City of Los Gatos Tenant Protections

The information below is provided by Tenants Together and based partially on research conducted by the Urban Displacement Project. Last update in October 2018. For complete information on the City's tenant protections, please visit their website here.

Disclaimer: This website is for general information and none of the information provided constitutes legal advice. In addition, please note that ordinances are periodically updated, modified, or interpreted by regulations. We recommend contacting the City for the official version of its law in the event that you intend to rely on this information.

Rent control is effective at keeping people in their homes. Rent control policies limit rent increases and provide greater housing stability for tenants. Rent control ordinances in California allow landlords to set the initial rent in any amount, but limit rent increases after a tenancy begins.

Rent control is often combined with eviction protections, known as "just cause for eviction," to make sure that landlords do not get around the rent increase limits by simply evicting tenants arbitrarily and bringing in new tenants. Just Cause protections provide basic fairness and prevent retaliation, discrimination, and harassment proactively.

Overview

Rating 3
What regulations does the City have? Rent Control Protections Only
Year Rent Control Originally Adopted 2004
Year of Most Recent Rent Control Amendment 2004

Rent Control Protections Summary

What units are eligible for rent control and which are exempt? Exemptions:
  • Duplexes
  • A Rental Unit located in a building or group of buildings on the same premises containing only one (1) dwelling unit
  • A room in an owner-occupied dwelling where under the lease provisions the Tenant does not have the substantially exclusive use of the kitchen
  • A single house, condominium unit, or planned development
  • A hotel room or similar accommodation ordinarily let for occupancy by the same Tenant for periods of less than thirty (30) days
  • A hospital room, skilled nursing facility, or similar accommodation where the main factor in the rental relationship is the personal care given to the Tenant
  • A dwelling owned, operated, or managed by a government agency or which is exempted by state or federal law from Rent regulation
  • Mobile homes located in mobile home parks and not owned by the mobile home park owner
Banking Allowed No
Does the landlord have to petition for additional increases? Yes, must submit to arbitrator
On what grounds is the landlord allowed to petition for additional rent increases? The Rent Increase consists of no more than five percent (5%) of existing monthly Rent plus the pass-through of all or some of the amounts of one (1) or more of the following:
  • The fee imposed under section 14.80.245
  • Documented costs of capital improvements, averaged on a per-unit basis and amortized over a period of not less than sixty (60) months
  • Increased costs of maintenance and operation
  • Documented costs of rehabilitation
averaged on a per-unit basis and amortized over a period of not less than thirty-six (36) months.

(2) The cost figures are established to the reasonable satisfaction of the Arbitrator.

(3) Each of the costs proposed for pass-through to Tenants bears a reasonable relationship to the purpose for which such cost was incurred and the value of the real property to which it is applied. (b) When costs of debt service deemed to be reasonable Standards applicable to Rent Increases which exceed the foregoing - see detailed circumstances in section 4 of ordinance on increased costs of debt service due to a sale or refinancing, The rental history of the unit or the complex of which it is a part. The physical condition of the Rental Unit or complex of which it is a part, including the quantity and quality of maintenance and repairs performed during the last twelve (12) months.

(4) Any increases or reductions of Housing Services since the last Rent Increase before the effective date of this article.

(5) Other financial information which the Landlord is willing to provide. (6) Existing market value of Rents for units similarly situated

Rent Board Summary

Does the City have a Rent Board? No
Number of Units Covered by Rent Control TBD