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nysedei-20221231

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022

For the transition period from _____ to _____

Commission file number: 1-33106

Douglas Emmett, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

1299 Ocean Avenue, Suite 1000, Santa Monica, California90401

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

(310) 255-7700

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class Trading Symbol Name of each exchange on which registered

Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share DEI New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Large accelerated filer ☑ Accelerated filer ☐ Non-accelerated filer ☐

Smaller reporting company ☐ Emerging growth company ☐

The aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant, as of June 30, 2022, was $3.78 billion. (This computation excludes the market value of all shares of Common Stock reported as beneficially owned by executive officers and directors of the registrant. Such exclusion shall not be deemed to constitute an admission that any such person is an affiliate of the Registrant.)

The registrant had 175,809,682 shares of its common stock outstanding as of February 10, 2023.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement to be filed in conjunction with the registrant’s annual meeting of shareholders to be held in 2023 are incorporated by reference in Part III of this Report on Form 10-K. Such proxy statement will be filed by the registrant with the Securities and Exchange Commission not later than 120 days after the end of the registrant’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2022.

DOUGLAS EMMETT, INC.

FORM 10-K

Table of Contents

Page

Glossary 2

Forward Looking Statements 5

PART I

Item 1 Business Overview 6

Item 1A Risk Factors 13

Item 1B Unresolved Staff Comments 31

Item 2 Properties 32

Item 3 Legal Proceedings 38

Item 4 Mine Safety Disclosures 38

PART II

Item 6 [Reserved] 39

Item 7A Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 55

Item 8 Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 55

Item 9A Controls and Procedures 56

Item 9B Other Information 56

Item 9C Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections. 56

PART III

Item 10 Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 57

Item 11 Executive Compensation 57

Item 14 Principal Accounting Fees and Services 57

PART IV

Item 15 Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedule 58

Signatures 61

Glossary

Abbreviations used in this Report:

ADA Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

AOCI Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

ASC Accounting Standards Codification

ASU Accounting Standards Update

ATM At-the-Market

BOMA Building Owners and Managers Association

CEO Chief Executive Officer

CFO Chief Financial Officer

Code Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended

COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease 2019

COO Chief Operating Officer

DEI Douglas Emmett, Inc.

EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency

EPS Earnings Per Share

Exchange Act Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended

FASB Financial Accounting Standards Board

FCA Financial Conduct Authority

FDIC Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

FFO Funds From Operations

FIRPTA Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980, as amended

Fund Unconsolidated Institutional Real Estate Fund

GAAP Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (United States)

IRS Internal Revenue Service

IT Information Technology

JV Joint Venture

LIBOR London Interbank Offered Rate

LTIP Units Long-Term Incentive Plan Units

MGCL Maryland General Corporation Law

NAREIT National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts

NYSE New York Stock Exchange

OCI Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

OP Units Operating Partnership Units

Operating Partnership Douglas Emmett Properties, LP

OFAC Office of Foreign Assets Control

Partnership X Douglas Emmett Partnership X, LP

PCAOB Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States)

QRS Qualified REIT subsidiary(ies)

REIT Real Estate Investment Trust

Report Annual Report on Form 10-K

SEC Securities and Exchange Commission

Securities Act Securities Act of 1933, as amended

S&P 500 Standard & Poor's 500 Index

SOFR Secured Overnight Financing Rate

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Abbreviations used in this Report (continued):

TRS Taxable REIT Subsidiary(ies)

US United States

USD United States Dollar

VIE Variable Interest Entity(ies)

Defined terms used in this Report:

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Defined terms used in this Report (continued):

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Forward Looking Statements

This Report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. You can find many (but not all) of these statements by looking for words such as “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “approximate”, “intend”, “plan”, “would”, “could”, “may”, “future” or other similar expressions in this Report. We claim the protection of the safe harbor contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We caution investors that any forward-looking statements used in this Report, or those that we make orally or in writing from time to time, are based on our beliefs and assumptions, as well as information currently available to us. Actual outcomes will be affected by known and unknown risks, trends, uncertainties and factors beyond our control or ability to predict. Although we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, they are not guarantees of future performance and some will inevitably prove to be incorrect. As a result, our future results can be expected to differ from our expectations, and those differences may be material. Accordingly, investors should use caution when relying on previously reported forward-looking statements, which were based on results and trends at the time they were made, to anticipate future results or trends. Some of the risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements include the following:

•adverse developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic;

•adverse economic or real estate developments affecting Southern California or Honolulu, Hawaii;

•competition from other real estate investors in our markets;

•decreasing rental rates or increasing tenant incentive and vacancy rates;

•defaults on, early terminations of, or non-renewal of leases by tenants;

•increases in interest rates;

•increases in operating costs, including due to inflation;

•insufficient cash flows to service our outstanding debt or pay rent on ground leases;

•difficulties in raising capital;

•inability to liquidate real estate or other investments quickly;

•adverse changes to rent control laws and regulations;

•environmental uncertainties;

•natural disasters;

•fire and other property damage;

•insufficient insurance, or increases in insurance costs;

•inability to successfully expand into new markets and submarkets;

•difficulties in identifying properties to acquire and failure to complete acquisitions successfully;

•failure to successfully operate acquired properties;

•risks associated with property development;

•risks associated with JVs;

•conflicts of interest with our officers and reliance on key personnel;

•changes in zoning and other land use laws;

•adverse results of litigation or governmental proceedings;

•failure to comply with laws, regulations and covenants that are applicable to our business;

•possible terrorist attacks or wars;

•possible cyber attacks or intrusions;

•adverse changes to accounting rules;

•weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting;

•failure to maintain our REIT status under federal tax laws; and

•adverse changes to tax laws, including those related to property taxes.

For further discussion of these and other risk factors see Item 1A. "Risk Factors” in this Report. This Report and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. We do not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this Report.

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PART I

Item 1. Business

Overview

Douglas Emmett, Inc. is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed REIT. We are one of the largest owners and operators of high-quality office and multifamily properties located in premier coastal submarkets in Los Angeles and Honolulu. Through our interest in our Operating Partnership and its subsidiaries, our consolidated JVs, and our unconsolidated Fund, we focus on owning, acquiring, developing and managing a substantial market share of top-tier office properties and premier multifamily communities in neighborhoods with significant supply constraints, high-end executive housing and key lifestyle amenities. Our properties are located in the Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Burbank, Century City, Olympic Corridor, Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks/Encino, Warner Center/Woodland Hills and Westwood submarkets of Los Angeles County, California, and in Honolulu, Hawaii. We intend to increase our market share in our existing submarkets and may enter into other submarkets with similar characteristics where we believe we can gain significant market share. The terms "us," "we" and "our" as used in this Report refer to Douglas Emmett, Inc. and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis.

At December 31, 2022, we owned a Consolidated Portfolio consisting of (i) a 17.7 million square foot office portfolio, (ii) 5,013 multifamily apartment units and (iii) fee interests in two parcels of land from which we receive rent under ground leases. We also manage and own equity interests in our unconsolidated Fund which, at December 31, 2022, owned an additional 0.4 million square feet of office space. We manage our unconsolidated Fund alongside our Consolidated Portfolio, and we therefore present the statistics for our office portfolio on a Total Portfolio basis. For more information, see Item 2 “Properties” of this Report. As of December 31, 2022, our portfolio consisted of the following (including ancillary retail space and excluding two parcels of land from which we receive rent under ground leases):

Consolidated Portfolio TotalPortfolio

Office

Wholly-owned properties 53 53

Consolidated JV properties 16 16

Unconsolidated Fund properties — 2

Multifamily

Wholly-owned properties 12 12

Consolidated JV properties 2 2

Business Strategy

We employ a focused business strategy that we have developed and implemented over the past four decades:

•Concentration of High Quality Office and Multifamily Properties in Premier Submarkets.

First we select submarkets that are supply constrained, with high barriers to entry, key lifestyle amenities, proximity to high-end executive housing and a strong, diverse economic base. Virtually no entitled Class A office space is currently under construction in our targeted submarkets. Our submarkets are dominated by small, affluent tenants, whose rents are very small relative to their revenues and often not the paramount factor in their leasing decisions. At December 31, 2022, our office portfolio median size tenant was approximately 2,500 square feet. Our office tenants operate in diverse industries, including among others legal, financial services, entertainment, real estate, accounting and consulting, health services, retail, technology and insurance, reducing our dependence on any one industry. In 2020, 2021 and 2022, no tenant accounted for more than 10% of our total revenues.

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•Disciplined Strategy of Acquiring Substantial Market Share In Each Submarket.

Once we select a submarket, we follow a disciplined strategy of gaining substantial market share to provide us with extensive local transactional market information, pricing power in lease and vendor negotiations and an enhanced ability to identify and negotiate investment opportunities. As a result, we average approximately a 37% share of the Class A office space in our submarkets based on the square feet of exposure in our total portfolio to each submarket. See "Office Portfolio Summary" in Item 2 “Properties” of this Report.

•Proactive Asset and Property Management.

Our fully integrated and focused operating platform provides the unsurpassed tenant service demanded in our submarkets, with in-house leasing, proactive asset and property management and internal design and construction services, which we believe provides us with a competitive advantage in managing our property portfolio. Our in-house leasing agents and legal specialists allow us to lease a large property portfolio with a diverse group of smaller tenants, closing an average of approximately four office leases each business day, and our in-house construction company allows us to compress the time required for building out many smaller spaces, resulting in reduced vacancy periods. Our property management group oversees day-to-day property management of both our office and multifamily portfolios, allowing us to benefit from the operational efficiencies permitted by our submarket concentration.

Corporate Structure

Douglas Emmett, Inc. was formed as a Maryland corporation on June 28, 2005 to continue and expand the operations of Douglas Emmett Realty Advisors and its 9 institutional funds. All of our assets are directly or indirectly held by our Operating Partnership, which was formed as a Delaware limited partnership on July 25, 2005. As the sole stockholder of the general partner of our Operating Partnership, we generally have the exclusive power under the partnership agreement to manage and conduct the business of our Operating Partnership, subject to certain limited approval and voting rights of the other limited partners. Our interest in our Operating Partnership entitles us to share in the profits and losses and cash distributions in proportion to our percentage ownership.

JVs and Fund

At December 31, 2022, in addition to fifty-three office properties and twelve residential properties wholly-owned by our Operating Partnership, we manage and own equity interests in:

•four consolidated JVs, through which we and institutional investors own sixteen office properties in our core markets totaling 4.2 million square feet and two residential properties with 470 apartments, and in which we own a weighted average of 46% at December 31, 2022 based on square footage. We are entitled to (i) distributions based on invested capital as well as additional distributions based on cash net operating income, (ii) fees for property management and other services and (iii) reimbursement of certain acquisition-related expenses and certain other costs.

•one unconsolidated Fund through which we and institutional investors own two office properties in our core markets totaling 0.4 million square feet and in which we own 34% at December 31, 2022. We are entitled to (i) priority distributions, (ii) distributions based on invested capital, (iii) a carried interest if the investors’ distributions exceed a hurdle rate, (iv) fees for property management and other services and (v) reimbursement of certain costs.

The financial data in this Report presents our JVs on a consolidated basis and our Fund on an unconsolidated basis in accordance with GAAP. See "Basis of Presentation" in Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 15 of this Report for more information regarding the consolidation of our JVs. Most of the property data in this Report is presented for our Total Portfolio, which includes the properties owned by our JVs and our Fund, as we believe this presentation assists in understanding our business. See Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 15 of this Report for more information regarding our JV transactions.

Segments

We operate two business segments, our office segment and our multifamily segment. Our segments include the acquisition, development, ownership and management of office and multifamily real estate. The services for our office segment include primarily the rental of office space and other tenant services, including parking and storage space rental. The services for our multifamily segment include primarily the rental of apartments and other tenant services, including parking and storage space rental. See Note 15 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 15 of this Report for more information regarding our segments.

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Taxation

We believe that we qualify, and we intend to continue to qualify, for taxation as a REIT under the Code, although we cannot provide assurance that this has happened or will happen. See Item 1A "Risk Factors" of this Report for the risks we face regarding taxation as a REIT. The following summary is qualified in its entirety by the applicable Code provisions and related rules, and administrative and judicial interpretations. If we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we will generally not be required to pay federal corporate income taxes on the portion of our net income that is currently distributed to stockholders. This treatment substantially eliminates the “double taxation” (i.e., at the corporate and stockholder levels) that generally results from investment in a corporation. However, we will be required to pay federal income tax under certain circumstances.

The Code defines a REIT as a corporation, trust or association (i) which is managed by one or more trustees or directors; (ii) the beneficial ownership of which is evidenced by transferable shares or certificates of beneficial interest; (iii) which would be taxable but for Sections 856 through 860 of the Code as a domestic corporation; (iv) which is neither a financial institution nor an insurance company subject to certain provisions of the Code; (v) the beneficial ownership of which is held by 100 or more persons; (vi) of which, during the last half of each taxable year, not more than 50% in value of the outstanding stock is owned, actually or constructively, by five or fewer individuals; and (vii) which meets certain other tests, described below, regarding the amount of its distributions and the nature of its income and assets. The Code requires that conditions (i) to (iv) be met during the entire taxable year and that condition (v) be met during at least 335 days of a taxable year of 12 months, or during a proportionate part of a taxable year of less than 12 months.

There are two gross income requirements we must satisfy:

i.at least 75% of our gross income (excluding gross income from “prohibited transactions” as defined below and qualifying hedges) for each taxable year must be derived directly or indirectly from investments relating to real property or mortgages on real property or from certain types of temporary investment income, and

ii.at least 95% of our gross income (excluding gross income from “prohibited transactions” and qualifying hedges) for each taxable year must be derived from income that qualifies under the 75% test or from other dividends, interest or gain from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities. In general, a “prohibited transaction” is a sale or other disposition of property (other than foreclosure property) held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business.

We must satisfy five asset tests at the close of each quarter of our taxable year:

i.at least 75% of the value of our total assets must be represented by real estate assets including shares of stock of other REITs, debt instruments of publicly offered REITs, certain other stock or debt instruments purchased with the proceeds of a stock offering or long-term public debt offering by us (but only for the one-year period after such offering), cash, cash items and government securities,

ii.not more than 25% of our total assets may be represented by securities other than those in the 75% asset class,

iii.of the assets included in the 25% asset class, the value of any one issuer’s securities owned by us may not exceed 5% of the value of our total assets and we may not own more than 10% of the vote or value of the securities of any one issuer, in each case other than securities included under the 75% asset test above and interests in TRS or QRS, each as defined below, and in the case of the 10% value test, subject to certain other exceptions,

iv.not more than 20% of the value of our total assets may be represented by securities of one or more TRS, and

v.not more than 25% of the value of our total assets may be represented by nonqualified publicly offered REIT debt instruments.

In order to qualify as a REIT, we are required to distribute dividends (other than capital gains dividends) to our stockholders equal to at least (A) the sum of (i) 90% of our “REIT taxable income” (computed without regard to the dividends paid deduction and our net capital gain) and (ii) 90% of the net income, if any (after tax), from foreclosure property, less (B) the sum of certain items of non-cash income. The distributions must be paid in the taxable year to which they relate, or in the following taxable year if declared before we timely file our tax return for such year, if paid on or before the first regular dividend payment date after such declaration and if we so elect and specify the dollar amount in our tax return. To the extent that we do not distribute all of our net long-term capital gains or distribute at least 90%, but less than 100%, of our REIT taxable income, we will be required to pay tax thereon at the regular corporate tax rate. Furthermore, if we fail to distribute during each calendar year the sum of at least (i) 85% of our ordinary income for such year, (ii) 95% of our capital gains income for such year, and (iii) any undistributed taxable income from prior periods, we would be required to pay a 4% excise tax on the excess of such required distributions over the amounts actually distributed.

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We own interests in various partnerships and limited liability companies. In the case of a REIT that is a partner in a partnership or a member of a limited liability company that is treated as a partnership under the Code, Treasury Regulations provide that for purposes of the REIT income and asset tests, the REIT will be deemed to own its proportionate share of the assets of the partnership or limited liability company (determined in accordance with its capital interest in the entity), subject to special rules related to the 10% asset test, and will be deemed to be entitled to the income of the partnership or limited liability company attributable to such share.

We own an interest in a subsidiary that is intended to be treated as a QRS. The Code provides that a QRS will be ignored for federal income tax purposes and all assets, liabilities and items of income, deduction and credit of the QRS will be treated as our assets, liabilities and items of income. We hold certain of our properties through subsidiaries that have elected to be taxed as REITs. We also wholly own an interest in a corporation which has elected to be treated as a TRS. A REIT may own more than 10% of the voting stock and value of the securities of a corporation that jointly elects with the REIT to be a TRS, provided certain requirements are met. A TRS generally may engage in any business, including the provision of customary or non-customary services to tenants of its parent REIT and of others, except a TRS may not manage or operate a hotel or healthcare facility. A TRS is treated as a regular corporation and is subject to federal income tax and applicable state income and franchise taxes at regular corporate rates. In addition, a 100% tax may be imposed on a REIT if its rental, service or other agreements with its TRS, or the TRS agreements with the REIT’s tenants, are not on arm’s-length terms.

We may be required to pay state or local tax in various state or local jurisdictions, including those in which we own properties or otherwise transact business or reside. The state and local tax treatment of us and our stockholders may not conform to the federal income tax consequences discussed above. We may also be subject to certain taxes applicable to REITs, including taxes in lieu of disqualification as a REIT, on undistributed income, and on income from prohibited transactions.

In addition, if we acquire any asset from a corporation that is or has been a C corporation in a transaction in which our tax basis in the asset is less than the fair market value of the asset, in each case determined as of the date on which we acquired the asset, and we subsequently recognize gain on the disposition of the asset during the five-year period beginning on the date on which we acquired the asset, then we generally will be required to pay tax at the highest regular corporate tax rate on this gain to the extent of the excess of (i) the fair market value of the asset over (ii) our adjusted tax basis in the asset, in each case determined as of the date on which we acquired the asset.

Insurance

We carry comprehensive liability, fire, extended coverage, business interruption and rental loss insurance covering all of the properties in our portfolio under blanket insurance policies. We believe the policy specifications and insured limits are appropriate and adequate given the relative risk of loss and the cost of the coverage and industry practice. See Item 1A “Risk Factors” of this Report for the risks we face regarding insurance.

Competition

We compete with a number of developers, owners and operators of office and multifamily real estate, many of which own properties similar to ours in the same markets in which our properties are located. See Item 2 of this Report for more information about our properties. See Item 1A “Risk Factors” of this Report for the risks we face regarding competition.

Regulation

Our properties are subject to various covenants, laws, ordinances and regulations, including regulations relating to common areas, fire and safety requirements, various environmental laws, the ADA, eviction moratoriums related to COVID-19, and rent control laws. See Item 1A “Risk Factors” of this Report for the risks we face regarding laws and regulations.

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Environmental Sustainability

Our approach

We actively manage our operations in an environmentally sustainable manner.On an annual basis, our board of directors assesses material climate-related risks by assigning numeric values based on both the likelihood of occurrence and the potential impact, with mitigation approaches considered and evaluated. Throughout the year, our Corporate Sustainability Committee, led by the Chairman of our board of directors and our COO, oversees our policies and operational controls for environmental, health, safety and social risks, and monitors our progress and results. Every month, our Director of Engineering Services and our six Regional Engineers meet to monitor and implement the policies set by our Corporate Sustainability Committee. Our Regional Engineers hold monthly meetings with each Building Engineer in their respective regions to review specific building operating issues and opportunities for improvement. We also use external resources to provide critical expertise, tools and resources for our sustainability program.

We engage with our stakeholders to align sustainability efforts and improve the efficiency and health of our business and communities. We share our sustainability goals and standards with our tenants, vendors and suppliers and work closely with them to gather information, develop solutions, and implement technologies and programs to achieve our goals. In our communities, we seek input from other stakeholders and participate in local Business Improvement Districts.We have integrated sustainability into our property management practices, tenant improvement build-outs and meetings with existing and prospective tenants.

Our sustainability program covers four key areas:

•Energy Usage

Our actual energy consumption from year to year is impacted by many factors, such as weather, occupancy in our buildings and activities of our tenants. Many of these factors are beyond our control. However, we can and do seek to make our buildings more energy efficient.

Some of our initiatives to reduce our consumption include items such as real time energy monitoring software, LED lighting retrofitting, and new energy management systems.As a result of our efforts, 89% of our stabilized eligible office space as of December 31, 2021 qualified for "ENERGY STAR Certification" by the EPA as having energy efficiency in the top 25% of buildings nationwide (our 2022 ENERGY STAR scores were not yet available as of the date of this Report).

Our energy and electricity are provided by utility providers through the grid (LA Department of Water and Power, Southern California Edison, and Hawaii Electric Company). We estimate the percentage of renewable energy provided by our utility providers was approximately one-third in 2020 (the most recent available data).

•Water Usage

We have undertaken a number of initiatives to conserve water across our portfolio. Our buildings use low flow faucets and toilets, and we have also saved water by using waterless urinals. Where permitted, we try to recycle used water (by law, we cannot recycle most of the water used in our buildings since it must be fit for human consumption). In a few of our buildings where groundwater naturally seeps into our subterranean parking garages, we treat the water before pumping it back into the ground.

•Controlling Waste, including hazardous waste and recycling

Recycling: In partnership with our vendors and tenants, we have implemented business waste and e-waste recycling programs (we do not generate any production waste or packaging waste) at our properties.

Non-Hazardous Waste: Our routine operations only generate modest amounts of ancillary waste, primarily from typical operations in an office setting. A major source of our waste is the debris generated by refurbishment of our buildings, particularly in recurring tenant improvements that can be generated when a new tenant moves into a building. To minimize that waste, we attempt to construct tenant improvements that will be usable by future tenants, and to fit tenants into existing spaces without substantial refurbishment.

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Hazardous Waste: Our operations only generate modest ancillary amounts of hazardous waste (mostly office supplies), which we dispose of in accordance with all applicable waste regulations. Similarly, our tenants are almost entirely limited by their leases to general office uses that prohibit the use of additional hazardous wastes and are required by their leases to comply with all applicable waste regulations.

•Air Emissions, including transportation

Although our operations do not create significant air emissions such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (Sox), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or particulate matter (PM), our Los Angeles properties produce a small amount of emissions from stationary sources such as natural gas boilers. We have been working to reduce those emissions by upgrading to lower emission models. We expect to reduce the indirect air emissions from our utility suppliers by reducing our per square foot electricity usage.

We also encourage sustainable transportation choices by our tenants: We have installed over 200 electric vehicle charging stations at our properties and have plans to add additional stations. All of our buildings provide ample bicycle parking.

•Development

Ground up development is a small but growing part of our business. So far, all our development projects have been adding additional density in existing office or apartment community sites we already owned. We are committed to selecting development sites that are not in environmentally protected areas or areas of high biodiversity, and strive to use brownfield sites instead of greenfield sites.

Community Impact

We have a long history of providing meaningful, and often transformational, support to the communities in which we operate. We also provide charitable support to key industry and professional organizations, often in the form of event sponsorships.

Part of our business strategy is owning very large concentrations of office buildings and residential communities in our target submarkets. Our large ownership share in many of these neighborhoods put us in a unique position to sometimes invest in outdoor enhancement projects that not only improve our properties but also provide a valuable amenity to the surrounding community. For example, at our recently completed residential development project in Brentwood we invested significant additional capital to build a one acre park on Wilshire Boulevard that is available to the public, providing urban green space as well as a valuable amenity to the surrounding properties and community.

Human Capital

Central to our long-term strategy is attracting, developing and retaining the best talent with the right skills to drive our success. Our ability to maintain our competitive position is largely dependent upon the skill and effort of our executive officers and key personnel, who have significant real estate industry experience, strong industry reputations and networks, and assist us in identifying acquisition, disposition, development and borrowing opportunities, negotiating with tenants and sellers of properties, and managing our development projects and the operations of our properties. As of December 31, 2022, we employed approximately 750 people.

We promote a culture of openness, respect and trust and bring a sense of teamwork and inclusion to all we do. We recognize that having a range of experiences, backgrounds and perspectives allows us to find new ways of doing things. We make sure to walk the talk in fostering a workplace culture that encourages and empowers all our employees to have a voice and fulfill their potential. We have programs that actively promote our culture, such as our Daily Exchange program, which provides employees with daily training regarding our vision statement and core values, and our quarterly employee recognition program, the Jane Joyce Award.

We value and advance the diversity and inclusion of the people with whom we work. We are committed to equal opportunity in workplaces that are free from discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, sex, color, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, family status, national or social origin, ethnicity, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identification or expression, medical condition, genetic information, military or veteran status, political opinion or any other status protected by applicable law. Recruitment, hiring, placement, development, training, compensation and advancement may not be based on any of these factors, but should instead be based on factors such as qualifications, performance, skills and experience.

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We know that the first step in hiring and retaining the best talent is to create safe and inspiring workplaces where people feel valued. We offer competitive compensation and benefits to all regular full-time employees, including but not limited to paid holiday, vacation, and sick time, retirement savings plans and medical, dental, and vision coverage. We also offer a very generous equity compensation program that empowers our employees to act and feel like owners, not just employees. In 2022, we provided equity compensation to approximately half of our approximately 750 employees.

The health and safety of our employees, tenants, and vendors is of the utmost importance to us. We adhere to leading health and safety standards across our portfolio, and each year, we require all our employees to complete safety training. We have a wellness program that is designed to raise health awareness among our employees. Some of the program's activities include biometric screenings, flu shots, healthy snacks and employee walking challenges. The program provides many benefits including higher employee satisfaction, reduced healthcare costs, and improved employee performance.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on our human capital management during 2020, 2021 and 2022. We are deemed an essential business and we moved quickly to institute safety protocols and procedures to keep our properties open and to protect our tenants and employees who continued to work on site and at our headquarters. These measures included enhanced cleaning/sanitization practices, maximizing fresh air ventilation, and upgrading air filter efficiencies. These ventilation and filtration measures will have longer-term beneficial impacts on our indoor air quality well past the pandemic. We also implemented employee training and workforce guidelines for preventing the spread of COVID-19 at our properties.

Principal Executive Offices

Our principal executive offices are located in the building we own at 1299 Ocean Avenue, Suite 1000, Santa Monica, California 90401 (telephone 310-255-7700).

Available Information

We make available on our website at www.douglasemmett.com our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments thereto, free of charge, as soon as reasonably practicable after we file such reports with, or furnish them to, the SEC. See "Our Company - Investors - SEC Filings" on our website. Also available on our website, free of charge, are our governance documents, which includes our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, and the charters of our board of directors and its committees. See "Our Company - Investors - Management" on our website. None of the information on or hyperlinked from our website is incorporated into this Report. For more information, please contact:

Stuart McElhinney

Vice President, Investor Relations

310-255-7751

smcelhinney@douglasemmett.com

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Item 1A. Risk Factors

The following risk factors are what we believe to be the most significant risk factors that could adversely affect our business and operations, including, without limitation, our financial condition, REIT status, results of operations and cash flows, our ability to service our debt and pay dividends to our stockholders, our ability to capitalize on business opportunities as they arise, our ability to raise capital, and the market price of our common stock. This is not an exhaustive list, and additional risk factors could adversely affect our business and financial performance. We operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment and new risk factors emerge from time to time. It is therefore not possible for us to predict all such risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all such risk factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. This discussion of risk factors includes many forward-looking statements. For cautions about relying on forward-looking statements see “Forward Looking Statements” at the beginning of this Report.

Below is a summary of our risk factors:

Risks Related to Our Properties and Our Business

•The COVID-19 global pandemic has and could continue to adversely affect our business, financial position, results of operations, cash flows, our ability to service our debt, our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders, our REIT status, our ability to capitalize on business opportunities as they arise, our ability to raise capital, and/or the market price of our common stock.

•Persistent higher inflation could adversely impact our operating results, cash flows, financial position, our ability to pay dividends and distributions, and the market price of our common stock.

•All of our properties are located in Los Angeles County, California, and Honolulu, Hawaii, and we are therefore exposed to greater risk than if we owned a more geographically diverse portfolio. Our properties in Los Angeles County are concentrated in certain submarkets, exposing us to risks associated with those specific areas.

•Our operating performance is subject to risks associated with the real estate industry.

•We have a substantial amount of debt, which exposes us to interest rate fluctuation risk and the risk of not being able to refinance our debt, which in turn could expose us to the risk of default under our debt obligations.

•The rents we receive from new leases may be less than our asking rents, and we may experience rent roll-down from time to time.

•In order to successfully compete against other properties, we need to maintain, repair, and renovate our properties, which reduces our cash flows.

•We face intense competition, which could adversely impact the occupancy and rental rates of our properties.

•Potential losses, including from adverse weather conditions, natural disasters and title claims, may not be covered by insurance.

•We may be unable to renew leases or lease vacant space.

•Our business strategy for our office portfolio focuses on leasing to smaller-sized tenants which may present greater credit risks.

•Real estate investments are generally illiquid.

•We may incur significant costs to comply with laws, regulations and covenants.

•Because we own real property, we are subject to extensive environmental regulations, which create uncertainty regarding future environmental expenditures and liabilities.

•Our properties may contain or develop harmful mold or suffer from other air quality issues, which could lead to liability for adverse health effects and costs of remediation.

•Rent control or rent stabilization legislation and other regulatory restrictions may limit our ability to increase rents and pass through new or increased operating costs to our tenants.

•We may be unable to complete acquisitions that would grow our business, or successfully integrate and operate acquired properties.

•We may be unable to successfully expand our operations into new markets and submarkets.

•We are exposed to risks associated with property development.

•We are exposed to certain risks when we enter into JVs or issue securities of our subsidiaries, including our Operating Partnership.

•If we default on the ground lease to which one of our properties is subject, our business could be adversely affected.

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•We may not have sufficient cash available for distribution to stockholders at expected levels in the future.

•We face risks associated with contractual counterparties being designated “Prohibited Persons” by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

•Terrorism and war could harm our business and operating results.

Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure

•Tax consequences to holders of OP Units upon a sale or refinancing of our properties may cause the interests of our executive officers to differ from the interests of our stockholders.

•Our executive officers have significant influence over our affairs.

•Under their employment agreements, certain of our executive officers will receive severance if they are terminated without cause or resign for good reason.

•The loss of any of our executive officers or key senior personnel could significantly harm our business.

•Compensation awards to our management may not be tied to or correspond with improved financial results or the market price of our common stock.

•Our board of directors may change significant corporate policies without stockholder approval.

•Our growth depends on external sources of capital which are outside of our control.

•We face risks associated with short-term liquid investments.

•Our charter, the partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership, and Maryland law contain provisions that may delay or prevent a change of control transaction.

•Our fiduciary duties as the sole stockholder of the general partner of our Operating Partnership could create conflicts of interest.

Risks Related to Taxes and Our Status as a REIT

•Our property taxes could increase due to property tax rate changes, reassessments or changes in property tax laws, which would adversely impact our cash flows.

•Failure to qualify as a REIT would result in higher taxes and reduced cash available for distributions.

•If the Operating Partnership, or any of its subsidiaries, were treated as a regular corporation for federal income tax purposes, we could cease to qualify as a REIT.

•Even if we qualify as a REIT, we will be required to pay some taxes which would reduce cash available for distributions.

•REIT distribution requirements could adversely affect our liquidity and cause us to forego otherwise attractive opportunities.

•REIT stockholders can receive taxable income without cash distributions.

•If a transaction intended to qualify as a Section 1031 Exchange is later determined to be taxable or if we are unable to identify and complete the acquisition of a suitable replacement property to effect a Section 1031 Exchange, we may face adverse consequences, and if the laws applicable to such transactions are amended or repealed, we may not be able to dispose of properties on a tax deferred basis.

•Legislative or other actions affecting REITs could have a negative effect on our investors or us, including our ability to maintain our qualification as a REIT or the federal income tax consequences of such qualification.

•Non-U.S. investors may be subject to FIRPTA, which would impose tax on certain distributions and on the sale of common stock if we are unable to qualify as a “domestically controlled” REIT or if our stock is not considered to be regularly traded on an established securities market.

General Risks

•Security breaches through cyber attacks, cyber intrusions or otherwise, as well as other significant disruptions of our IT networks and related systems could harm our business.

•Litigation could have an adverse effect on our business.

•If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results.

•New accounting pronouncements could adversely affect our operating results or the reported financial performance of our tenants.

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Risks Related to Our Properties and Our Business

The COVID-19 global pandemic has and could continue to adversely affect our business, financial position, results of operations, cash flows, our ability to service our debt, our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders, our REIT status, our ability to capitalize on business opportunities as they arise, our ability to raise capital, and/or the market price of our common stock.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has led to severe disruption to general economic activities as governments and businesses take actions to mitigate the public health crisis. The extent to which the pandemic ultimately impacts our business will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including, but not limited to, the duration and spread of each variant, its severity, the actions taken to contain the virus, the emergence and impact of future virus variants, and how quickly and to what extent normal economic and operating conditions resume. Even as the pandemic subsides, we may continue to experience significant impacts to our business as a result of its global economic impact, including any resulting economic recession.

Not all of the impacts of the pandemic are known at this time, however, some of the potential impacts from the pandemic could include:

•Government actions, including but not limited to lease enforcement moratoriums, that reduce or otherwise hinder our ability to collect rent promptly or at all, adversely affect tenant demand, increase our costs or otherwise reduce our collections;

•Supply chain, governmental or other disruptions that adversely affect construction or our operations and/or those of our tenants;

•Economic pressure on our tenants, which could lead to lower collections or defaults;

•Reduced or different tenant demand, leading to lower occupancy and/or rental rates in our buildings;

•Reduced attendance in our buildings, resulting in lower parking revenues;

•Increases in expenses and/or capital investments or decreases in tenant demand as a result of safety concerns;

•Increased risks of IT disruptions and/or cyber attacks as a result of our employees or tenants working remotely;

•Disruption of our operations as a result of the illness or social distancing of our employees or tenants;

•Impact on the labor market, which could lead to higher employee turnover and increased labor costs;

•Changes in the financial markets, the value of our properties and/or our cash flows which adversely affect our stock price and/or our tenants' access to needed debt or equity capital on reasonable or any terms; and/or

•Increases in the cost or availability, or changes to the terms, of insurance.

Persistent higher inflation could adversely impact our operating results, cash flows, financial position, our ability to pay dividends and distributions, and the market price of our common stock.

Some of the potential adverse impacts of higher inflation on our business could include:

•an increase in our rental operating costs and our general and administrative costs;

•we may be unable to increase rental rates at the same rate as inflation;

•if we are able to increase rental rates at the same rate as inflation, it could reduce tenant demand for our properties;

•we may be unable to recover higher rental operating costs from our office tenants;

•higher operating costs billed to our office tenants could reduce tenant demand for our office properties;

•higher inflation is usually accompanied by higher interest rates, which could: (i) increase our borrowing costs, (ii) adversely impact our property valuations, and (iii) cause an economic recession which would adversely affect our business;

•an increase in recurring capital expenditures to maintain our properties;

•an increase in construction costs, which would increase the cost of development and respositioning projects;

•reduced cash flows would adversely impact our ability to pay dividends and distributions.

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All of our properties are located in Los Angeles County, California, and Honolulu, Hawaii, and we are therefore exposed to greater risk than if we owned a more geographically diverse portfolio. Our properties in Los Angeles County are concentrated in certain submarkets, exposing us to risks associated with those specific areas.

Because of the geographic concentration of our properties, we are susceptible to adverse economic and regulatory developments, as well as natural disasters, in the markets and submarkets where we operate, including, for example, economic slowdowns, industry slowdowns, business downsizing, business relocations, increases in real estate and other taxes, changes in regulation, earthquakes, floods, droughts and wildfires. California is also regarded as being more litigious, regulated and taxed than many other states.

Our operating performance is subject to risks associated with the real estate industry.

Real estate investments are subject to various risks, fluctuations and cycles in value and demand, many of which are beyond our control. These events include, but are not limited to:

•adverse changes in international, national or local economic conditions;

•inability to rent space on favorable terms, including possible market pressures to offer tenants rent abatements, tenant improvements, early termination rights or below-market renewal options;

•adverse changes in financial conditions of actual or potential investors, buyers, sellers or tenants;

•inability to collect rent from tenants;

•competition from other real estate investors, including other real estate operating companies, publicly-traded REITs and institutional investment funds;

•reduced tenant demand for office space and residential units from matters such as: (i) trends in space utilization, (ii) changes in the relative popularity of our properties, (iii) the type of space we lease, (iv) purchasing versus leasing, (v) increasing crime or homelessness in our submarkets or (vi) economic recessions;

•reduced demand for parking space due to matters such as: (i) reduced attendance in our buildings, (ii) the impact of technology such as self-driving cars, or (iii) the increasing popularity of car ride sharing services;

•increases in the supply of office space and residential units;

•fluctuations in interest rates and the availability of credit, which could adversely affect our ability to obtain financing on favorable terms or at all;

•increases in operating costs (or our reduced ability to recover operating costs from our tenants), including: (i) insurance costs, (ii) labor costs (such as the unionization of our employees or the employees of any parties with whom we contract for services to our buildings), (iii) energy prices, (iv) real estate assessments and other taxes, and (v) costs of compliance with laws, regulations and governmental policies;

•utility disruptions;

•the effects of rent controls, stabilization laws and other laws or covenants regulating rental rates;

•changes in, and changes in enforcement of, laws, regulations and governmental policies, including, without limitation, health, safety, environmental, zoning and tax laws, governmental fiscal policies and the ADA;

•legislative uncertainty related to federal and state spending and tax policy;

•difficulty in operating properties effectively;

•acquiring undesirable properties; and

•inability to dispose of properties at appropriate times or at favorable prices.

We have a substantial amount of debt, which exposes us to interest rate fluctuation risk and the risk of not being able to refinance our debt, which in turn could expose us to the risk of default under our debt obligations.

We have a substantial amount of debt and we may incur significant additional debt for various purposes, including, without limitation, to fund future property acquisitions and development activities, reposition properties and to fund our operations. See Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 15 of this Report for more detail regarding our consolidated debt. See "Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements" in Item 7 of this Report for more detail regarding our unconsolidated debt.

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Our substantial indebtedness, and the limitations and other constraints imposed on us by our debt agreements, especially during economic downturns when credit is harder to obtain, could adversely affect us, including the following:

•periods of rising and high interest rates would adversely affect: (i) our results of operations, (ii) our ability to pay dividends and distributions, (iii) the market price of our common stock, and (iv) our ability to borrow or to borrow on favorable terms;

•our cash flows may be insufficient to meet our required principal and interest payments;

•servicing our borrowings may leave us with insufficient cash to operate our properties or to pay the distributions necessary to maintain our REIT qualification;

•we may be unable to borrow additional funds as needed or on favorable terms, which could, among other things, adversely affect our ability to capitalize upon acquisition opportunities;

•we may be unable to refinance our indebtedness at maturity or the refinancing terms may be less favorable than the terms of our existing indebtedness;

•we may be forced to dispose of one or more of our properties, possibly on disadvantageous terms;

•we may violate any restrictive covenants in our loan documents, which could entitle the lenders to accelerate our debt obligations;

•we may be unable to hedge floating rate debt, counterparties may fail to honor their obligations under our hedge agreements, the hedge agreements may not effectively hedge the interest rate fluctuation risk, and, upon the expiration of any hedge agreements we do have, we will be exposed to the then-existing market rates of interest and future interest rate volatility with respect to debt that is currently hedged; we could also be declared in default on our hedge agreements if we default on the underlying debt that we are hedging;

•we may default on our obligations and the lenders or mortgagees may foreclose on our properties that secure their loans and receive an assignment of rents and leases;

•our default under any of our indebtedness with cross default provisions could result in a default on other indebtedness;

•any foreclosure on our properties could also create taxable income without accompanying cash proceeds, which could adversely affect our ability to meet the REIT distribution requirements imposed by the Code; and

•most of our floating rate debt and related hedges are indexed to USD-LIBOR, any regulatory changes which impact the USD-LIBOR benchmark, such as the transition to SOFR (see Item 7A - "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk" in this Report) or other indexes, could impact our borrowing costs or the effectiveness of our hedges.

The rents we receive from new leases may be less than our asking rents, and we may experience rent roll-down from time to time.

As a result of various factors, such as competitive pricing pressure in our submarkets, adverse conditions in the Los Angeles County or Honolulu real estate market, general economic downturns, or the desirability of our properties compared to other properties in our submarkets, the rents we receive on new leases could be less than our in-place rents.

In order to successfully compete against other properties, we need to maintain, repair, and renovate our properties, which reduces our cash flows.

If our properties are not as attractive to current and prospective tenants in terms of rent, services, condition, or location as properties owned by our competitors, we could lose tenants or suffer lower rental rates. As a result, we may from time to time be required to incur significant capital expenditures to maintain the competitiveness of our properties. There can be no assurances that any such expenditures would result in higher occupancy or rental rates, or deter existing tenants from relocating to properties owned by our competitors.

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We face intense competition, which could adversely impact the occupancy and rental rates of our properties.

We compete with a number of developers, owners and operators of office and multifamily real estate, many of which own properties similar to ours in the same markets in which our properties are located. If our competitors offer space at rental rates below current market rates, or below the rental rates that we currently charge our tenants, or if they offer tenants significant rent or other concessions, we may lose existing or potential tenants and may not be able to replace them, and we may be pressured to reduce our rental rates below those we currently charge or offer more substantial rent abatements, tenant improvements, early termination rights or below-market renewal options in order to retain tenants when our tenants’ leases expire.

Potential losses, including from adverse weather conditions, natural disasters and title claims, may not be covered by insurance.

Our business operations in Los Angeles County, California and Honolulu, Hawaii are susceptible to, and could be significantly affected by, adverse weather conditions and natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, volcanoes, drought, wind, floods, landslides and fires. The likelihood of such disasters may be increased as a result of climate change, and climate change could also have other impacts such as rising sea levels, which could impact our properties in Honolulu.

Adverse weather conditions, natural disasters and climate change impacts could cause significant damage to our properties or to the economies of the regions in which they are located, the risk of which is enhanced by the concentration of our properties’ locations. Our insurance coverage may not be adequate to cover business interruption or losses resulting from adverse weather or natural disasters. In addition, our insurance policies include substantial self-insurance portions and significant deductibles and co-payments for such events, and we are subject to the availability of insurance in the US and the pricing thereof. As a result, we may incur significant costs in the event of adverse weather conditions and natural disasters.

Most of our properties are located in Southern California, an area subject to an increased risk of earthquakes. While we presently carry earthquake insurance on our properties, the amount of our earthquake insurance coverage may not be sufficient to fully cover losses from earthquakes. We may reduce or discontinue earthquake or any other insurance coverage on some or all of our properties in the future if the cost of premiums for any of these policies in our judgment exceeds the value of the coverage discounted for the risk of loss.

We do not carry insurance for certain losses, such as losses caused by certain environmental conditions, asbestos, riots or war. In addition, our title insurance policies generally only insure the value of a property at the time of purchase, and we have not and do not intend to increase our title insurance coverage as the market value of our portfolio increases. As a result, we may not have sufficient coverage against all losses that we may experience, including from adverse title claims.

If we experience a loss that is uninsured or which exceeds policy limits, we could incur significant costs and lose the capital invested in the damaged properties as well as the anticipated future cash flows from those properties. If the damaged properties are encumbered, we may continue to be liable for the indebtedness, even if these properties were irreparably damaged.

If any of our properties were destroyed or damaged, then we might not be permitted to rebuild many of those properties to their existing height or size at their existing location under current zoning and land use regulations. In the event that we experience a substantial or comprehensive loss of one of our properties, we may not be able to rebuild such property to its existing specifications and otherwise may have to upgrade such property to meet current code requirements.

New regulations in the submarkets in which we operate could require us to make safety improvements to our buildings, for example requiring us to retrofit our buildings to better withstand earthquakes, and we could incur significant costs complying with those regulations.

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We may be unable to renew leases or lease vacant space.

We may be unable to renew our tenants' leases, in which case we must find new tenants. To attract new tenants or retain existing tenants, particularly in periods of recession, we may have to accept rental rates below our existing rental rates or offer substantial rent abatements, tenant improvements, early termination rights or below-market renewal options. Accordingly, portions of our office and multifamily properties may remain vacant for extended periods of time. In addition, some existing leases currently provide tenants with options to renew the terms of their leases at rates that are below the current market rates or to terminate their leases prior to the expiration date thereof. We actively pursue opportunities for what we believe to be well-located and high quality buildings that may be in a transitional phase due to current or impending vacancies. We cannot assure that any such vacancies will be filled following a property acquisition, or that new tenant leases will be executed at or above market rates. As of December 31, 2022, 12.9% of the square footage in our total office portfolio was available for lease and 13.8% was scheduled to expire in 2023. As of December 31, 2022, 0.6% of the units in our multifamily portfolio were available for lease, and substantially all of the leases in our multifamily portfolio must be renewed within the next year. For more information see Item 2 “Properties” of this Report.

Our business strategy for our office portfolio focuses on leasing to smaller-sized tenants which may present greater credit risks.

Our business strategy for our office portfolio focuses on leasing to smaller-sized tenants, which may present greater credit risks because they are more susceptible to economic downturns than larger tenants, and may be more likely to cancel or not renew their leases.

Real estate investments are generally illiquid.

Our real estate investments are relatively difficult to sell quickly. Return of capital and realization of gains, if any, from an investment will generally occur upon disposition or refinancing of the underlying property. We may not be able to realize our investment objectives by sale or be able to refinance at attractive prices within any given period of time. We may also not be able to complete any exit strategy. Any number of factors could increase these risks, such as (i) weak market conditions, (ii) the lack of an established market for a property, (iii) changes in the financial condition or prospects of prospective buyers, (iv) changes in local, national or international economic conditions, and (v) changes in laws, regulations or fiscal policies. Furthermore, certain properties may be adversely affected by contractual rights, such as rights of first offer or ground leases.

We may incur significant costs to comply with laws, regulations and covenants.

The properties in our portfolio are subject to various covenants, federal, state and local laws, ordinances, regulatory requirements, including permitting and licensing requirements, various environmental laws, the ADA and rent control laws. Such laws and regulations, including municipal or local ordinances, zoning restrictions and restrictive covenants imposed by community developers may restrict our use of our properties and may require us to obtain approval from local officials or community standards organizations at any time with respect to our properties, including prior to acquiring a property or when undertaking renovations of any of our existing properties. Among other things, these restrictions may relate to fire and safety, seismic, asbestos abatement or hazardous material cleanup requirements. There can be no assurance that existing laws and regulations will not adversely affect us or the timing or cost of any future acquisitions, developments or renovations, or that additional regulations that increase such delays or result in additional costs will not be adopted. Under the ADA, our properties must meet federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons to the extent that such properties are “public accommodations”. The costs of our on-going efforts to comply with these laws and regulations are substantial. Moreover, as we have not conducted a comprehensive audit or investigation of all of our properties to determine our compliance with applicable laws and regulations, we may be liable for investigation and remediation costs, penalties, and/or damages, which could be substantial and could adversely affect our ability to sell or rent our property or to borrow using such property as collateral.

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Because we own real property, we are subject to extensive environmental regulations, which create uncertainty regarding future environmental expenditures and liabilities.

Environmental laws regulate, and impose liability for, releases of hazardous or toxic substances into the environment. Under various provisions of these laws, a current or former owner or operator of real estate may be liable for costs related to soil or groundwater contamination on, in, or migrating to or from its property. Persons who arrange for the disposal or treatment of hazardous or toxic substances may be liable for the costs of cleaning up contamination at the disposal site. Such laws often impose liability regardless of whether the person knew of, or was responsible for, the presence of the hazardous or toxic substances that caused the contamination. In addition, some laws may create a lien on a contaminated site in favor of the government for damages and costs it incurs in connection with the contamination. The presence of, or contamination resulting from, any of these substances, or the failure to properly remediate them, may adversely affect our ability to sell or rent our property or to borrow using the property as collateral. Persons exposed to hazardous or toxic substances at our properties may sue for personal injury damages, for example, some laws impose liability for release of or exposure to asbestos-containing materials, a substance known to be present in a number of our buildings. In other cases, some of our properties have been (or may have been) impacted by contamination from past operations or from off-site sources. As a result, in connection with our current or former ownership, operation, management and development of real properties, we may be potentially liable for investigation and cleanup costs, penalties, and damages under environmental laws.

Although most of our properties have been subjected to preliminary environmental assessments, known as Phase I assessments, by independent environmental consultants in order to identify potential environmental concerns, Phase I assessments are limited in scope, and may not identify all potential environmental liabilities or risks associated with the property. For example, a prior owner or operator of a property or historical operations at or near our properties may have created a material environmental condition that is not known to us or the independent consultants preparing the Phase I assessments. Unless required by applicable laws or regulations, we may not further investigate, remedy or ameliorate the environmental conditions identified in the Phase I assessments. We cannot assure that these or other environmental studies identified all potential environmental liabilities, or that we will not incur material environmental liabilities in the future. If we do incur material environmental liabilities in the future, we may face significant remediation costs and may find it difficult to sell any affected properties. See Note 17 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 15 of this Report for more detail regarding our buildings that contain asbestos.

In addition, we may incur costs to comply with federal, state and local legislation and regulations that are implemented to mitigate the effects of climate change. The costs of complying with evolving regulatory requirements could negatively impact our results of operations.

Our properties may contain or develop harmful mold or suffer from other air quality issues, which could lead to liability for adverse health effects and costs of remediation.

Moisture may accumulate in buildings or on building materials, and mold growth may occur, particularly if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or is not addressed over a period of time. Some molds may produce airborne toxins or irritants. Indoor air quality issues can also stem from inadequate ventilation, chemical contamination from indoor or outdoor sources, and other biological contaminants such as pollen, viruses and bacteria. Indoor exposure to airborne toxins or irritants above certain levels can be alleged to cause a variety of adverse health effects and symptoms, including allergic or other reactions. As a result, the presence of significant mold or other airborne contaminants at any of our properties could require us to undertake a costly remediation program to contain or remove the mold or other airborne contaminants from the affected property or increase indoor ventilation. In addition, the presence of significant mold or other airborne contaminants could expose us to liability from our tenants, employees of our tenants or others if property damage or personal injury is alleged to have occurred.

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Rent control or rent stabilization legislation and other regulatory restrictions may limit our ability to increase rents and pass through new or increased operating costs to our tenants.

We presently expect to continue operating and acquiring properties in areas that have adopted laws and regulations imposing restrictions on the timing or amount of rent increases or have imposed regulations relating to low- and moderate-income housing.

California and various municipalities within Southern California, including the cities of Los Angeles and Santa Monica where our properties are located, have enacted rent control legislation. All of our multifamily properties in Los Angeles County are affected by these laws and regulations. Under current California law we are able to increase rents to market rates once a tenant vacates a rent-controlled unit; however, increases in rental rates for renewing tenants are limited by California, Los Angeles and Santa Monica rent control regulations.

Hawaii does not have state mandated rent control, however portions of the Honolulu multifamily market are subject to low- and moderate-income housing regulations. We have agreed to rent specified percentages of the units at some of our Honolulu multifamily properties to persons with income below specified levels in exchange for certain tax benefits.

These laws and regulations can (i) limit our ability to charge market rents, increase rents, evict tenants or recover increases in our operating expenses, (ii) negatively impact our ability to attract higher-paying tenants, (iii) require us to incur costs for reporting and compliance, and (iv) make it more difficult for us to dispose of properties in certain circumstances. Any failure to comply with these regulations could result in fines, penalties and/or the loss of certain tax benefits and the forfeiture of rents.

We may be unable to complete acquisitions that would grow our business, or successfully integrate and operate acquired properties.

Our planned growth strategy includes the disciplined acquisition of properties as opportunities arise. Our ability to acquire properties on favorable terms and to successfully integrate and operate them is subject to significant risks, including the following:

•we may be unable to acquire desired properties because of competition from other real estate investors, including other real estate operating companies, publicly-traded REITs and investment funds;

•competition from other potential acquirers may significantly increase the purchase price of a desired property;

•we may acquire properties that are not accretive to our results upon acquisition or we may not successfully manage and lease them up to meet our expectations;

•we may be unable to generate sufficient cash from operations, or obtain the necessary debt or equity financing to consummate an acquisition or, if obtained, the financing may not be on favorable terms;

•cash flows from the acquired properties may be insufficient to service the related debt financing;

•we may need to spend more than we budgeted to make necessary improvements or renovations to acquired properties;

•we may spend significant time and money on potential acquisitions that we do not close;

•the process of acquiring or pursuing the acquisition of a property may divert the attention of our senior management team from our existing business operations;

•we may be unable to quickly and efficiently integrate new acquisitions, particularly acquisitions of portfolios of properties, into our existing operations;

•occupancy and rental rates of acquired properties may be less than expected; and

•we may acquire properties without recourse, or with limited recourse, for liabilities, whether known or unknown, such as clean-up of environmental contamination, claims by tenants, vendors or other persons against the former owners of the properties and claims for indemnification by general partners, directors, officers and others indemnified by the former owners of the properties.

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We may be unable to successfully expand our operations into new markets and submarkets.

If the opportunity arises, we may explore acquisitions of properties in new markets. The risks applicable to our ability to acquire, integrate and operate properties in our current markets are also applicable to our ability to acquire, integrate and operate properties in new markets. In addition to these risks, we will not possess the same level of familiarity with the dynamics and market conditions of any new markets that we may enter, which could adversely affect our ability to expand into those markets. We may be unable to build a significant market share or achieve a desired return on our investments in new markets.

We are exposed to risks associated with property development.

We engage in development and redevelopment activities with respect to certain of our properties. To the extent that we do so, we are subject to certain risks, including the following:

•We may not complete a development or redevelopment project on schedule or within budgeted amounts (as a result of risks beyond our control, such as weather, labor conditions, permitting issues, material shortages and price increases);

•We may be unable to lease the developed or redeveloped properties at budgeted rental rates or lease up the property within budgeted time frames;

•We may devote time and expend funds on development or redevelopment of properties that we may not complete;

•We may encounter delays or refusals in obtaining all necessary zoning, land use, and other required entitlements, and building, occupancy and other required governmental permits and authorizations, and our costs to comply with the conditions imposed by such permits and authorizations could increase;

•We may encounter delays, refusals and unforeseen cost increases resulting from third-party litigation or objections; and

•We may fail to obtain the financial results expected from properties we develop or redevelop;

We are exposed to certain risks when we enter into JVs or issue securities of our subsidiaries, including our Operating Partnership.

We have and may in the future develop or acquire properties with, or raise capital from, third parties through partnerships, JVs or other entities, or through acquiring or disposing of non-controlling interests in, or sharing responsibility for managing the affairs of, a property, partnership, JV or other entity. This may subject us to risks that may not be present with other methods of ownership, including for example the following:

•We may not be able to exercise sole decision-making authority regarding the properties, partnership, JV or other entity, which would allow for impasses on decisions that could restrict our ability to sell or transfer our interests in such entity or such entity’s ability to transfer or sell its assets;

•Partners or co-venturers may default on their obligations including those related to capital contributions, debt financing or interest rate swaps, which could delay acquisition, construction or development of a property or increase our financial commitment to the partnership or JV;

•Conflicts of interests with our partners or co-venturers as result of matters such as different needs for liquidity, assessments of the market or tax objectives; ownership of competing interests in other properties; and other business interests, policies or objectives that are competitive or inconsistent with ours;

•If any such jointly owned or managed entity takes or expects to take actions that could jeopardize our status as a REIT or require us to pay tax, we may suffer significantly, including having to dispose of our interest in such entity (if that is possible) or even losing our status as a REIT;

•Our assumptions regarding the tax impact of any structure or transaction could prove to be incorrect, and we could be exposed to significant taxable income, property tax reassessments or other liabilities, including any liability to third parties that we may assume as part of such transaction or otherwise;

•Disputes between us and partners or co-venturers may result in litigation or arbitration that would increase our expenses, affect our ability to develop or operate a property and/or prevent our officers and/or directors from focusing their time and effort on our business;

•We may, in certain circumstances, be liable for the actions of our third-party partners or co-venturers; and

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•We may not be able to raise capital as needed from institutional investors or sovereign wealth funds, or on terms that are favorable.

If we default on the ground lease to which one of our properties is subject, our business could be adversely affected.

Some of our properties may be subject to a ground lease. If we default under the terms of such a lease, we may be liable for damages and could lose our ownership interest in the property.

We may not have sufficient cash available for distribution to stockholders at expected levels in the future.

Our distributions could exceed our cash generated from operations. If necessary, we may fund the difference from our existing cash balances or additional borrowings. If our available cash were to decline significantly below our taxable income, we could lose our REIT status unless we could borrow to make such distributions or make any required distributions in common stock.

We face risks associated with contractual counterparties being designated “Prohibited Persons” by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The OFAC of the US Department of the Treasury maintains a list of persons designated as terrorists or who are otherwise blocked or banned (“Prohibited Persons”). The OFAC regulations and other laws prohibit conducting business or engaging in transactions with Prohibited Persons. Some of our agreements require us and the other party to comply with the OFAC requirements. If a party with whom we contract is placed on the OFAC list we may be required by the OFAC regulations to terminate the agreement, which could result in a losses or a damage claim by the other party that the termination was wrongful.

Terrorism and war could harm our business and operating results.

The possibility of future terrorist attacks or war could have a negative impact on our operations, even if they are not directed at our properties and even if they never actually occur. Terrorist attacks can also substantially affect the availability and price of insurance coverage for certain types of damages or occurrences, and our insurance policies for terrorism include large deductibles and co-payments. The lack of sufficient insurance for these types of acts could expose us to significant losses.

Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure

Tax consequences to holders of OP Units upon a sale or refinancing of our properties may cause the interests of our executive officers to differ from the interests of our stockholders.

Some of our properties were contributed to us in exchange for units of our Operating Partnership. As a result of the unrealized built-in gain attributable to such properties at the time of their contribution, some holders of OP Units, including our executive officers, may suffer different and more adverse tax consequences than holders of our common stock upon the sale or refinancing of the properties owned by our Operating Partnership, including disproportionately greater allocations of items of taxable income and gain upon a realization event. As a result, those holders may have different objectives regarding the appropriate pricing, timing and other material terms of any sale or refinancing of certain properties, or whether to sell or refinance such properties at all.

Our executive officers have significant influence over our affairs.

At December 31, 2022, our executive officers owned 4% of our outstanding common stock, but they would own 16% if all of their outstanding LTIPs and OP Units were converted into common stock. As a result, our executive officers, to the extent that they vote their shares in a similar manner, will have significant influence over our affairs and could exercise such influence in a manner that is not in the best interests of our other stockholders, including by attempting to delay, defer or prevent a change of control transaction that might otherwise be in the best interests of our stockholders.

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Under their employment agreements, certain of our executive officers will receive severance if they are terminated without cause or resign for good reason.

We have employment agreements with Jordan L. Kaplan, Kenneth M. Panzer and Kevin A. Crummy, which provide each executive with severance if they are terminated without cause or resign for good reason (including following a change of control), based on two or three times (depending on the officer) his annual total of salary, bonus and incentive compensation such as LTIP Units, options or outperformance grants. In addition, these executive officers would not be restricted from competing with us after their departure.

The loss of any of our executive officers or key senior personnel could significantly harm our business.

Our ability to maintain our competitive position is largely dependent upon the skill and effort of our executive officers and key personnel, who have significant real estate industry experience, strong industry reputations and networks, and assist us in identifying acquisition, disposition, development and borrowing opportunities, negotiating with tenants and sellers of properties, and managing our development projects and the operations of our properties. If we lose the services of any of our executive officers or key senior personnel our business could be adversely affected.

Compensation awards to our management may not be tied to or correspond with improved financial results or the market price of our common stock.

The compensation committee of our board of directors is responsible for overseeing our compensation and incentive compensation plans. Our compensation committee has significant discretion in structuring compensation packages and may make compensation decisions based on any number of factors. Compensation awards may not be tied to or correspond with improved financial results or the market price of our common stock. See Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 15 of this Report for more information regarding our stock-based compensation.

Our board of directors may change significant corporate policies without stockholder approval.

Our investment, financing, borrowing, dividend, operating and other policies are determined by our board of directors. These policies may be amended or revised at any time and from time to time at the discretion of our board of directors without a vote of our stockholders. Our board of directors may change our policies with respect to conflicts of interest provided that such changes are consistent with applicable legal requirements.

Our growth depends on external sources of capital which are outside of our control.

In order to qualify as a REIT, we are required under the Code to distribute annually at least 90% of our “REIT taxable income", determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and by excluding any net capital gain. To the extent that we do not distribute all of our net long-term capital gains or at least 90% of our REIT taxable income, we will be required to pay tax thereon at the regular corporate tax rate. Because of these distribution requirements, we may not be able to fund future capital needs from our operating cash flows, including acquisitions, development and debt refinancing. Consequently, we expect to rely on third-party sources to fund some of our capital needs and we may not be able to obtain financing on favorable terms or at all. Any additional borrowings will increase our leverage, and any additional equity that we issue will dilute our common stock. Our access to third-party sources of capital depends on many factors, some of which include:

•general market conditions;

•the market’s perception of our growth potential;

•our current debt levels;

•our current and expected future earnings;

•our cash flows and cash dividends; and

•the market price per share of our common stock.

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We face risks associated with short-term liquid investments.

From time to time, we have significant cash balances that we invest in a variety of short-term money market fund investments that are intended to preserve principal value and maintain a high degree of liquidity while providing current income. These investments are not insured against loss of principal and there is no guarantee that our investments in these funds will be redeemable at par value. If we cannot liquidate our investments or redeem them at par we could incur losses and experience liquidity issues.

Our charter, the partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership, and Maryland law contain provisions that may delay or prevent a change of control transaction.

(i) Our charter contains a five percent ownership limit.

Our charter, subject to certain exceptions, contains restrictions on ownership that limit, and authorizes our directors to take such actions as are necessary and desirable to limit, any person to actual or constructive ownership of not more than five percent of the value or number, whichever is more restrictive, of the outstanding shares of our common stock. Our board of directors, in its sole discretion, may exempt a proposed transferee from the ownership limit. The ownership limit contained in our charter may delay or prevent a transaction or a change of control that might involve a premium price for our common stock or otherwise be in the best interest of our stockholders.

(ii) Our board of directors may create and issue a class or series of preferred stock without stockholder approval.

Our board of directors is empowered under our charter to amend our charter to increase or decrease the aggregate number of shares of our common stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we have authority to issue, to designate and issue from time to time one or more classes or series of preferred stock and to classify or reclassify any unissued shares of our common stock or preferred stock without stockholder approval. Our board of directors may determine the relative rights, preferences and privileges of any class or series of preferred stock issued. As a result, we may issue series or classes of preferred stock with preferences, dividends, powers and rights, voting or otherwise, senior to the rights of our common stock holders. The issuance of preferred stock could also have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control transaction that might otherwise be in the best interests of our stockholders.

(iii) Certain provisions in the partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership may delay or prevent an unsolicited acquisition of us.

Provisions in our Operating Partnership agreement may delay or make more difficult unsolicited acquisitions of us or changes in our control. These provisions could discourage third parties from making proposals involving an unsolicited acquisition of us or change of our control, although some stockholders might consider such proposals, if made, desirable. These provisions include, among others:

•redemption rights of qualifying parties;

•transfer restrictions on our OP Units;

•the ability of the general partner in some cases to amend the partnership agreement without the consent of the limited partners; and

•the right of the limited partners to consent to transfers of the general partnership interest and mergers under specified circumstances.

Any potential change of control transaction may be further limited as a result of provisions of the partnership unit designation for certain LTIP Units, which require us to preserve the rights of LTIP unit holders and may restrict us from amending the partnership agreement for our Operating Partnership in a manner that would have an adverse effect on the rights of LTIP unit holders.

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(iv) Certain provisions of Maryland law could inhibit changes in control.

Certain provisions of the MGCL may have the effect of inhibiting a third party from making a proposal to acquire us or impeding a change of control under circumstances that otherwise could provide our stockholders with the opportunity to realize a premium over the market price of our common stock, including:

•“business combination” provisions that, subject to limitations, prohibit certain business combinations between us and an “interested stockholder” (defined generally as any person who beneficially owns 10% or more of the voting power of our shares or an affiliate thereof) for five years after the most recent date on which the stockholder becomes an interested stockholder, and thereafter impose special appraisal rights and special stockholder voting requirements on these combinations; and

•“control share” provisions that provide that “control shares” of our company (defined as shares which, when aggregated with other shares controlled by the stockholder, entitle the stockholder to exercise one of three increasing ranges of voting power in electing directors) acquired in a “control share acquisition” (defined as the direct or indirect acquisition of ownership or control of “control shares”) have no voting rights except to the extent approved by our stockholders by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of all the votes entitled to be cast on the matter, excluding all interested shares.

We have elected to opt out of these provisions of the MGCL, in the case of the business combination provisions of the MGCL, by resolution of our board of directors, and in the case of the control share provisions of the MGCL, pursuant to a provision in our bylaws. However, our board of directors may by resolution elect to repeal the foregoing opt-outs from the business combination provisions of the MGCL and we may, by amendment to our bylaws, opt in to the control share provisions of the MGCL in the future.

Our charter, bylaws, our Operating Partnership agreement and Maryland law also contain other provisions that may delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change of control that might involve a premium price for our common stock or otherwise be in the best interest of our stockholders.

Our fiduciary duties as the sole stockholder of the general partner of our Operating Partnership could create conflicts of interest.

As the sole stockholder of the general partner of our Operating Partnership, we have fiduciary duties to the other limited partners in our Operating Partnership, the discharge of which may conflict with the interests of our stockholders. The limited partners of our Operating Partnership have agreed that, in the event of a conflict in the fiduciary duties owed by us to our stockholders and, in our capacity as general partner of our Operating Partnership, to such limited partners, we are under no obligation to give priority to the interests of such limited partners. The limited partners have the right to vote on certain amendments to the Operating Partnership agreement (which require approval by a majority in interest of the limited partners, including us) and individually to approve certain amendments that would adversely affect their rights. These voting rights may be exercised in a manner that conflicts with the interests of our stockholders. For example, we are unable to modify the rights of limited partners to receive distributions as set forth in the Operating Partnership agreement in a manner that adversely affects their rights without their consent, even though such modification might be in the best interest of our stockholders.

Risks Related to Taxes and Our Status as a REIT

Our property taxes could increase due to property tax rate changes, reassessments or changes in property tax laws, which would adversely impact our cash flows.

We are required to pay property taxes for our properties, which could increase as property tax rates increase or as our properties are assessed or reassessed by taxing authorities. In California, pursuant to an existing state law commonly referred to as Proposition 13, properties are currently reassessed to market value only at the time of change in ownership or completion of construction, and thereafter, annual property reassessments are generally limited to 2% increases over the previously assessed values. As a result, Proposition 13 generally results in significant below-market assessed values over time.

From time to time, including recently, lawmakers and political coalitions have initiated efforts to repeal or amend Proposition 13 to eliminate its application to commercial and/or other properties. If Proposition 13 no longer limited the assessed value of our California properties, the assessed values and property taxes for those properties could increase substantially, which could have a material impact on our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

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Failure to qualify as a REIT would result in higher taxes and reduced cash available for distributions.

We have elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Code, commencing with our initial taxable year ended December 31, 2006. To qualify as a REIT, we must satisfy on a continuing basis certain technical and complex income, asset, organizational, distribution, stockholder ownership and other requirements. See Item 1 "Business Overview" of this Report for more information regarding these tests. Our ability to satisfy these tests depends upon our analysis of and compliance with numerous factors, many of which are not subject to a precise determination and have only limited judicial and administrative interpretations, and which are not entirely within our control. Holding most of our assets through our Operating Partnership further complicates the application of the REIT requirements and a technical or inadvertent mistake could jeopardize our REIT status. New legislation, Treasury regulations, administrative interpretations or court decisions could significantly change the tax laws with respect to the requirements for qualification as a REIT or the federal income tax consequences of qualification as a REIT. Although we believe that we will continue to qualify as a REIT, we can give no assurance that we have qualified or will continue to qualify as a REIT.

If we were to fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, and certain relief provisions did not apply, we would be subject to federal income tax on our taxable income at the regular corporate rate, and distributions to stockholders would not be deductible by us in computing our taxable income. Any such corporate tax liability could be substantial and would reduce the amount of cash available for distribution to our stockholders. Unless entitled to relief under certain Code provisions, we would also be disqualified from taxation as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year during which we ceased to qualify as a REIT. In addition, if we fail to qualify as a REIT, we would not be required to make distributions to stockholders, and all distributions to stockholders will be subject to tax as dividend income to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits. If we fail to qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes and are able to avail ourselves of one or more of the relief provisions under the Code in order to maintain our REIT status, we would nevertheless be required to pay penalty taxes of $50,000 or more for each such failure.

As a result of the above factors, our failure to qualify as a REIT could impair our ability to raise capital and expand our business, substantially reduce distributions to stockholders, result in us incurring substantial indebtedness (to the extent borrowings are feasible) or liquidating substantial investments in order to pay the resulting taxes, and adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Our Fund, and three of our consolidated JVs, also own properties through one or more entities which are intended to qualify as REITs, and we may in the future use other structures that include REITs. The failure of any such entities to qualify as a REIT could have similar consequences to the REIT subsidiary and could also cause us to fail to qualify as a REIT.

If the Operating Partnership, or any of its subsidiaries, were treated as a regular corporation for federal income tax purposes, we could cease to qualify as a REIT.

Although we believe that the Operating Partnership and other subsidiary partnerships, limited liability companies, REIT subsidiaries, QRS and other subsidiaries (other than the TRS) in which we own a direct or indirect interest will be treated for tax purposes as a partnership, disregarded entity (e.g., in the case of a 100% owned limited liability company), REIT or QRS, as applicable, no assurance can be given that the IRS will not successfully challenge the tax classification of any such entity, or that a court would not sustain such a challenge. If the IRS were successful in treating the Operating Partnership or other subsidiaries as entities taxable as a corporation (including a “publicly traded partnership” taxed as a corporation) for federal income tax purposes, we would likely fail to qualify as a REIT and it would significantly reduce the amount of cash available for distribution by such subsidiaries to us.

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Even if we qualify as a REIT, we will be required to pay some taxes which would reduce cash available for distributions.

Even if we qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we will be required to pay certain federal, state and local taxes on our income and property. For example, we will be subject to income tax to the extent that we distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income (including capital gains). In addition, any net taxable income earned directly by our TRS, or through entities that are disregarded for federal income tax purposes as entities separate from our TRS, will be subject to federal and possibly state corporate income tax. We have elected to treat one of our subsidiaries as a TRS, and we may elect to treat other subsidiaries as TRSs in the future. In this regard, several provisions of the laws applicable to REITs and their subsidiaries ensure that a TRS will be subject to an appropriate level of federal income taxation. For example, for taxable years prior to 2018, a TRS is limited in its ability to deduct interest payments made to an affiliated REIT and, for taxable years after 2017, a TRS is subject to more general limitations on its ability to deduct interest payments to any lender. In addition, the REIT has to pay a 100% tax on some payments that it receives or on some deductions taken by its TRS if the economic arrangements between the REIT, the REIT’s tenants, and the TRS are not comparable to similar arrangements between unrelated parties. In addition, some state and local jurisdictions may tax some of our income even though as a REIT we are not subject to federal income tax on that income because not all states and localities treat REITs the same as they are treated for federal income tax purposes. Moreover, if we have net income from “prohibited transactions,” that income will be subject to a 100% tax. In general, prohibited transactions are sales or other dispositions of property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business. Although we do not intend to hold any properties that would be characterized as held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of our business, such characterization is a factual determination and we cannot guarantee that the IRS would agree with our characterization of our properties. To the extent that we are required to pay federal, state and local taxes, we will have less cash available for distributions to our stockholders.

REIT distribution requirements could adversely affect our liquidity and cause us to forego otherwise attractive opportunities.

To qualify as a REIT, we generally must distribute annually at least 90% of our REIT taxable income, excluding any net capital gains. To the extent that we do not distribute all of our net long-term capital gains or at least 90% of our REIT taxable income, we will be required to pay tax thereon at the regular corporate tax rate. We intend to make distributions to our stockholders to comply with the Code requirements for REITs and to minimize or eliminate our corporate income tax obligation. Certain types of assets and activities generate substantial mismatches between taxable income and available cash, either because of differences in timing between the recognition of income and the actual receipt of cash or because of differences between the deduction of expenses and the actual payment of those expenses. Such assets include rental real estate that has been financed through financing structures which require some or all of available cash flows to be used to service borrowings. As a result, the requirement to distribute a substantial portion of our taxable income could cause us to sell assets in adverse market conditions, borrow on unfavorable terms, make a taxable distribution of our stock as part of a distribution in which stockholders may elect to receive our stock or (subject to a limit measured as a percentage of the total distribution) cash, distribute amounts that could otherwise be used to fund our operations, capital expenditures, acquisitions or repayment of debt, or cause us to forego otherwise attractive opportunities.

REIT stockholders can receive taxable income without cash distributions.

Under certain circumstances, REITs are permitted to pay required dividends in shares of their stock rather than in cash. If we were to avail ourselves of that option, our stockholders could be required to pay taxes on such stock distributions without the benefit of cash distributions to pay the resulting taxes.

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If a transaction intended to qualify as a Section 1031 Exchange is later determined to be taxable or if we are unable to identify and complete the acquisition of a suitable replacement property to effect a Section 1031 Exchange, we may face adverse consequences, and if the laws applicable to such transactions are amended or repealed, we may not be able to dispose of properties on a tax deferred basis.

From time to time we may dispose of real properties in transactions that are intended to qualify as tax deferred exchanges under Section 1031 of the Code (Section 1031 Exchanges). It is possible that the qualification of a transaction as a Section 1031 Exchange could be successfully challenged and determined to be currently taxable. In such cases, our taxable income would increase as would the amount of distributions we are required to make to satisfy our REIT distribution requirements. This could increase the dividend income to our stockholders by reducing any return of capital they receive. In some circumstances, we may be required to pay additional dividends or, in lieu of that, corporate income tax, possibly including interest and penalties. As a result, we may be required to borrow in order to pay additional dividends or taxes, and the payment of such taxes could cause us to have less cash available to distribute to our stockholders. If a Section 1031 Exchange were later to be determined to be taxable, we may be required to amend our tax returns for the applicable year in question, including any reports we distributed to our stockholders. It is possible that legislation could be enacted that could modify or repeal the laws with respect to Section 1031 Exchanges, which could make it more difficult or not possible for us to dispose of real properties on a tax deferred basis.

Legislative or other actions affecting REITs could have a negative effect on our investors or us, including our ability to maintain our qualification as a REIT or the federal income tax consequences of such qualification.

Federal income tax laws are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process, the IRS and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Changes to the laws could adversely affect us and our investors. New legislation, Treasury regulations, administrative interpretations or court decisions could significantly and negatively affect our ability to qualify as a REIT, the federal income tax consequences of such qualification, or the federal income tax consequences of an investment in us. Changes to laws relating to the tax treatment of other entities, or an investment in other entities, could make an investment in such other entities more attractive relative to an investment in a REIT.

Non-U.S. investors may be subject to FIRPTA, which would impose tax on certain distributions and on the sale of common stock if we are unable to qualify as a “domestically controlled” REIT or if our stock is not considered to be regularly traded on an established securities market.

A non-U.S. investor disposing of a U.S. real property interest, including shares of a U.S. corporation whose assets consist principally of U.S. real property interests or USRPIs is generally subject to a tax, known as FIRPTA tax, on the gain recognized on the disposition. Such FIRPTA tax does not apply, however, to the disposition of stock in a REIT if the REIT is a “domestically controlled qualified investment entity”. A domestically controlled qualified investment entity includes a REIT in which, at all times during a specified testing period, less than 50% of the value of its shares is held directly or indirectly by non-U.S. holders. In the event that we do not constitute a domestically controlled qualified investment entity, a non-U.S. investor’s sale of our common stock nonetheless will generally not be subject to tax under FIRPTA as a sale of a USRPI, provided that (1) the stock owned is of a class that is “regularly traded” as defined by applicable Treasury regulations, on an established securities market, and (2) the selling non-U.S. investor held 10% or less of our outstanding common stock at all times during a specified testing period. If we were to fail to so qualify as a domestically controlled qualified investment entity and our common stock were to fail to be “regularly traded”, a gain realized by a non-U.S. investor on a sale of our common stock would be subject to FIRPTA tax and applicable withholding. No assurance can be given that we will be a domestically controlled qualified investment entity. Additionally, any distributions we make to our non-U.S. stockholders that are attributable to gain from the sale of any USRPI will also generally be subject to FIRPTA tax and applicable withholdings, unless the recipient non-U.S. stockholder has not owned more than 10% of our common stock at any time during the year preceding the distribution and our common stock is treated as being “regularly traded”.

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General Risks

Security breaches through cyber attacks, cyber intrusions or otherwise, as well as other significant disruptions of our IT networks and related systems could harm our business.

We face risks associated with security breaches, whether through cyber attacks or cyber intrusions over the Internet, malware, computer viruses, attachments to e-mails, persons inside our organization or persons with access to systems inside our organization and other significant disruptions of our IT networks and related systems. The risk of a security breach or disruption, particularly through cyber attack or cyber intrusion, including by computer hackers, foreign governments and cyber terrorists, has generally increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased. Our IT networks and related systems are essential to the operation of our business and our ability to perform day-to-day operations (including managing our building systems) and, in some cases, may be critical to the operations of certain of our tenants. Although we make efforts to maintain the security and integrity of these types of IT networks and related systems, and have implemented various measures to manage the risk of a security breach or disruption, there can be no assurance that our efforts will be effective in preventing attempted security breaches or disruptions. Even the most well protected information, networks, systems and facilities remain potentially vulnerable because the techniques used in such attempted security breaches evolve and generally are not recognized until launched against a target, and in some cases are designed not be detected and, in fact, may not be detected. Accordingly, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate security barriers or other preventative measures, and thus it is impossible for us to entirely mitigate this risk. A security breach or other significant disruption involving our IT networks and related systems could have an adverse effect on our business, for example:

•Disruption to our networks and systems and thus our operations and/or those of our tenants or vendors;

•Misstated financial reports, violations of loan covenants, missed reporting deadlines and missed permitting deadlines;

•Inability to comply with laws and regulations;

•Unauthorized access to, destruction, loss, theft, misappropriation or release of proprietary, confidential, sensitive or otherwise valuable information of ours or others, which others could be used to compete against us or for disruptive, destructive or otherwise harmful purposes;

•Rendering us unable to maintain the building systems relied upon by our tenants;

•The requirement of significant management attention and resources to remedy any damages that result;

•Claims for breach of contract, damages, credits, penalties or termination of leases or other agreements; and

•Damage to our reputation among our tenants, investors, or others.

Litigation could have an adverse effect on our business.

From time to time, we are party to various lawsuits, claims and other legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of our business. An unfavorable resolution of litigation could adversely affect us. Even when there is a favorable outcome, litigation may result in substantial expenses and significantly divert the attention of our management with a similar adverse effect on us.

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results.

An effective system of internal control over financial reporting is necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports, prevent fraud and operate successfully as a public company. There can be no guarantee that our internal controls over financial reporting will be effective in accomplishing all control objectives all of the time. Deficiencies, including material weaknesses, in our internal control over financial reporting that may occur in the future could result in material misstatements in our financial reporting, which could result in restatements of our financial statements. Failure to maintain effective internal controls could cause us to not meet our reporting obligations, which could affect our ability to remain listed with the NYSE or result in SEC enforcement actions, and could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information.

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New accounting pronouncements could adversely affect our operating results or the reported financial performance of our tenants.

Accounting policies and methods are fundamental to how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations. Uncertainties posed by various initiatives of accounting standard-setting by the FASB and the SEC, which create and interpret applicable accounting standards for U.S. companies, may change the financial accounting and reporting standards or their interpretation and application of these standards that govern the preparation of our financial statements. Similarly, these changes could have a material impact on our tenants’ reported financial condition or results of operations, credit ratings and preferences regarding leasing real estate. See "New Accounting Pronouncements" in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements in Item 15 of this Report.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

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Item 2. Properties

We present property level data for our Total Portfolio, except that we present historical capital expenditures for our Consolidated Portfolio.

Office Portfolio Summary as of December 31, 2022

Los Angeles

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(1) The rentable square feet in each region is based on the Rentable Square Feet as reported in the 2022 fourth quarter CBRE Marketview report for our submarkets in that region.

(2) Our market share is calculated by dividing our Rentable Square Feet by the applicable Region's Rentable Square Feet, weighted in the case of averages based on the square feet of exposure in our total portfolio to each submarket as follows:

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(3) In calculating market share, we adjusted the rentable square footage by (i) removing approximately 406,000 rentable square feet of vacant space at an office building in Honolulu that we are converting to residential apartments, from both our rentable square footage and that of the submarket and (ii) removing a 218,000 square foot property located just outside the Beverly Hills city limits from both the numerator and the denominator.

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Office Portfolio Percentage Leased and In-place Rents as of December 31, 2022

Los Angeles

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(1)Regional data reflects the following underlying submarket data:

Region Submarket PercentLeased Monthly Rent Per Leased Square Foot(2)

Westside Beverly Hills 94.9 % $ 4.76

Warner Center/Woodland Hills 80.7 2.58

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(2) Does not include signed leases not yet commenced, which are included in percent leased but excluded from annualized rent.

Office Lease Diversification as of December 31, 2022

Portfolio Tenant Size

Median Average

Office Leases Rentable Square Feet Annualized Rent

Square Feet Under Lease Number Percent Amount Percent Amount Percent

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Largest Office Tenants as of December 31, 2022

The table below presents tenants paying 1% or more of our aggregate Annualized Rent:

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(1) Expiration dates are per lease (expiration dates do not reflect storage and similar leases).

(2) Square footage (rounded) expires as follows: 27,000 square feet in 2023; and 456,000 square feet in 2024.

(3) Square footage (rounded) expires as follows: 8 leases totaling 59,000 square feet in 2023; 2 leases totaling 11,000 square feet in 2024; 4 leases totaling 89,000 square feet in 2025; 5 leases totaling 32,000 square feet in 2026; and 3 leases totaling 71,000 square feet in 2027. Tenant has options to terminate 15,000 square feet in 2024; and 51,000 square feet in 2025.

(4) Square footage (rounded) expires as follows: 1,000 square feet in 2023; and 211,000 square feet in 2027.

(5) Square footage (rounded) expires as follows: 26,000 square feet in 2025; and 86,000 square feet in 2027; and 30,000 square feet in 2028. Tenant has options to terminate 32,000 square feet in 2024.

(6) Square footage (rounded) expires as follows: 34,000 square feet in 2029; 46,000 square feet in 2035, 31,000 square feet in 2037, and 74,000 square feet in 2038.

DEI US Equity

DEI · 10-K · period ended 2022-12-31

Item 1. Business

Item 1A. Risk Factors

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

Item 2. Properties

DEI US Equity☆

DEI · 10-K · period ended 2022-12-31

Item 1. Business

Item 1A. Risk Factors

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

Item 2. Properties

DEI US Equity