LA passes hike limits on rent-controlled units

LOS ANGELES (CNS) — The Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance Tuesday that would limit rent increases on rent-stabilized units to 4%, or up to 6% if landlords cover gas and electric costs.

Council members voted 11-2 in favor of the ordinance, which will now return to the council on Dec. 5 for a second and final vote before it can be enacted.

Council members John Lee and Traci Park voted against it, while Council President Paul Krekorian and Councilman Curren Price recused themselves because they are landlords.

The law would limit rent hikes for properties that are subject to the city’s rent-control law, and would limit the increases from Feb. 1 to June 30, 2024, with the council expecting a report from the Housing Department in mid- December that will help better determine appropriate rent hikes for rent- controlled units going forward.

In an effort to assist mom-and-pop landlords and tenants who will be impacted by a rent increase, the council instructed the Housing Department, in consultation with the United to House LA Citizens Oversight Committee, to develop programs for the maintenance and preservation of rent-controlled units.

Council members also requested a report back on establishing a rule or policy that would help distinguish mom-and-pop landlords from corporate landlords, in an attempt to ensure small landlords can receive city resources to stay afloat.

The council’s action was prompted by the pending Jan. 31, 2024, sunset of a pandemic-era rent freeze placed on rent-stabilized units.

The city’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance was adopted in 1979 and applies to rental housing built before 1978. It limits the allowable increase for rent-controlled units, tying rent increases to the consumer price index, a measure of inflation.