On this page
- Buyers ask for five groups of records: income, expenses, tenant and rent control files, building and permit history, and title and loan papers.
- The rent roll, the trailing twelve months and the leases decide the price, so they have to agree with each other and with the bank.
- In the City of LA, a buyer checks RSO status, SCEP inspection history and any soft-story order, and you must deliver the LADBS Residential Property Report.
- Your property tax bill tells a buyer little about theirs, because a sale resets the assessed value to market value.
The documents buyers ask for when you sell a Los Angeles apartment building fall into five groups, and the income records decide the price. Gather all five before you list. The buyer's review period is counted in days from the contract, and every day you spend hunting for a file comes off it.
Income records
| Document | What the buyer does with it |
|---|---|
| Current rent roll, one row per unit | Checks each rent, deposit, move-in date and lease date against the lease and the bank |
| Leases, amendments and side agreements | Confirms rents and terms, and finds anything promised outside the lease, such as parking or a storage space |
| Trailing twelve months of income and expenses, by month | Rebuilds net operating income and looks for months that do not fit |
| Bank statements for the same months | Ties the income you report to deposits that actually arrived |
| Delinquency report | Shows who is behind, by how much and for how long |
| Other income detail, such as laundry, parking, storage and utility reimbursements | Tests whether that income is steady and whether a contract controls it |
Show any concession, such as a free month. A rent roll that lists the face rent while the bank shows less is the kind of gap a buyer finds early, and it makes every other figure suspect.
Expense records
- Property tax bills, with any special assessments listed on them. The buyer will set your figure aside and estimate their own. When ownership changes, Proposition 13 has the Assessor reassess the property to its current market value as of that date, and supplemental bills for the difference follow, according to the Board of Equalization.
- Insurance declarations and the claims history from your carrier, often called loss runs.
- Utility bills for twelve months, for anything you pay, such as water, trash and common-area power.
- Service contracts for laundry, pest control, landscaping, elevators or alarm monitoring, with their end dates and cancellation terms.
- The management agreement, and any arrangement with an on-site manager, including whether the manager lives in a unit rent free.
- Repair and capital improvement records showing what was done, when, by whom, at what cost, and under which permit.
Contracts matter more than they look. A laundry lease or management agreement that cannot be ended at the sale passes to the buyer, and the buyer will price it.
Tenant and rent control records
- The security deposit ledger, unit by unit. Civil Code section 1950.5 has you either transfer the deposits to the buyer and notify each tenant or return them with an accounting. In a sale they usually transfer, so the ledger has to be right before escrow relies on it.
- Your annual RSO, JCO and SCEP bill and proof that it is paid.
- Copies of the rent increase notices served over the past few years, so the buyer can check each increase against the allowance that applied.
- Any buyout agreement, relocation payment, eviction case or LAHD complaint involving a current or recent tenant.
- A list of units occupied by you, a relative or a manager, and whether each occupant will stay after the sale.
- Tenant estoppel certificates, which are signed during escrow rather than gathered in advance. Let tenants know one may arrive.
For units under the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, the buyer will compare each rent with what the ordinance allowed. The City amended the formula effective February 2, 2026, and LAHD set the allowance at 3 percent for July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. An increase above the allowance is a problem the buyer inherits, so expect questions about any that look high.
Building, permit and inspection records
- Permits and certificates of occupancy. The buyer will pull them from LADBS's online building records and compare the units on record with the units you rent. The certificate of occupancy date is also the first test of whether the RSO applies, since the ordinance covers units with a certificate issued on or before October 1, 1978.
- The Residential Property Report. Municipal Code section 96.300 requires you to apply to LADBS for it and deliver it to the buyer before signing the purchase agreement or before escrow closes. The LADBS report page has the application.
- Soft-story retrofit records. If LADBS sent an order under Ordinance 183893, keep the order, the approved plans, the permit and the final inspection in one file.
- SCEP inspection results. Include any notice of violation, with proof of what was fixed and when.
- Open orders. Any open LADBS order to comply, and what it will take to resolve it.
- Reports you already have. Roof, sewer line, termite, electrical or structural reports, dated. The buyer will still order their own.
If you rent a unit that the City's records do not show, talk it through with Shaya and your attorney before you list. Better that conversation happens now than after the buyer's inspector counts doors.
Title, entity and loan documents
- Your vesting deed, and the preliminary title report once escrow orders it.
- Copies of any recorded easements, covenants or agreements you have that affect the property.
- Your loan documents, especially the prepayment terms, and the lender's assumption process if a buyer wants to take over the loan.
- Proof of your authority to sell if you own through an LLC, a partnership or a trust, such as the operating agreement and a signed resolution, or a certification of trust.
How to hand the documents over
Set up a shared folder with the five groups above, name each file so a stranger can find it, and date every report. Release a summary rent roll and operating statement before offers, and the full set once a contract is signed. The purchase agreement will set the delivery deadline, and it can be short.
Redact what a buyer has no use for, such as Social Security numbers, bank account numbers and credit reports in tenant files. Do not fill gaps with documents made after the fact. If a record does not exist, say so in writing. A missing file raises a question. A wrong one gives the buyer a reason to renegotiate.
What you have to disclose about the building's condition and history is a legal question. Tell your real estate attorney what you know before you sign anything, and let them decide how it goes into the disclosures. Shaya is not an attorney.