Local News in Brief : Landlords Offer Plan

Landlord groups advocating an alternative to rent control called on Los Angeles officials Thursday to create a trust fund to help the poor get reasonably priced apartments. Representatives of the landowners said the creation of an Affordable Housing Trust Fund would assist low-income renters, who often do not receive the long-term benefits of rent control.

“We must work together as a city to devise and fund programs that will identify and help those who truly need affordable housing assistance,” Charles Isham, executive vice president of the Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles, said at a news conference.

Isham said the trust fund could be generated by selling bonds or increasing the local sales tax by half a cent. He said that if landlords are unsuccessful in persuading city officials to start a trust fund, they might sponsor a ballot initiative mandating a similar program.

The landlords said they would eventually like to see such a fund replace the rent control law, which they said often helps high-income renters who do not need assistance. Isham condemned the city’s law, contending that shortages of affordable housing are “caused and exacerbated by rent control.”