[quote=threadkiller]Just had to jump in and say I doubt every landlord has a business license. I made a u-turn in front of a bunch of apartments today, did I break the law? Ok maybe it was a 3 point turn.[/quote]
Business licenses are a completely different issue from company legal structure.

Many landlords do business as a sole proprietorship. This has no registration fees with the state.

If the landlord is an LLC, it is hard for me to imagine that it is okay for the LLC to not be registered in California. Owning the property and collecting rent is a business activity. Merely owning the property may not be an activity, as it is passive.

Franchise Tax Board is a good deal more aggressive about revenue collection than the local police that would be enforcing your metaphorical three point turn.

Maybe the original poster is using the LLC to shelter from estate taxes. You do that by putting assets in the LLC and then giving your heirs pro rata shares of the LLC – shares that are in total valued less than the initial value because part ownership is less valuable than controlling interest.