Whittier, CA Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

52 finds that some Whittier rental units have severe code violations, often from deferred maintenance, that threaten occupant health and safety and may breach the landlord's implied warranty of habitability, sometimes amounting to constructive eviction. A tenant displaced by a city order to vacate an illegally created, constructed or occupied dwelling because of unsafe or hazardous conditions is entitled to relocation benefits from the owner. Benefits are payable within 10 days after the order to vacate is mailed or posted, or at least 20 days before the vacation date, whichever is later; if fewer than 10 days separate posting and vacation, payment is due within 24 hours.

The amount is the greater of twice the unit's established monthly rent or twice the citywide two-bedroom rental rate, plus itemized moving, storage, insurance and utility-reconnection costs. No benefits are owed if the tenant caused the substandard condition or if the hazard arose from an earthquake, flood, fire or similar disaster unrelated to code violations, and the chapter does not apply to property owned by the city, the county, the state or the Whittier Redevelopment Agency or Authority. If an owner fails to pay, the city may advance the benefits and then bill the owner for the amount paid plus a 50 percent penalty and its administrative costs; the owner can request an informal meeting and, if still disputing liability, appeal in writing to the public nuisance hearing officer within 20 days of the itemized accounting. A court awarding benefits to a tenant or the city must also award reasonable attorney fees.