What Is the Ellis Act and Could It Apply to a Small South Bay Rental?

Published August 10, 2026

The Ellis Act, Government Code section 7060, stops a city from forcing a landlord to keep renting out property. It matters most to owners of small multi-unit buildings in cities with local just cause or rent control rules. Many single owner-occupant-exempt South Bay rentals never need it because Civil Code section 1946.2 already exempts them.

The short answer

The Ellis Act, Government Code section 7060, bars a city from forcing a landlord to keep offering property for rent. It matters when a local rent control or just cause ordinance would otherwise trap an owner into renting indefinitely. For most small South Bay owners of a single family home or condo, Civil Code section 1946.2's owner exemption already lets them exit without invoking Ellis at all. Ellis becomes relevant mainly for small multi-unit buildings in cities with their own tenant protection ordinances.

Last verified: August 10, 2026

What the statute actually does

Government Code section 7060 states plainly that no public entity may "compel the owner of any residential real property to offer, or to continue to offer, accommodations in the property for rent or lease," with a narrow carve out for certain long-standing residential hotel units. It functions as a statewide floor: a landlord retains the legal right to exit the rental business, no matter what a local rent control ordinance says.

That is the whole of what Ellis does. It is a right to withdraw property from the rental market, not a right to demolish, redevelop, or convert to condos free of other permitting rules, and it is not an eviction defense for removing a single problem tenant. It only works if the owner is taking the entire property, or all units on the parcel, out of the rental business.

The mechanics: notice, timing, and re-renting limits

Owners invoking Ellis follow a specific sequence set out in the sections following 7060.

120 day notice, extended for elderly or disabled tenants. Section 7060.4(b) sets the accommodations as withdrawn 120 days after the owner delivers notice of intent to withdraw to the local public entity, in person or by first class mail. If a tenant is 62 or older, or disabled, and has lived in the unit at least one year before that notice, the withdrawal date for that tenant's unit extends to one year after the notice.

Re-renting inside two years triggers liability and a right of first refusal. Section 7060.2 restricts what an owner can do with the property after withdrawal. If the owner offers any unit back for rent within two years, prior tenants displaced by the withdrawal generally have to be offered the chance to reinstate a tenancy on the terms the law then permits, and local ordinances can extend that right of first refusal window up to ten years.

This is the part small owners underestimate. Ellis is not a way to clear out tenants, wait a few months, and re-lease to new tenants at market rent. If you go that route inside the statutory window, the withdrawal exposes you to liability and a former tenant's right to move back in.

Why most small South Bay owners may not need Ellis at all

Ellis Act analysis only becomes necessary where a local jurisdiction's rent control or just cause ordinance would otherwise force an owner to keep renting. For a large share of small South Bay landlords, that pressure never applies, because Civil Code section 1946.2, the statewide just cause statute passed as part of AB 1482, already exempts their property.

Section 1946.2(e)(8) exempts a separately alienable residential property, such as a standalone single family home or a condo, when the owner is not a real estate investment trust, corporation, or LLC with a corporate member, provided the lease includes a specific statutory notice statement disclosing the exemption. An owner who meets that test can end a tenancy with an ordinary notice to terminate, without a just cause reason and without an AB 1482 relocation payment.

Ellis Act questions come up for South Bay owners who fall outside that exemption: mainly small multi-unit buildings, duplexes without owner occupancy, triplexes, fourplexes, and any property where the exemption notice was never put in the lease. If your rental sits in a city that layers its own local rent stabilization or just cause ordinance on top of state law, and your property does not qualify for the state exemption, Ellis is the statute that guarantees you can still exit the rental business even if the local ordinance would otherwise say no. Confirm directly with each city, since South Bay ordinances vary and we did not independently verify each city's current rent control status for this article.

Where Ellis and the AB 1482 relocation duty intersect

If Ellis applies, and the tenancy is also covered by section 1946.2 (the exemption above does not apply, for example because the property is multi-unit or corporately owned), withdrawal is treated as a no fault just cause under section 1946.2(b)(2)(B), which lists "withdrawal of the residential real property from the rental market" directly.

That triggers the relocation duty in subdivision (d): the owner must provide relocation assistance equal to one month of the rent in effect when the termination notice issued, paid directly or applied as a waiver of the final month's rent, delivered within 15 calendar days of serving the termination notice.

So a small owner using Ellis on a covered multi-unit property runs two statutes at once: the Government Code 7060 series governs the withdrawal mechanics, the city notice, the 120 day or one year clock, and the re-rental restrictions, while Civil Code 1946.2 governs the relocation payment owed because withdrawal is one of its enumerated no fault reasons.

| Question | Governing statute | Key figure |

|---|---|---|

| Can the city force me to keep renting | Government Code 7060 | No, statewide floor |

| How much notice before withdrawal | Government Code 7060.4(b) | 120 days, one year if tenant is 62+ or disabled with 1+ year tenancy |

| Can I re-rent soon after | Government Code 7060.2 | Restricted within 2 years, up to 10 years locally, with right of first refusal |

| Do I owe the tenant relocation money | Civil Code 1946.2(d) | One month's rent, paid or waived, within 15 days of the termination notice |

| Am I exempt from 1946.2 entirely | Civil Code 1946.2(e)(8) | Yes, if a single family home or condo with a non corporate owner and correct lease notice |

FAQ

Does the Ellis Act let me evict one tenant I want gone?

No. It only covers taking the entire property, or all units on the parcel, out of the rental business. It is not a tool for a single-unit, single-tenant eviction where the owner intends to keep renting the rest of the property.

Do I need to use the Ellis Act to sell my rental house?

Usually not. Selling an occupied rental transfers the tenancy to the new owner; it does not require withdrawing the unit from the rental market. Ellis matters when you intend to stop renting the unit altogether, not when you intend to sell it as a rental.

If I own one single family rental in the South Bay, does the Ellis Act apply to me?

Possibly not, because you likely fall under the Civil Code 1946.2(e)(8) exemption for a separately alienable, non-corporately owned single family home or condo, provided your lease includes the required exemption notice. Confirm your lease has that language and confirm your city's local ordinance status before assuming either way.

Can I re-rent the unit right after withdrawing it under the Ellis Act?

Not without consequences. Government Code section 7060.2 restricts re-renting within two years of withdrawal and generally requires offering the unit back to the displaced tenant first, with some cities extending that right of first refusal window to ten years.

How much notice do I owe tenants before withdrawing a unit under the Ellis Act?

120 days under section 7060.4(b), extended to one year for a tenant who is 62 or older, or disabled, and has lived in the unit for at least a year before the notice.

Do I owe relocation money if I withdraw a covered unit from the rental market?

If the tenancy is covered by Civil Code section 1946.2, yes. Subdivision (d) requires relocation assistance equal to one month's rent, paid or waived, within 15 calendar days of the termination notice, because withdrawal from the rental market is a listed no fault just cause.

This is general information about California's Ellis Act and just cause eviction statutes, not legal advice for your specific property. Confirm your property's exemption status, your city's local ordinance, and the current withdrawal procedure with a licensed landlord-tenant attorney before acting.

Topics: compliance, Ellis Act, AB 1482, just cause eviction, South Bay, landlord obligations

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