Bad faith.
An intent to vex, annoy, harass, provoke or injure another person. This includes, but is not limited to, the intent of a property owner or manager to induce a tenant to vacate a rental housing unit through unlawful conduct.
Buyout agreement.
An agreement where a landlord pays a tenant money or other consideration to vacate a rental housing unit. An agreement to settle a pending unlawful detainer action shall not be a "buyout agreement."
Buyout offer.
An offer by a landlord to pay a tenant money or other consideration to vacate a rental housing unit. An offer to settle a pending unlawful detainer action shall not be a "buyout offer."
Fraud.
Intentional misrepresentation, deceit or concealment of a material fact.
Housing service.
Housing services include, but are not limited to, hot and cold water, heat, electricity, gas, refrigeration, elevator service, window shades and screens, storage, kitchen, bath and laundry facilities and privileges, janitor services, refuse removal, furnishings, telephone, parking, effective waterproofing and weather protection, painting, and any other benefit, privilege or facility that has been provided by the landlord to the tenant with use or occupancy of any rental housing unit. Services to a rental housing unit shall include a proportionate part of services provided to common facilities of the building in which the rental housing unit is contained.
Landlord.
An owner, lessor, sublessor, or any other person entitled to receive rent for the use and occupancy of any rental housing unit, or an agent, representative or successor of any of the foregoing.
Rental housing agreement.
An agreement, oral or written or implied, between a landlord and tenant for use or occupancy of a rental housing unit and for housing services.
Rental housing unit.
A housing unit in the City that constitutes either a controlled rental unit pursuant to City Charter Section 1800 et seq., (including a room in a single-family home, hotel or motel, rooming house or apartment, single-family home, mobile home or mobile home space, trailer or trailer space); or a rental unit pursuant to City Charter Section 2300 et seq.
Tenant.
A tenant, subtenant, lessee, sublessee or any other person entitled under the terms of a rental housing agreement to the use or occupancy of any rental housing unit.
(Added by Ord. No. 1817CCS § 1, adopted 10/10/95; amended by Ord. No. 1859CCS § 2, adopted 7/30/96; Ord. No. 1943CCS § 1, adopted 5/25/99; Ord. No. 2383CCS § 3, adopted 12/13/11; Ord. No. 2478CCS § 1, adopted 1/13/15)
No landlord shall, with respect to property used as a rental housing unit under any rental housing agreement or other tenancy or estate at will, however created, do any of the following in bad faith:
(a) 
Interrupt, terminate or fail to provide housing services required by contract or by State, County or local housing, health or safety laws, or violate Section 4.27.010(a);
(b) 
Fail to perform repairs and maintenance required by contract or by State, County or local housing, health or safety laws;
(c) 
Fail to exercise due diligence in completing repairs and maintenance once undertaken;
(d) 
Abuse the landlord's right of access into a rental housing unit as that right is specified in California Civil Code Section 1954. This includes entries for "inspections" that are not related to necessary repairs or services; entries excessive in number; entries that improperly target certain tenants or are used to collect evidence against the occupant or otherwise beyond the scope of an otherwise lawful entry;
(e) 
Abuse the tenant with words which are offensive and inherently likely to provoke an immediate violent reaction;
(f) 
Influence or attempt to influence a tenant to vacate a rental housing unit through fraud, intimidation or coercion. Examples of such influence or attempts include, but are not limited to, the following: excessive rent increases, baseless threats to evict, threats to report immigration status, terminating a tenancy on a fraudulent basis of owner-occupancy, excessive and baseless entries by landlord or landlord's agents, unreasonably withholding the right to sublease as set forth in City Charter Sections 1806(a)(2) and 2304(a)(2), and making buyout offers within six months after a tenant has notified the landlord in writing that the tenant does not wish to enter into a buyout agreement or buyout negotiations;
(g) 
Threaten the tenant, by word or gesture, with physical harm;
(h) 
Violate any law which prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, sexual preference, sexual orientation, ethnic background, nationality, religion, age, parenthood, marriage, pregnancy, disability, AIDS or occupancy by a minor child, immigration status, source of income, housing status, gender identity, gender expression, or any other class expressly protected by a local, State, or Federal law.
(i) 
(1) 
Take action to terminate any tenancy including service of any notice to quit or other eviction notice or bring any action to recover possession of a rental housing unit based upon facts which the landlord has no reasonable cause to believe to be true or upon a legal theory which is untenable under the facts known to the landlord. No landlord shall be liable under this subsection for bringing an action to recover possession unless and until the tenant has obtained a favorable termination of that action,
(2) 
This subsection shall not apply to any attorney who in good faith initiates legal proceedings against a tenant on behalf of a landlord to recover possession of a rental housing unit;
(j) 
Interfere with a tenant's right to quiet use and enjoyment of a rental housing unit as that right is defined by California law;
(k) 
Refuse to accept a tenant's lawful rent payment or refuse to acknowledge receipt of a tenant's lawful rent payment. This subsection shall not apply where a landlord refuses to accept payment tendered after the expiration of a notice issued pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1161, and where acceptance of rent would waive the landlord's right to pursue eviction based on the expired notice;
(l) 
Interfere with a tenant's right to privacy, including, but not limited to, entering or photographing portions of a rental housing unit that are beyond the scope of a lawful entry or inspection;
(m) 
Impose or attempt to impose an unlawful or excessive rent increase. An unlawful rent increase is a rent increase in excess of the maximum allowable increase or to an amount in excess of the maximum allowable rent permitted by the lease agreement or by a deed, other recorded document, agreement with a government agency, regulatory agreement, settlement agreement, or contract, or in excess of the maximum allowable increase or to an amount in excess of the maximum allowable rent permitted by law, including, but not limited to, Article XVIII of the Santa Monica City Charter (the Rent Control Charter Amendment), California Civil Code Section 1947.12 (the Tenant Protection Act), Penal Code Section 396 (the State Price Gouging Law), or Section 4.32.160 et seq. of this Code (the City Price Gouging Law). An excessive rent increase is a rent increase to an amount that is substantially in excess of market rates for comparable units. Evidence that an excessive rent increase was in bad faith includes, but is not limited to, imposition or attempted imposition of the excessive rent increase:
(1) 
Within six months of an unsuccessful attempt to evict a tenant for a "just cause,"
(2) 
Within six months of the tenant's complaints to the landlord or its agents, a government agency, or law enforcement regarding habitability, safety concerns, tenant harassment, discrimination, or neighbor to neighbor harassment,
(3) 
When price gouging protections, including Penal Code Section 396 or Section 4.32.160 et seq. of this Code prohibit rent increases in excess of a particular amount during a state of emergency;
(n) 
Retaliate against a tenant for reporting any violation of, or for exercising any right protected by, any Federal, State, County, or local housing, health or safety, fair housing, or other tenant protection law.
(Added by Ord. No. 1817CCS § 1, adopted 10/10/95; amended by Ord. No. 1859CCS § 2, adopted 7/30/96; Ord. No. 1943CCS § 2, adopted 5/25/99; Ord. No. 2005CCS § 1, adopted 4/24/01; Ord. No. 2239CCS § 1, adopted 10/10/07; Ord. No. 2478CCS § 2, adopted 1/13/15; Ord. No. 2716CCS § 1, adopted 9/13/22; Ord. No. 2776CCS, 2/13/24)
Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed as to prevent the lawful eviction of a tenant by appropriate legal means nor shall anything in this Chapter apply to occupancies defined by subdivision (b) of Civil Code Section 1940.
(Added by Ord. No. 1817CCS § 1, adopted 10/10/95; amended by Ord. No. 1859CCS § 2, adopted 7/30/96)
(a) 
Criminal Penalty. Any person who is convicted of violating this Chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not greater than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the County Jail for not more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(b) 
Civil Action. Any person, including the City, may enforce the provisions of this Chapter by means of a civil action. The burden of proof in such cases shall be preponderance of the evidence. A violation of this Chapter may be asserted as an affirmative defense in an unlawful detainer action.
(c) 
Injunction. Any person who commits an act, proposes to commit an act, or engages in any pattern and practice which violates Section 4.56.020 may be enjoined therefor by any court of competent jurisdiction. An action for injunction under this subsection may be brought by any aggrieved person, by the City Attorney, or by any person or entity who will fairly and adequately represent the interest of the protected class.
(d) 
Penalties and Other Monetary Awards. Any person who violates or aids or incites another person to violate the provisions of this Chapter is liable for each and every such offense for the actual damages suffered by an aggrieved party or for statutory damages in the sum of between one thousand dollars and twenty thousand dollars, whichever is greater, and shall be liable for such attorneys' fees and costs as may be determined by the court in addition thereto. Any violator shall be liable for an additional civil penalty of up to five thousand dollars for each offense committed against a person who is disabled or aged sixty-five or over. The court may also award punitive damages to any plaintiff, including the City, in a proper case as defined by Civil Code Section 3294. The burden of proof for purposes of punitive damages shall be clear and convincing evidence.
(e) 
Nonexclusive Remedies and Penalties. The remedies provided in this Chapter are not exclusive, and nothing in this Chapter shall preclude any person from seeking any other remedies, penalties or procedures provided by law.
(Added by Ord. No. 1817CCS § 1, adopted 10/10/95; amended by Ord. No. 1859CCS § 2, adopted 7/30/96; Ord. No. 1943CCS § 3, adopted 5/25/99; Ord. No. 2005CCS § 2, adopted 4/24/01; Ord. No. 2478CCS § 3, adopted 1/13/15; Ord. No. 2776CCS, 2/13/24)