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Local differences in Long Beach

This page covers the rule California juries apply, the Long Beach records that can show what an owner knew, local tenant rules and where a case is filed. Local facts, statutes and cases were checked on November 11, 2026. It is general information, not advice about any one case.

Negligent security in California

Negligent security is part of premises liability, the law of injuries caused by the way property is run. California's jury instruction on crime on property, CACI No. 1005 (2026 edition), says that a landlord or the owner of a business open to the public "must use reasonable care to protect" tenants, guests or patrons "from another person's criminal conduct on" the property "if the [owner/landlord] can reasonably anticipate that conduct." Whether that duty exists is decided by the judge; whether the steps the owner took were "adequate and reasonable under the circumstances" is decided by the jury. Our negligent security lawyer page explains the rule in every setting.

Settings and local rules

The rule in CACI No. 1005 is the same on every kind of property in Long Beach, but the proof differs by setting. The table pairs each setting with a leading California case and a Long Beach rule or record. Each Long Beach rule is a source of records about the property, not a separate claim.

Long Beach police reports

In Long Beach, crime reports come from the Long Beach Police Department's Information Management Division at 400 West Broadway. The department takes written requests by mail or hand delivery on its application form, and says processing can take up to about six months. As of November 11, 2026, it charges a $30 processing fee for each request, and its report page says "Victims of crimes will be exempt from the report request fee." Its application form says the investigator handling a case must approve the release of a crime report. If a lawyer requests the report, the department requires a signed authorization from the client.

Recordings and time limits

Police recordings can expire before a Long Beach report request is processed, so requests for them go out early. City and county departments may destroy 911 and radio recordings "after 100 days" (Government Code section 34090.6; section 26202.6), and state guidance says police body camera video with no evidentiary value "should be retained for a minimum of 60 days" (Penal Code section 832.18).

Code enforcement in Long Beach

To report unsafe or unhealthy conditions at a Long Beach rental, call 562-570-CODE (2633) or file a referral on the City's code enforcement portal at lbcode.org, which gives a service number to track it (Code Enforcement, Referrals). Long Beach also forbids an owner, acting in bad faith, from failing to make repairs that housing, health or safety laws require (Municipal Code section 8.101.030, as amended by Ordinance ORD-20-0049). The City says it does not mediate landlord and tenant disputes, and that either side may go to court to enforce these laws (Tenant and Landlord Resources).

Written notice to the landlord

Notice to the landlord or manager is what California's lock statute turns on. A residential landlord must keep working dead bolts, window locks and common entry door locks, but is not liable for a violation unless it fails to fix the problem within a reasonable time after notice (Civil Code section 1941.3(a), (b)). The same statute says a violation "shall not broaden, limit, or otherwise affect the duty of care owed by a landlord" (section 1941.3(d)). A dated email, text or portal message shows what the landlord was told and when, and a City referral adds a public record. Our guide to what a landlord must do about crime covers locks, lighting and cameras.

Just cause in Long Beach

Long Beach's Just Cause for Termination of Tenancies Ordinance (Municipal Code Chapter 8.99) protects most tenants who have lived in their unit for 12 months or more. Criminal activity by a tenant on the property and maintaining a nuisance are among the reasons it allows a landlord to end a tenancy (City of Long Beach, Tenant and Landlord Resources). State law says the same: the Tenant Protection Act lists a nuisance and criminal activity by the tenant "on the residential real property, including any common areas," as at-fault just cause (Civil Code section 1946.2(b)(1)(C), (F)). Which law covers a given building is a question for a lawyer (section 1946.2(i)). Under either one, eviction was one of the tools a landlord had.

Reports about a dangerous tenant

A tool the landlord had is not proof of a case. The strongest cases usually involve written reports to the landlord or manager about threats or violence by a specific person, and no meaningful response. Complaints about noise or suspected drug activity, without threats or violence, are weaker evidence that violence was foreseeable. In Castaneda v. Olsher (2007) 41 Cal.4th 1205, the California Supreme Court said eviction "cannot be considered a minimal burden" and that a duty to evict arises only where a tenant's behavior made violence "highly foreseeable." In Madhani v. Cooper (2003) 106 Cal.App.4th 412, a tenant made "at least six requests to the building managers for help," and the Court of Appeal reversed summary judgment for the landlords. Our guide to an attack by another tenant covers the steps short of eviction.

Records to preserve

The records most likely to disappear are the ones the owner controls, because no California statute we have found requires a private owner to keep camera footage for a set time. A preservation letter asks the owner, the manager and any security company to keep:

• video from every camera on the property, for a period before and after the attack;
• access control, intercom, gate and key fob logs;
• security company post orders, daily activity reports and schedules;
• incident reports, and work orders for doors, gates, locks and lighting;
• complaints, emails, texts and portal messages about the attacker or about safety; and
• notices the owner served on the attacker, and its communications with the police.

Our negligent security evidence checklist lists the records to request and who holds each one, and our guide on how to prove a negligent security case explains how they are used.

Long Beach hotel records

Long Beach voters approved Measure WW in November 2018, adding Municipal Code Chapter 5.49, which requires hotels with 50 or more guest rooms to give a panic button to every employee assigned to work alone in a guest room and to post a notice on the back of each guest room door (Measure WW text). A City Council ordinance adopted on November 13, 2018 added Chapter 5.54, which extended the panic button rule to all hotels and motels in Long Beach (Ordinance ORD-18-0028). These ordinances were written to protect hotel employees, not guests. In a guest's case they matter as records: a preservation letter can ask the hotel to keep any panic button alert and response records and employee reports of a threatening guest. Our guide to hotel and motel assaults covers the hotel's duty to guests.

Victim services and CalVCB

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's victim services office for Long Beach is at 275 Magnolia Avenue, Suite 3195, and its help is free whether or not charges are filed (District Attorney, Victim Services; office locations). The Long Beach Trauma Recovery Center offers no-cost mental health care and case management to crime victims and their families (Victim Resource Guide). The California Victim Compensation Board (CalVCB) can pay some costs after a violent crime (what is covered). As of November 11, 2026, its deadline is "Within seven years of the crime," seven years after the direct victim turns 21, or seven years from discovery, "whichever is later" (who is eligible). CalVCB is "a payor of last resort," and an applicant later paid by a civil lawsuit "must repay CalVCB."

Courthouse for Long Beach cases

A negligent security lawsuit from Long Beach is filed in the South District, at the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse, 275 Magnolia Avenue. Court rules require an injury case, including a premises liability case, to be filed in the district where the incident happened: an unlimited civil personal injury action "must be filed in the judicial district where the incident arose" (Los Angeles Superior Court Local Rule 2.3(a)(1)(A), effective July 1, 2026). The court's filing court locator lists that courthouse for unlimited civil cases from every Long Beach ZIP code it shows.

Filing deadlines

Most California injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the injury (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1). If a city, a county, the State, a school district, a transit agency or another public entity may be responsible, a written claim must first be presented to that entity within six months after the claim accrues (Government Code section 911.2). The lawsuit against the entity then has its own deadline: six months after a written rejection notice is delivered or mailed, or two years from the date the claim accrued if no written notice is given (Government Code section 945.6). The dates in any one case should be calculated by a lawyer. Our negligent security deadlines guide lists other periods, and the deadline calculator counts the two-year date.

Responsible companies and insurance

When someone is attacked on property in California, the people who may be responsible include the property owner, the property management company, the security company and any business that controlled the area. Each may have its own liability insurance. California requires every licensed private patrol operator to keep commercial general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 for any one loss or occurrence (Business and Professions Code section 7583.40). Whether a policy pays for a particular attack depends on its terms, so the policies must be obtained and read. Our guide to insurance and who pays covers exclusions and each layer of coverage.

Fees and contact

Contacting Wise Law starts nothing you do not choose. The confidential form on this page asks only for any name, a phone number or an email, and a safe time to call. No fee unless we recover. If there is no recovery, you owe no fee and no case costs. For crashes and other injuries in the city, see our Long Beach personal injury lawyer page.

Sources cited

• Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI), 2026 edition, No. 1005: courts.ca.gov (PDF)
• Civil Code sections 1941.3 and 1946.2, and Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 (california.public.law)
• Government Code sections 911.2, 945.6, 7923.605, 7923.615, 34090.6 and 26202.6 (california.public.law)
• Family Code section 6228, Penal Code section 832.18 and Business and Professions Code section 7583.40 (california.public.law)
• Cases on CourtListener: Castaneda v. Olsher (2007), Madhani v. Cooper (2003), Vasquez v. Residential Investments, Inc. (2004), O'Hara v. Western Seven Trees Corp. (1977) and Delgado v. Trax Bar & Grill (2005)
• Los Angeles Superior Court, Local Rules, Chapter 2, effective July 1, 2026: lacourt.ca.gov (PDF); Filing Court Locator: lacourt.ca.gov
• Long Beach Police Department, Request a Police Report: longbeach.gov; application form PD 2310.004 (Rev. 10/2026): longbeach.gov; Victim Resource Guide: longbeach.gov
• City of Long Beach, Tenant and Landlord Resources: longbeach.gov; Ordinance ORD-20-0049: longbeach.gov; Code Enforcement, Referrals: longbeach.gov
• City of Long Beach, Measure WW ordinance text: longbeach.gov; Ordinance ORD-18-0028: longbeach.gov
• Los Angeles County District Attorney, Victim Services: da.lacounty.gov; office locations: da.lacounty.gov
• California Victim Compensation Board, what is covered and who is eligible: victims.ca.gov and victims.ca.gov