Rent Control in Los Angeles

According to Heskin: “The Los Angeles rent-stabilization ordinance is not doing its job and needs to be strengthened.” He elaborates by stating capital improvement pass-throughs and vacancy decontrol should be abolished.

I am going to make a counterproposal to the professor, but first, a little background.

My wife and I own a triplex about a mile from the Silver Lake reservoir in the Silver Lake district. When we bought the property in 1976, two older women had been living in one of the apartments for a number of years. We let them stay and chose not to raise their rent for several years.

Then rent control came in so that we were effectively forced by the city to raise their rent every year in case we ever have to sell the property (appraisal based on capitalization of rents). Today the ladies are paying about $300 in monthly rent for an apartment with 1,000 square feet, two bedrooms, full bath, kitchen and a formal dining room.

An identical apartment, because of vacancy decontrol, now rents for about $700 a month. Heskin wants to limit or eliminate vacancy decontrol.

On this one example alone, he would have me subsidize some future tenant by at least $400 a month. (It’s happening today in Santa Monica.) I would like to select my own charitable donations, rather than have the city dictate where they should go.

Professor, I will back your proposal provided you will back mine. Escalating college costs have become a serious problem along with escalating housing costs. Therefore, I ask you to step forward and voluntarily reduce your income to $300 for every $700 currently earned. If you and your colleagues would do this, it would put a dent in spiraling tuition and in the vernacular, allow you to “put your money where your mouth is.”

FLOYD A. OLIVER

Los Angeles