IRVINE : Irvine Co. Agrees to Rent Rollback

In response to complaints from angry tenants and the City Council, the Irvine Co. has agreed to roll back the maximum rents in its low-income apartments to $601 and refund any excess paid during 1989.

The company also adopted a new policy for determining future rent increases and eligibility of tenants. Starting Jan. 1, the company will use the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s median income index to determine future rent levels and rent increases.

Rents for Irvine’s 265 low-income housing units are based on county median income figures. To qualify for the housing, a tenant must earn less than 50% of the median income in Orange County.

A group of angry tenants, some of whom had been given 60-day notices of rent increases up to 15.4%, complained to the City Council. Now that the maximum rent has been lowered, rent increases will be 7.9% or less, the Irvine Co. said.