When Your LA Shop’s Rent Doubles: SB 1103 Notice Rights Explained

When a Los Angeles landlord doubles the rent on a bookstore, café or nonprofit storefront, California law offers no commercial rent cap to stop them. What it can offer is more time — but only if the tenant knows to claim it. That is the practical meaning of Senate Bill 1103, the Commercial Tenant Protection Act, for the city’s microbusinesses: longer notice periods for large rent increases and terminations, clearer rules on common-area maintenance (CAM) fees, and a certification step most owners still skip.

What SB 1103 actually does — and does not do

California does not allow commercial rent control for commercial tenancies. Landlords can raise rent sharply when a lease ends or when the agreement permits it. SAJE’s small-business renter guide is blunt about that limit. SB 1103 instead focuses on process. For qualified tenants who certify their status in writing, it lengthens the clock on certain notices and requires landlords to document CAM charges more carefully.

Qualified status, per SAJE, covers commercial enterprises with five or fewer employees, restaurants with 10 or fewer, and nonprofits with 20 or fewer. Protections do not apply automatically. The tenant must certify that qualified status in writing to the landlord. Until that letter is on file, a sharp hike may still arrive with only the shorter notice the lease or older rules allow.

Notice periods that matter on the ground

Once a tenant is certified, SAJE summarizes the rent-increase notice rules this way: written notice of 30 days when the increase is under 10%, and 90 days when the increase is 10% or more. For terminations, tenancies of less than one year get 30 days’ notice; tenancies of one year or more get 60 days.

Those windows do not freeze rent. They buy time to negotiate, move inventory, find another space or organize legal help. Confusing notice rights with a rent ceiling is the most common — and most expensive — mistake microbusiness owners make after a sale or refinance of their building.

CAM fees: documentation, not just invoices

SB 1103 also tightens how landlords bill shared operating costs. According to SAJE, landlords must provide documentation such as an itemized quote, contract or receipt; use licensed contractors; and supply a cost-sharing tabulation plus an attestation. For a five-person shop facing a sudden CAM spike, that paperwork is often the only leverage short of court.

Eagle Rock’s warning shot

The stakes showed up on Colorado Boulevard this spring. LAist reported March 25, 2026 that READ Books in Eagle Rock saw rent more than double to $2,805 a month after the building sold. Co-owner Jeremy Kaplan said the store was initially given 30 days. After research, help from Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s office and pro bono counsel, the bookstore secured a 90-day notice under SB 1103. Neighbor Owl Talk faced a more-than-double increase of its own.

Nadia Segura of Bet Tzedek’s Small Business Program told LAist that landlords are not required to tell tenants about SB 1103 rights, and many owners simply do not know they exist. She said steep hikes are showing up citywide and look likely to intensify with the World Cup, the Olympics and the aftermath of wildfires — all of which put more pressure on commercial space.

City Hall is studying harassment rules, not rent caps

Separately, the City of Los Angeles is looking at conduct rules, not price caps. Council File 26-0588, a motion introduced April 22, 2026 by Councilmembers Jurado, Hernandez and Hutt, asked the city to study a Commercial Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance (TAHO). The Council adopted a committee report June 9–10, 2026 on a 15-0 vote directing a report within 90 days. As of late October 2026, Corner Hold’s commercial-tenant protections roundup notes that no ordinance has been adopted yet. Founders should watch the file, but should not wait for City Hall before certifying under state law.

What to do this week

1. Certify now. If you meet the headcount thresholds, send written qualified-status certification to your landlord and keep proof of delivery.
2. Know your notice math. Map any proposed increase against the under-10% / 10%+ and under-one-year / one-year+ clocks.
3. Demand CAM documentation. Ask for itemized quotes, contracts or receipts, licensed-contractor proof, and the cost-sharing tabulation with attestation.
4. Get help early. Bet Tzedek’s Small Business Program and SAJE’s Small Business Alliance exist for commercial tenant owners. SAJE lists Karen Ramirez at (213) 245-8161 or karamirez@saje.net.
5. Do not confuse notice with a rent freeze. SB 1103 buys time and transparency. It does not cap the rent itself.

For LA microbusinesses, the difference between a sudden 30-day scramble and a 90-day runway is often one letter — written, dated and in the landlord’s hands before the next notice arrives.