The RSO Annual Fee is due July 1. Normally, if payment is made after July 15 a late fee is assessed. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, a penalty will be assessed on payments received after August 15, 2021. The RSO Annual Fee Pass-Through, and Pass-Through Rebate Program remain in effect.

Certain senior or disabled landlords may be eligible to pay these fees in installments by filing a Registration Fee Deferral application with the Department. Information about the Registration Fee Deferral program is available by contacting a Counselor at the Rent Stabilization and Housing Department.

Passing Through Half of Fee to Tenants

One half of the annual registration fee may be passed on to tenants in twelve (12) equal monthly installments. Currently $6.00 per month.

The tenants' installments:

• may not be demanded for periods in which the landlord did not pay the registration fees.
• may not be charged retroactively for periods when the landlord did not charge them to the tenants;
• may not be charged in a lump sum.

If the landlord has not passed the fee through to the tenant, they must give the tenant 30-day written notice that the fee will be charged as part of the terms of tenancy. The pass-through of the tenants' portion of the fees is not rent but a fee payment in addition to the rent and is deducted from the rent before calculating annual rent increases, then added back to the increased rent.

Exemption From Fees for Individual Units

Landlords may file an Exemption Application to waive the registration fees on certain units (view more information about unit exemptions), including, but not limited to landlord or relative occupied units and units subsidized by the government. It is the landlord's responsibility to apply for such exemptions by July 1 of each billing year. If the application is not filed before this date, registration fees will be charged for the unit for the fiscal year.

New owners who move onto the property, must submit a property file amendment changing the ownership of the property and alsoan exemption form for owner-occupancy of their unit within 30 days of taking possession of the property. If the unit in which the new owners live has an exemption from the last owners, it will be lost until the next fiscal if the exemption is not reewed within 30 days.

If you feel one or more of your units may be eligible for an exemption from registration fees, please contact the Rent Stabilization and Housing Department at (323) 848-6450.