L.A. Approves Rent-Reducing Program for Poor Families

The Los Angeles City Council has approved a $2-million pilot program to provide affordable housing that could reduce rents for up to 50 poor families in regions including the San Fernando Valley.

The money, which comes from taxes collected on properties controlled by the Community Redevelopment Agency, would pay apartment owners the difference between actual rents and rents affordable by low-income tenants, as set by a federal government formula.

East Valley Councilman Ernani Bernardi, who had asked the redevelopment agency to investigate such a program for direct rent subsidies, said a similar program should have been instituted 15 years ago, when an affordable housing provision was adopted by the council.

“Let’s put it into place today so we won’t be saying this in another 15 years,” he said, in urging the council to vote for the proposal Tuesday.

Federal Program

The program resembles Section 8 subsidies, which are doled out to needy families by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. However, the difference is that the city’s subsidies will stay with the apartments rather than moving with the tenants.

As described by Perla Eston, director of housing for the redevelopment agency, the building’s owner would be given or loaned about $40,000 to offset a reduction in rent on a specific apartment down to federal low-income levels, which begin at $312 for a one-bedroom apartment. In return, the owner would promise to reserve that apartment for low-income tenants for at least 30 years.

Fifteen years ago, the council directed the redevelopment agency to require developers of all housing developments of more than five units to make “reasonable efforts” to reserve at least 15% of their units for low- and moderate-income tenants. However, in a report to the council, a city legislative analyst said the “reasonable efforts” clause was not strong enough to compel developers to take action and had been largely ignored.

Near Downtown

The redevelopment agency proposed using most of the $2 million in its Bunker Hill urban renewal project near downtown Los Angeles. The remainder of the money--an amount as yet undecided--will be spent on at least one apartment building in each of four other regions: the Valley, the Westside, Southbay and the downtown area outside of Bunker Hill.

Eston said the redevelopment agency will return to the council with specific proposals for each region.

Councilwoman Gloria Molina was the only member to express concern over the proposal, although in the end she voted for it. Molina said she feared that some owners would take the money, then ignore the needs of the low-income tenants.

“You might have an owner who’s going to let 15% of the units go unmaintained,” she said. “How do you monitor that?”