Los Angeles does not have a vacancy tax on residential property. The City Council has been working on one since 2020, but no ordinance has been enacted as of 2026, and property owners currently owe nothing for keeping a unit unoccupied. The measure often mistaken for a vacancy tax, Measure ULA, is a transfer tax that applies only when high-value real estate changes hands.
Measure ULA Is a Transfer Tax, Not a Vacancy Tax
Most of the confusion traces back to Measure ULA (United to House LA), which Los Angeles voters approved in November 2022. Measure ULA imposes a 4% tax on real property sales exceeding $5,300,000 and a 5.5% tax on sales exceeding $10,600,000.1Office of Finance. Real Property Transfer Tax and Measure ULA FAQ It is triggered at the point of sale or transfer. It has nothing to do with whether anyone lives in the property, and it does not recur annually.
If you own property valued under $5,300,000, Measure ULA does not touch you at all, occupied or not. If you own above that threshold and are planning a sale, the tax does apply, with exemptions available to qualified affordable housing developers and operators, nonprofits with assets under one billion dollars, and government agencies.2LAHD – City of Los Angeles. ULA Exemptions Revenue funds affordable housing and homelessness prevention.
What LA Has Actually Proposed
In 2020, the City Council directed staff to develop recommendations for a vacancy tax and empty homes penalty on unoccupied residential properties.3City Clerk – City of Los Angeles. Council File 19-0623 The Council agreed to base any future ordinance on Oakland’s model, which treats condominiums, duplexes, and townhouse units as vacant if they are in use fewer than 50 days during a calendar year.4Gibson Dunn. City of Los Angeles Proposes Penalties for Unoccupied Property by Imposing New Vacancy Tax Physical occupancy by a lawful inhabitant counts as “use.”
No tax rate, filing deadline, or reporting requirement has been set. The proposal has not become law.
What a Future LA Ordinance Would Likely Look Like
Because the Council has explicitly cited other California cities as templates, their rules are the clearest preview of what LA might eventually adopt.
San Francisco
San Francisco’s residential vacancy tax took effect January 1, 2024. It targets landlords who own three or more residential units. A unit counts as vacant if unoccupied for more than 182 days of the calendar year, with exceptions for repair, rehabilitation, construction, and natural disasters. The tax runs from $2,500 to $5,000 per empty unit depending on size, and can reach $20,000 if a unit stays vacant more than three years.
South Lake Tahoe
South Lake Tahoe’s vacancy tax begins January 1, 2026, at $3,000 per vacant unit in the first year and $6,000 for the second consecutive year and every year after, adjusted annually for CPI. The 182-day threshold applies here too. Carve-outs cover hospitalization of the occupant, military deployment, service as a firefighter or emergency worker, uninhabitability from natural disaster or renovation, and the death of a sole-occupant owner.5City of South Lake Tahoe. Impact Report for Vacancy Tax Initiative
Patterns To Expect
- A 182-day threshold, with days counted cumulatively across the calendar year rather than consecutively.
- Occupancy defined by principal residence, documented through tenancy agreements or ownership records.
- Rates that escalate the longer a unit stays empty.
- Exemptions for hospitalization, military deployment, permitted renovation, and death of an owner-occupant.
- Multi-family owners as the primary target, consistent with every model LA has considered.
What To Do Now
You do not owe a vacancy tax on your Los Angeles residential property. There is no form to file, no deadline to meet, and no annual fee.
If you own a multi-family building and want to be ready in case an ordinance passes, keep utility records, lease agreements, and other proof of occupancy organized by calendar year. Vacancy taxes in other California cities put the documentation burden on the owner, and LA’s proposals have followed the same pattern. You can track the Council’s progress on Council File 19-0623 through the City Clerk’s website.3City Clerk – City of Los Angeles. Council File 19-0623
If you are selling a property above $5,300,000, confirm your Measure ULA obligations with the Office of Finance before closing.1Office of Finance. Real Property Transfer Tax and Measure ULA FAQ That is a separate matter from the vacancy question, but it is the tax most owners of expensive LA real estate actually need to plan for right now.