Long Beach has no local rent control, but it does add its own just-cause, inspection and harassment rules to California law. Utopia manages single-family homes, condos and apartment buildings across the city, from the Craftsman streets of Belmont Heights to North Long Beach, for an 8–10% base fee with no leasing, lease-renewal or start-up fees.
| Utopia management fee | 8–10% of monthly rent; lower with volume. No leasing, lease-renewal, or start-up fees. |
|---|---|
| Local market fee (all managers) | About 8%–10% of monthly rent. Leasing and renewal fees vary by company. Compare Long Beach fees. |
| Rent increase rules | Under California's AB 1482, annual increases are capped at 5% plus regional CPI (up to a 10% maximum), [source] with just-cause protections after 12 months; [source] many individually owned single-family homes are exempt. [source] |
| Security deposit rules | California tightened the rules in 2025: under AB 2801 a deduction has to be backed by photographs. Move-out photos are required on every tenancy from April 1, 2025 — taken before any cleaning or repairs, and again once the work is done — and move-in photos on tenancies starting July 1, 2025 or later. Those photos go to the resident with the itemized statement, so we document condition at both ends of every tenancy we manage. More on how deposit refunds work. [source] |
| Services included | Marketing, tenant screening, leasing, rent collection, 24/7 maintenance, accounting, and evictions. |
| What we manage | Single-family homes, condos, and multifamily properties across Long Beach. |
| Experience | Full-service property management since 1994, serving California, Washington, Oregon, and Nevada. |
Rules and market conditions change; this is general information, not legal advice.
Your Local Expert
Branch Manager · Long Beach
CA Real Estate License #02233419
Colin Keating leads Utopia Management's Los Angeles branch as a licensed California real estate agent. His focus is the fundamentals that protect an owner's return in a complex market: accurate neighborhood-level pricing, careful attention to each applicant's background and qualifications, and responsive day-to-day management of every property in his care.
Long Beach has no city rent cap, so increases on covered units follow California’s AB 1482: 8.7% for the Los Angeles metro area from August 1, 2026 to July 31, 2027. Utopia handles leasing, screening, rent collection, maintenance coordination, owner accounting and evictions, and checks each increase against that cap before a notice goes out. [source]
After 12 months of tenancy, ending a lease in Long Beach requires a just cause under Municipal Code chapter 8.99. [source] A no-fault termination owes one month’s rent in relocation; for demolition or a substantial remodel (permitted work that needs the tenant out for at least 30 days in a row) it is the greater of $4,500 or two months’ rent. Payment is due within 15 days of the notice, or the owner may waive rent instead. The chapter is set to expire on January 1, 2030. [source]
The Proactive Rental Housing Inspection Program covers buildings with at least four units, not counting ADUs. New owners register within 60 days of buying, the annual fee is due November 1, and a 25% penalty is added 30 days after the due date. Periodic inspections cover the exterior, common areas and at least 10% of the units, so the building is kept ready rather than prepared the week before. [source]
Long Beach’s tenant harassment ordinance (chapter 8.101) bans bad-faith repair delays, abuse of the right of entry and false statements about tenant rights, with penalties of $2,000 to $5,000 per violation and more when the tenant is over 65 or disabled. Dated repair records and proper entry notices are the owner’s protection. The City also requires property owners to hold a business license and pay the business license tax. [source][source]
Much of Long Beach’s rental housing is old and distinctive. California Heights, the city’s largest historic district, has nearly 1,500 homes, mostly Spanish Colonial Revival. About two-thirds of Belmont Heights is Craftsman bungalows, and more than half the homes in Bluff Park, part of the old Alamitos Beach townsite, are Craftsman bungalows built between 1910 and 1923. Wrigley’s historic district is working-class cottages from 1928 to 1934, and 1920s and 1930s courtyard apartments turn up across the city. Downtown is newer: the Downtown Plan has produced more than 5,000 approved housing units. [source] Older buildings need a maintenance plan that expects plumbing, electrical and roof work. [source]
Cal State Long Beach projects more than 41,000 students for fall 2026, and Rocket Lab has its headquarters in the city. Zillow’s rent index for Long Beach was $2,422 in August 2026, up about 2% from a year earlier, so pricing rests on the specific unit rather than on a fast-rising market. [source][source]
Tell us the address and the number of units; we will check whether the building falls under PRHIP and confirm our rate before you sign.
Utopia's base management fee is 8–10% of monthly rent, with lower rates for larger portfolios. We charge no leasing fees, lease-renewal fees, or start-up fees. We confirm your rate before you sign.
Yes, Long Beach is a steady rental market, with average rents around $2,000 a month and modest growth near 2% year over year, holding up better than the city of Los Angeles. Coastal, walkable neighborhoods like Belmont Shore and Naples command premium rents, while Bixby Knolls and Downtown offer value. Utopia Management helps Long Beach owners price accurately and keep quality properties leased.
Long Beach has no local rent control and falls under California's statewide AB 1482, which caps annual increases at 5% plus regional CPI, up to a maximum of 10%. For the Los Angeles-Long Beach area, the current cap is 8% through July 31, 2026, and resets each August. Some single-family homes are exempt if proper written notice was given. Utopia Management applies the correct cap to every renewal.
A well-priced, well-located Long Beach home typically rents within a few weeks. Desirable coastal areas like Belmont Shore and Naples tend to lease quickly, while overpriced units take longer. Pricing, condition and timing all matter, and spring and summer usually move fastest. Utopia Management reduces vacancy with market-based pricing, professional marketing and prompt showings throughout Long Beach and LA County.
Tenant screening in Long Beach covers credit, income verification, rental and eviction history, using consistent written criteria that comply with California fair housing law. Landlords must accept the first qualified applicant and cannot discriminate based on source of income such as Section 8. Utopia Management screens thoroughly to place reliable, qualified tenants while keeping owners compliant with current state requirements. Every applicant is held to the same standard: a credit score of at least 625, good to excellent rental history, verifiable gross household income of three times the monthly rent, no evictions, and any bankruptcy discharged at least two years ago.
California law requires Long Beach rentals to be safe and habitable, and Utopia Management coordinates repairs through trusted vendors with owner approval. Evictions require just cause for tenancies of 12 months or more under AB 1482, and no-fault evictions require relocation assistance. An uncontested eviction generally takes about four to six weeks, longer if contested. Utopia handles notices and works with legal counsel throughout.
Belmont Shore and Naples are Long Beach's premium rental areas, prized for waterfront and walkable living, while Bixby Knolls and Downtown offer more affordable, steady demand. Coastal apartments, craftsman single-family homes and older multifamily are the core rental products. Utopia Management manages houses, condos and small multifamily throughout Long Beach and the wider LA County market.
To rent out a house in Long Beach you need a safe, habitable property, landlord insurance, a California-compliant lease and the required AB 1482 disclosures, including the exemption notice if your single-family home qualifies. Security deposits are generally capped at one month's rent. Utopia Management can prepare the home, set market rent, screen tenants and provide full-service management across Long Beach and LA County.
Comparing companies or budgeting the cost? See the best property management companies in Long Beach, and our guide to how much property management costs in Long Beach.
Advice from our team for owners renting out property in and around Long Beach.
Long Beach has no rent cap of its own. State law sets the ceiling, and a separate city ordinance decides what you owe a tenant when a tenancy ends through no fault of theirs.
Long Beach sits in the Los Angeles metro CPI area, so the statewide formula of 5% plus local CPI lands at 8.7% this year. That is the ceiling on any increase in a 12-month period for a covered building.
Source: dcba.lacounty.gov — Rent Increases · verified 2026-08-31
The Just Cause for Termination of Tenancies Ordinance runs alongside AB 1482 and adds notice and relocation duties on a no-fault ending. Demolition or a substantial remodel costs the greater of $4,500 or two months of the tenant's rent; other no-fault terminations cost one month. Worth knowing what this is not: the older Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordinance at LBMC 8.97, the one with the 10% rent-increase trigger, was adopted in June 2019 and repealed that December once AB 1482 passed. Pages around the web still describe it as live. It is not.
Source: longbeach.gov — Tenant and Landlord Resources · verified 2026-08-31
Rent caps change every year and local ordinances change by council vote. Check the linked source before you serve a notice — this page is general information, not legal advice.
Not sure which one covers your building? Talk to the Long Beach office →
Work out what a Long Beach rental returns before you buy, refinance or reprice it.
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An eviction runs around $3,000 by the time it is done, and the rules in Long Beach are not the rules everywhere else. For $25 a month — occupied or vacant — we run the process and cover up to $1,000 of the legal fees. Applies to tenants we placed.
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