Rent control in Culver City, in plain English.

Culver City’s rules reach most residential rentals inside the city. Your unit is likely covered if:

• The home is inside the City of Culver City.
• It is a residential rental used as someone’s home.
• It does not fall under a specific exemption in the ordinance.

Culver City’s protections reach further than many people expect. Some newer buildings and single-family rentals fall under the tenant-protection and just-cause side even where the strict rent cap does not. When in doubt, we can place your unit on a free call.

For increases effective June 2026 through June 2027, the most a landlord can raise the rent on a covered unit is 3.25 percent. The number is tied to inflation and the city updates it each year, but it can never go above the 5 percent ceiling written into the law.

• One increase every 12 months.
• Written notice in the right form.
• The increase cannot exceed the current allowable percentage.
• The 5 percent ceiling holds even in a high-inflation year.

If your Culver City increase came in above the allowable percentage for the year, the amount over the cap is very likely invalid.

Culver City requires a just-cause reason to end a covered tenancy, and it splits the reasons into at-fault and no-fault, the same structure as most LA-area cities.

At-fault just cause

1. Failure to pay rent.
2. A lease violation that goes uncured after notice.
3. Nuisance or damage.
4. Refusing lawful access.
5. Unlawful use of the unit.

No-fault just cause

1. Owner or close-relative move-in, under strict rules.
2. Substantial remodel or demolition.
3. Withdrawal from the rental market under the Ellis Act.
4. A government order to vacate.

A no-fault eviction requires relocation assistance, and the city publishes the amounts. Where a landlord breaks the rules, Culver City’s ordinance lets a tenant recover several times their actual damages, which raises the stakes for a landlord who cuts corners.

The Culver City problems we see most:

• An increase above the year’s allowable percentage.
• A second increase inside the same 12 months.
• A no-fault notice with no relocation payment.
• A landlord treating a covered unit as if it were exempt.

1. Save the notice, the envelope, and your rent history.
2. Check the unit in the city’s registration records.
3. Talk to a tenant attorney about the multiple-damages remedy.