Tighter Rein on Rent, Eviction Gets Initial OK
The volatile issue of rent control was once again before the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday, as members gave preliminary approval to tightening the rules by which landlords can raise rents when they make capital improvements, or evict tenants to rehabilitate their apartments.
The council chamber was packed with both tenants and landlords.
Several renters, like Paul Stone, who lives in the Park La Brea complex in the Wilshire District’s Miracle Mile, later proclaimed the proposed changes in the city’s 10-year-old rent stabilization ordinance, an “improvement over the past.”
But landlords, like Alan Cutter, who said he owns properties in the Hollywood, Westside and Wilshire areas, angrily called the changes “a major disincentive for an owner to make repairs.”
Final Vote Next Week
The council action, which faces a final vote next week, seeks to close what Councilman Michael Woo called “the loopholes that have plagued this law.”
These involve three major ways landlords have been able to increase rents beyond city-mandated annual increases, based on cost-of-living indexes, or the unlimited increases allowed if a tenant leaves one of the city’s 480,000 rent-controlled units.
There are about 680,000 apartments citywide and, according to recent studies, rents have jumped 110% since 1980. The average rent for a rent-controlled unit is $525 a month, according to Barbara Zeidman, director of the city’s rent stabilization division. That figure increases by an average $125 when decontrolled, she said, adding that “about 80% have turned over at least once.”
New apartments, not subject to city control, rent for “over $1,000 a month,” Zeidman said.
The changes address:
* Capital improvements: Under the current law, almost all types of repair costs--from new faucets, to carpets, or appliances--can be passed on to tenants, with the total amount amortized over five years. The hikes then remain part of the rent, and are included in calculations for the annual increases.
Under the new rules, based on recommendations made by a landlord-tenant task force appointed by the council, six changes were made. Landlords and tenants each will pay 50% of the improvement costs, with the tenants’ share paid over six years and never totaling more than $55 a month. Exterior painting can only be added once in every 10 years, and any improvements that break down, or fail, will be removed from the rent increase. The increase is now a surcharge and not part of the calculated annual rent hike.
* Substantial renovations: Under the old system, a landlord making repairs costing from $10,000 on a single room to $17,000 on a four-bedroom apartment can apply to have that unit permanently removed from rent control. About 2,294 units have been removed under this provision, according to Zeidman, who criticized owners in the past for using it for “gold-plated doorknobs and crystal chandeliers” in areas undergoing gentrification.
Provision Eliminated
The council voted to eliminate this provision, with no new landlord applications for such exemptions accepted as of Wednesday.
* Major rehabilitation: This has allowed for evictions when $10,000 is spent to repair a unit. Tenants must be paid relocation assistance, and the landlord can re-rent at market rates once the renovations are finished. Unlike substantial renovations, these apartments go back on the controlled system of annual increases when again rented.
The council placed a moratorium on major rehabilitations about two years ago, pending its reconsideration of the complete ordinance. The provision has affected less than 5,000 units over the last 10 years.
The council approved changes requiring that 90% of repairs be permit-required, to prevent what Councilwoman Gloria Molina called “cosmetic changes,” and that 25% of the units be left at affordable rents. The unit must also be uninhabited for 45 days, to discourage landlords from using the provision to evict long-term tenants paying lower rents and quickly rerenting.
Other motions were sent to the council’s redevelopment and housing committee for further consideration, including a proposal to increase the required amount spent on major rehabilitations to $15,000 per unit, and to require city approval of proposed repairs before work can begin.
