(Added by Ord. No. 173,810, Eff. 4/16/01.)
A. Upon receipt of a referral, the Department shall verify that the period allowed for compliance, including any extensions, has expired. If the compliance period has not expired but the conditions set forth in Section 162.03 have otherwise been met, the Department shall hold the referral for processing until after the period expires.
B. Upon receipt of a referral, the Department shall also investigate whether there are other outstanding Orders against the building that also meet the conditions set forth in Section 162.03.
C. After completing its review, the Department shall accept the building or unit into REAP if the conditions set forth in Section 162.03 are met. If there are other Orders that meet the conditions set forth in Section 162.03, the Department shall accept any additional units covered by those Orders into REAP. If the other Orders have not yet expired, the Department may accept the units effective the date the Orders expire. If the referral by a City or County agency indicates that the violations are of a nature or extent that they are likely to exist in or affect all of the units, then any rent reduction for those violations shall apply to all affected units.
D. If the Department accepts the building or unit into REAP, it shall issue a Decision (“Department’s Decision”) setting forth: (Amended by Ord. No. 184,446, Eff. 9/26/16.)
1. The date of the Order that has not been complied with and the citing agency;
2. The outstanding violations;
3. The units affected by the Department’s Decision;
4. The amount of the rent reduction, following the RAC schedule adopted pursuant to Section 162.05. If the rent reduction calculation exceeds the cap set by the RAC schedule, the Department’s Decision shall describe the calculation and shall state that the rent reduction is limited by the schedule;
5. The date on which the rent reduction will be in effect. That date shall be the date of the General Manager Hearing Officer Decision;
6. The date on which an escrow account will be established. The Department will not accept payments into the escrow account until the rent reduction effective date;
7. Notice that the Department will collect a non-refundable administrative fee of $50.00 per residential unit accepted into REAP per month that will be collected in accordance with Section 161.12 and become a personal obligation of the property owner/landlord, and that the Department may pursue all other remedies provided by law and may collect any judgment, fee, cost, or charge, including any permit fees, fines, late charges, or interest, incurred in relation to the provisions of this Article as provided in Los Angeles Administrative Code Sections 7.35.1 through 7.35.8;
8. A statement describing the tenant protections set forth in Section 162.09; and
9. The date on which the General Manager’s Hearing will be held, including a statement that enforcement will be stayed until a final administrative decision is issued; that the General Manager Hearing Officer Decision will be the final administrative decision unless appealed pursuant to Section 162.06 C.; and that additional rent reductions may be imposed at the Hearing as set forth in Section 162.06.
E. The Department’s decision shall be served on the property owner/landlord by certified United States mail, postage prepaid and shall be served on all affected tenants by First Class mail as set forth in Section 161.409. (Amended by Ord. No. 184,446, Eff. 9/26/16.)
F. Upon accepting a unit or building into REAP, the Department shall consider whether the building should be referred for a periodic inspection pursuant to Section 161.602.