Selling an Apartment Building in Santa Monica

Selling an apartment building requires property-specific pricing, complete operating records, focused marketing, and careful negotiation through due diligence and closing.

What the Sale Process Covers

  • Property-specific valuation and pricing
  • Offering materials based on verified operating records
  • Direct outreach and marketplace exposure
  • Written comparison of price and material offer terms
  • Due diligence and closing coordination

Santa Monica: What Sellers Should Know

Santa Monica is an independent coastal city. Rent control here is part of the City Charter and is administered by the Rent Control Board, so Los Angeles rent rules and Measure ULA do not apply. The city has its own tiered transfer tax instead.

That tax is charged on the whole price, not only on the amount above a threshold. A sale at $8 million pays far more than a sale just below it, which makes pricing near a threshold a real decision.

Local Rules That Affect a Sale in Santa Monica

Rent control

  • Most units built before April 10, 1979 are covered.
  • The General Adjustment is 2.6% effective September 1, 2026, capped at $70 for units with a maximum allowable rent of $2,674 or more. It is based on 75% of the change in the Los Angeles-area CPI, and it is not available for tenancies that started on or after September 1, 2025.
  • Owners set the initial rent for most new tenancies, and that rent becomes the new controlled base.

Registration

  • The registration fee is $240 per unit for 2026/27, of which up to $10 per month can be passed through to the tenant.
  • The annual increase requires paid fees and registered tenancies. A change in ownership must be registered within 30 days.
  • The exemption for owner-occupied properties of three or fewer units ends when the property is sold.

Just cause, relocation and buyouts

  • Terminations require one of ten just-cause grounds in the City Charter.
  • Relocation fees effective July 1, 2026 range from $20,500 to $39,350 depending on unit size, and are higher for households with a senior, disabled or minor member.
  • A buyout offer must come with a notice of tenant rights, cannot be less than the relocation fee, and can be rescinded by the tenant within 30 days.

Transfer tax (Measure GS)

  • City tax is $3 per $1,000 on sales under $5 million, $6 per $1,000 from $5 million to under $8 million, and $56 per $1,000 at $8 million or more, applied to the full price. The thresholds are fixed, not indexed.
  • The county adds $1.10 per $1,000. The city's own example: an $8,000,000 sale owes $448,000 in city tax plus $8,800 in county tax.
  • The municipal code makes the parties to the sale jointly liable for the tax.

Seismic retrofit

  • The program covers soft-story wood-frame buildings built under standards enacted before November 10, 1980, and older non-ductile concrete buildings.
  • For soft-story buildings, deadlines run from the date the city's order was served: evaluation report within 4 years, permit application within 5 years, final approval within 8 years.
  • A sale or transfer of title does not change the compliance dates.

Ballot measures to watch

  • Three measures on the November 3, 2026 ballot would change the registration fee cap and eviction rules. Results had not been certified when this page was reviewed, so confirm their status.

What Buyers Will Ask For

  • Rent Control Board registration and the maximum allowable rent for each unit
  • Proof that registration fees are paid and tenancies are registered
  • A rent roll with tenancy start dates
  • The seismic retrofit order and the building's compliance status
  • Any buyout agreements, and any eviction notices filed with the city
  • Twelve months of income and expense records

Review the apartment building valuation methodology used to compare income, expenses, comparable sales, current competition, condition, and regulatory status before a pricing recommendation is made.