El Monte, CA Rental Property Rules: Rent Control (2026)

Chapter 8.70 was adopted by Ordinance No. 2860 in 2015 to 'prevent excessive and unreasonable increases in mobilehome park space rents' and 'permit mobilehome park owners to receive a fair return,' after a city study found 33 mobilehome parks with 1,427 spaces, a vacancy rate near 1.3 percent, and household incomes so low that 48 percent of surveyed residents earned under $15,000 a year. Section 8.70.030 applies the chapter to all mobilehome park spaces in the city, subject to the exemptions in Section 8.70.040: spaces under a lease that opts out under the Mobilehome Residency Law (Civil Code Section 798 et seq.), new spaces exempted under Civil Code Section 798.45, government-owned or -operated parks and subsidized units, and, apart from the registration and resident-representative rules, homes the park owner itself held as of July 1, 2015.

Section 8.70.050 caps every rent at the July 1, 2015 level unless raised through one of four specific chapter provisions: the annual CPI increase under Section 8.70.060, the in-place mobilehome sale adjustment under Section 8.70.075, the fair-return standard under Section 8.70.080, or a capital-improvement pass-through under Section 8.70.100. 'Rent' under Section 8.70.020 excludes sub-metered utilities, pass-through water/refuse/sewer charges, laundry, and storage fees, so those can move outside the capped formula. The chapter also bars retaliation against tenants under Section 8.70.170, makes charging above the allowable rent an 'excessive rent' claim under Section 8.70.180, and lets the City Council sue to compel compliance under Section 8.70.210.