Rent Increase Freeze in Los Angeles Ends
Los Angeles has thawed its three-year-old rent freeze on more than 600,000 rent-controlled apartments.
The City Council voted 10-2 to approve a plan to allow up to a 4 percent rent increase, or up to 6 percent if landlords cover the cost of utilities, City News Service reported via the Los Angeles Daily News. The rent hikes can begin Feb. 1.
The move affects 624,000 rent-stabilized units, or 75 percent of the city’s rental apartments. Landlords haven’t been able to raise rents since the dawn of the pandemic in March 2020.
As part of the measure, the council directed the city’s Housing Department to develop programs to help landlords and tenants, as well as for small housing providers to maintain and preserve rent-controlled units.
The council also called for a report on establishing rules to distinguish mom-and-pop from corporate landlords in order to make sure small landlords get the help they need to stay in business.
Council members Paul Krekorian, Curren Price and Katy Yaroslavsky recused themselves because they are landlords. Council members Monica Rodriguez and John Lee voted against the measure.
The vote came before the pandemic-era freeze on rent-controlled units expires on Jan. 31.