Commercial tenant protections in force and proposed.

Los Angeles County Code chapter 8.45 (Ordinance 2022-0009), in force since 2022, applies in unincorporated Los Angeles County.[1][2]

It protects independently owned businesses and nonprofits with nine or fewer employees and principal offices in the County that rent non-dwelling commercial units. Multinational and publicly traded tenants and airport property are excluded.[1]

It prohibits listed kinds of harassment and retaliation, among them interrupting required services, failing to make repairs in bad faith, refusing rent, threats, baseless notices, removing the tenant's property, and repeated buyout offers after a written refusal.[1]

The civil penalty is $2,000 to $5,000 per violation, with up to $5,000 more if the tenant is 62 or older or disabled. A violation is also a misdemeanor, tenants have a private right of action, and each day is a separate offense.[1]

Council file 26-0588 began with a motion introduced April 22, 2026. On June 9, 2026 (final June 10) the Council adopted its committee's report 15 to 0, asking for a report within 90 days on protections for commercial tenants, including whether a commercial tenant anti-harassment ordinance is feasible, and asking the City Attorney for draft ordinance recommendations if appropriate.[3][4][5]

No ordinance had been adopted when we checked the file on October 25, 2026, and the report wasn't on the file yet. The latest document on the file is a public comment dated October 15, 2026.[3]

The Board of Supervisors adopted a revised motion by Supervisors Mitchell and Solis on September 1, 2026, with four ayes and Supervisor Barger abstaining. It asks County departments to design a license that landlords in unincorporated areas would need to lease commercial property, looking at yearly reports of unit data (size, vacancy, rent, lease length) and suspension after a final court finding under chapter 8.45.[6][7]

It also directs the Department of Economic Opportunity, with County Counsel, to bring back within 180 days an ordinance amending chapter 8.45 so that a tenant who relocates because of a violation is owed relocation assistance. The license design and that ordinance come back to the Board later, so the motion creates no license requirement by itself.[6][7]

The County's COVID-19 Tenant Protections Resolution expired March 31, 2023. A County report says commercial tenants were no longer covered from February 1, 2022.[8][9]