Property Management in Santa Monica, CA
Hearth runs your Santa Monica rental end-to-end — leasing, rent collection, maintenance, compliance, and clean owner reporting — for a flat 8%. Book a free strategy call and see the numbers on your property.
If you own a rental in Santa Monica, Hearth runs it for you — full-service property management built for owners who want the returns without the pager duty. We cover Santa Monica and the rest of Los Angeles County.
Typical asking rents in Santa Monica run about $3,596/mo and are up around 1.1% year over year (Zillow observed rent, 2026-05-31). Every vacant week at that rate is real money leaking out — pricing a unit right and turning it fast is where most of an owner's return is won or lost.
What owning a Santa Monica rental really takes
Rent-cap compliance is a landmine here
Santa Monica has a local rent-control ordinance on top of California's statewide cap. Get an increase, notice, or just-cause step wrong and you can forfeit the increase — or worse. Hearth tracks the covered-unit rules and keeps every renewal legal and maximized.
Every under-market renewal compounds
When increases are capped, the rent you don't capture this year is gone forever — you can't make it up later. Owners in Santa Monica routinely leave money on the table by renewing below the legal maximum. We renew at the cap, on time, every time.
California compliance never sleeps
Security-deposit timelines, habitability, notices, just-cause, and the statewide rent cap all apply to Santa Monica rentals — and the penalties for getting them wrong are steep. Hearth keeps every property compliant so a paperwork miss never becomes a lawsuit.
Santa Monica caps annual increases via a Rent Board general adjustment on controlled units. Hearth confirms your property's status before every increase and keeps notices compliant. Read the AB 1482 guide →
Find the rent you're leaving on the table at renewal — the legal maximum under the rent cap, not a guess.
Run your renewal leakage audit →See the numbers on your Santa Monica property
A 20-minute strategy call: live rent comps, your net after fees, and exactly how Hearth would run the door. No obligation.
Book a free strategy call →Santa Monica property management — FAQ
How much does property management cost in Santa Monica, CA?
Hearth charges 8% of collected rent to fully manage a long-term rental in Santa Monica, and 15% of revenue for short-term / Airbnb management. There's no markup on maintenance and no leasing surprise fees — one transparent rate that covers leasing, rent collection, maintenance coordination, compliance, and owner reporting.
What is the average rent in Santa Monica?
As of 2026-05-31, the typical asking rent in Santa Monica is about $3,596/mo (Zillow observed rent), up around 1.1% year over year. Hearth prices your unit to the live comps in your specific neighborhood, not a citywide average.
Does the California rent cap (AB 1482) apply in Santa Monica?
Santa Monica has its own local rent-control ordinance in addition to California's statewide AB 1482 cap of 5% + CPI (max 10%). Santa Monica caps annual increases via a Rent Board general adjustment on controlled units. Hearth tracks which of your units are covered and keeps every increase and notice compliant.
Can Hearth manage my rental if I don't live in Santa Monica?
Yes — most of the owners we work with are out-of-area or out-of-state. Hearth runs everything on the ground in Santa Monica and Los Angeles County: showings, repairs, inspections, and resident communication. You get clean monthly statements and direct-deposit payouts wherever you are.
How fast can Hearth lease my Santa Monica property?
We market across Zillow, Apartments.com, and the major sites the day it's rent-ready, run pricing off live Santa Monica comps, and screen applicants quickly. The goal is simple: minimize vacant days, because in Santa Monica every empty week is money you don't get back.