the RSTPO stabilizes rents and extends eviction protections for eligible properties in unincorporated Los Angeles County. Marina del Rey, Ladera Heights and Altadena are unincorporated. Hermosa Beach is an incorporated city with its own council and its own code, so the County ordinance has no reach here.

What actually caps your increase

State law does. The Tenant Protection Act of 2019, codified at Cal. Civ. Code §1947.12 for rent and §1946.2 for just cause, applies in every California city that has nothing stricter. In Hermosa Beach it is the entire ceiling.

The current number

Section 1947.12(a)(1) limits an annual increase to 5 percent plus the percentage change in the cost of living, or 10 percent, whichever is lower. The cost of living figure is regional and resets every August 1.

For the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area, the April 2026 CPI change was 3.7 percent, putting the ceiling at 8.7 percent for increases taking effect August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027. Verify the current figure before you serve any notice. It moves yearly.

Three rules that ride along with the cap

• The cap measures against the lowest gross rent charged in the 12 months before the increase, not against today's rent.
• You may not raise rent in more than two increments in any 12 month period (§1947.12(a)(1)).
• After 12 months of tenancy you need a just cause reason to terminate, and no-fault terminations trigger relocation assistance under §1946.2.

Section 1947.12 remains in effect until January 1, 2030 and is repealed on that date unless the Legislature acts. AB 1157, which would cut the cap to 2 percent plus inflation with a 5 percent ceiling and strip the single family exemption, is pending as of this writing. It is not law.

Which Hermosa rentals are exempt

Exemptions sit in §1947.12(d). Two matter locally.

New construction. Housing issued a certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years is exempt. It is a rolling window, so a building ages into coverage.

Separately alienable single family homes and condominiums. Exempt only if the owner is not a REIT, a corporation, or an LLC with at least one corporate member, and only if you served the tenant the exact written notice the statute requires. Miss that notice and the unit is covered. Given how much of Hermosa's rental stock is condos and single family homes on the walk streets, this is the most common compliance failure we see.

Two local ordinances people mistake for rent control

Hermosa Beach has passed tenant-adjacent ordinances. Neither was rent control and neither is in force.

Ordinance 19-1399U barred no-fault evictions in pre-2005 buildings through December 31, 2019, a bridge until AB 1482 took effect. Ordinance 20-1414U extended a COVID eviction and foreclosure moratorium running March 16, 2020 through September 30, 2020. Both expired.

The live local ordinance worth knowing is ORD-25-1489, which extended the city's short-term vacation rental provisions in HBMC §17.42.180.D and set them to become inoperative on October 24, 2027. That is zoning, not a rent cap. But if your plan was nightly rentals instead of a lease, that clock matters.

Common questions

Could Hermosa Beach adopt rent control later?

It could try, but Costa-Hawkins (Cal. Civ. Code §1954.50 et seq.) sharply limits any new local ordinance. A city cannot impose rent control on single family homes and condominiums, cannot control units first certified for occupancy after February 1, 1995, and cannot block an owner from setting the initial rent for a new tenant.

I own a condo in Hermosa Beach. Am I automatically exempt from the cap?

No. You are exempt only if you are not a corporate owner and you gave the statutory written notice. Without the notice, the cap and the just cause rules apply.

Do just cause rules apply here even though there is no rent control?

Yes. Section 1946.2 is independent of any local ordinance and applies once a tenant has occupied the unit for 12 months.

Does the County ordinance apply if my tenant works in unincorporated LA County?

No. Coverage follows where the property sits, not the tenant.

Bottom line

No local ordinance, one state ceiling, and an exemption that only holds if the paperwork was done right at move-in. Most Hermosa Beach problems we get called about are notice problems, not rent problems.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Rent and eviction law changes often and the facts of your property matter. Consult a licensed California attorney or a licensed property manager before serving a rent increase or termination notice.

Topics: Hermosa Beach, rent control, AB 1482, California rent cap, LA County RSTPO, landlord compliance, South Bay, property management

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