West Hollywood relocation payments went up again on July 1. Here is what a no fault move costs an owner in 2026.

Published July 25, 2026

A no fault termination in West Hollywood is not valid until the relocation payment is in the tenant's hands, and those amounts rose with a 2.85 percent CPI bump on July 1, 2026.

If you are planning an owner move in, an Ellis withdrawal, or a government ordered repair on a rent stabilized unit in West Hollywood, the relocation payment is not a formality you handle at the end. Under the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, the tenant is not considered served until the full payment is in their hands, and the 2026 amounts range from $9,763 for a studio up to $32,547 for a qualifying household.

First, the part most owners get backward

The instinct is to think of relocation money as a check you write once the tenant is on their way out. In West Hollywood it works the other way around. The city is explicit that a tenant "has not been noticed until any and all required relocation fees have been paid to them." The clock on your notice period does not start ticking until the money has changed hands and you have filed your application for Tenant Relocation Assistance with the Rent Stabilization Department along with a copy of the notice.

So the sequence matters more than the sum. Pay first, then the notice counts, then the required waiting period runs. Skip a step or short the amount and you have not started the process at all. You have just paid a tenant and reset your own timeline to zero.

The four no fault reasons the ordinance actually recognizes

West Hollywood does not let an owner end a tenancy without cause for any reason they like. The ordinance lists a limited set of no fault grounds, and relocation payments attach to each one:

The landlord, or a specified close relative of the landlord, wants to occupy the unit. This is the classic owner move in, and it is the one that trips up owners who assume family use is automatic. It is a defined ground with defined proof and a defined payment.

Withdrawal of every rental unit in a building from the market. This is the Ellis Act route, and the city flags it as heavily restricted for a reason. If you are even considering it, that is a conversation to have before you send a single notice.

A medical exchange, where an owner already living on the property has a certified medical need and swaps units with a tenant to get, for example, a ground floor apartment for a wheelchair.

Substantial repairs ordered by a government agency, where the work is required to bring the property into code compliance for health and safety, and the agency has ruled the work cannot be done with the tenant in place. Note the shape of this one. It is not a voluntary renovation. It is repairs a public agency has ordered and has said cannot happen around an occupied unit.

That last distinction is the one I see owners miss most. A remodel you choose to do is not a no fault ground. A repair a city or county agency orders, and certifies cannot be done while occupied, is. If your plan is a discretionary upgrade, the ordinance does not hand you a relocation path to an empty unit.

What the 2026 payment actually runs

The relocation amounts are not fixed. They move each year with a Consumer Price Index measure, and the one the city uses for these payments is the "rent of primary residence" index rather than the broader all items number that drives the annual rent increase. That distinction is worth holding onto. Your allowed rent increase and your relocation payment are tied to two different CPI figures, and they move at different speeds.

For this cycle that measure came in at 2.85 percent, and the updated relocation amounts took effect on July 1, 2026. The current schedule runs roughly like this: $9,763 for a studio, $13,787 for a one bedroom, $18,571 for a two bedroom, and $24,508 for a three bedroom or larger. Two higher amounts also apply, and they turn on who the tenant is rather than on unit size. A tenant who is 62 or older, disabled, terminally ill, has a dependent minor child, or is of moderate income receives $25,847. A lower income tenant receives the top figure of $32,547.

Those are meaningful numbers on a small building. A two bedroom owner move in that also happens to house a senior tenant is not an $18,571 decision. It is closer to a $30,000 one. Budget from the top of the range that could apply, not the bottom, because you do not get to pick which tenant qualifies.

What this means for your building

Here is the plain readout if you own a rent stabilized unit in West Hollywood and a no fault move is on your mind.

You are the owner of a rent controlled asset in one of the most protective cities in the region, which is exactly why the building holds its value the way it does. The same rules that make a no fault termination expensive are the rules that keep your rent roll stable and your tenancies long. That is the deal, and it is not a bad one.

Three things to plan around. First, the payment comes before the notice, so treat it as an upfront cost of the move, not a closing cost. Second, the amount depends on unit size and on whether the tenant qualifies for one of the higher figures, so size the check to the worst case that fits your tenant. Third, a no fault vacancy does not let you reset the rent. The city is clear that the unit is not decontrolled during the vacancy, so the next tenant pays the current Maximum Allowable Rent or less. If your plan assumed a market rate re rental after the unit clears, that plan does not survive contact with the ordinance.

And for several of these grounds the former tenant keeps a right to move back in when the unit is re rented. So an owner move in that turns into a quick flip to a new tenant is not just a compliance risk. It can be an invitation for your former tenant to return at the old rent.

None of this makes a no fault move impossible. It makes it a planned move. The owners who do this cleanly are the ones who priced the relocation payment, confirmed their ground, paid before noticing, and filed with the Department. The ones who get hurt are the ones who treated it like an afterthought.

Common questions

Do I pay the relocation fee before or after I give notice?

Before. West Hollywood does not consider the tenant to have been noticed until the full required relocation payment has been paid to them. Your notice period does not begin until the money is paid and your application is filed with the Rent Stabilization Department with a copy of the notice attached. In practice the payment is the first move, not the last.

Can I do a major remodel and use that to relocate a tenant?

Only in a narrow case. A remodel you choose to do is not a recognized no fault ground. The ordinance recognizes substantial repairs when a government agency has ordered the work to meet health and safety codes and has determined it cannot be completed while the tenant occupies the unit. A discretionary upgrade does not qualify, so confirm the specific ground with the Department before you plan around an empty unit.

After a no fault vacancy, can I raise the rent to market for the next tenant?

No. The unit is not decontrolled during a vacancy that follows a no fault termination. The next tenant can be asked to pay the current Maximum Allowable Rent or less, not a fresh market rent. For some grounds the former tenant also keeps the right to move back in when you re rent.

Last verified: July 25, 2026. Relocation amounts and CPI adjustments change over time and the figures above reflect the schedule effective July 1, 2026. This is general information for property owners, not legal advice. Confirm the current relocation amounts, the qualifying no fault grounds, and every notice and filing requirement of the West Hollywood Rent Stabilization Ordinance with a licensed professional or the Rent Stabilization Department before you act.

Kellie

Schofield Properties

323 Richmond Street, El Segundo, CA 90245

Topics: market, west-hollywood, westside, rent-stabilization, relocation

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