Affordable Apartments Face Threat

In a last-ditch effort to keep dozens of families off the streets, Ventura County housing officials tonight will ask the City Council for $1 million to help purchase and renovate a low-income housing complex.

Los Arboles Apartments, built with a federally subsidized loan, offers rents far below market rates.

But the 43-unit complex is now for sale, and a private buyer would probably eliminate the rent controls, resulting in monthly rent increases of $200 or more.

An increase could be devastating, housing officials and Los Arboles residents say.

“I think that a lot of people would end up homeless,” said Laura Curiel, a mother of two who lives in one of four apartments there that are not subsidized. “There are a whole lot of families that are barely making rent at the lower rate.”

Renate Berry, a single mother who rents her two-bedroom apartment for $587 a month, said an increase would force her to find another part-time job. Berry said she already works two jobs, for a total of 56 hours a week.

“It would be really tough,” she said.

Under a plan before the council, the Area Housing Authority of Ventura County would purchase the property for $2.8 million.

The authority is asking the city for $250,000 as a down payment and $750,000 to renovate the site, which was built in the early 1970s.

Councilwoman Linda Parks said she supports the measures, which she views as a better alternative than building new housing for low-income residents.

“I definitely think that what we have in affordable housing we don’t want to lose,” Parks said.

Thousand Oaks, one of the county’s most affluent communities, has struggled to provide housing for its low-income residents. In partnership with the nonprofit group Many Mansions, the council has converted other apartment buildings into affordable housing.

The authority sought the city’s help after determining that other funding sources, including state tax credits, would take too long or were unlikely. If the city approves the outlay and federal housing officials allow it, the housing authority would purchase the site and keep the rents at current levels.

Douglas Tapking, executive director of the Area Housing Authority, said the agency has an informal, verbal purchase agreement with the owner, Security Properties.

But that agreement is set to expire soon, he said. “It’s very clear that if something doesn’t happen by the end of the month, it’s not going to happen,” Tapking said.

The property has been on the market for more than a year, and Security Properties President Tom Curran said there are several potential buyers.

“We can sell this property tomorrow,” Curran said. “Selling this property is not a problem.”

The only issue, Curran said, is whether the housing authority will purchase the apartments before the informal agreement expires.

“We hope the housing authority does buy it,” he said. “But if they don’t buy it, we’re going to sell it to someone else.”

If a private company purchases the apartments, Curran said Security Properties would use the money to retire a federally subsidized loan that allows the government to determine rents at the complex. With that loan gone, a new owner would be able to charge market rates.

Until that loan is paid off, however, Security Properties cannot raise rents above a certain level and can rent only to people within a certain income range.

Thanks to federal oversight, rents currently range from $578 to $662 for two-bedroom apartments and from $678 to $776 for three-bedroom units--several hundred dollars below market rates.

Families of three can earn a maximum of $40,750, and families of five can earn $48,900 total.

Market rates for two- and three-bedroom units can run as high as $900 and $1,100, Tapking said.

Victor Vitela, who was working full time until an injury forced him into part-time work, currently pays less than $700 for his family’s three-bedroom apartment. He said a rent increase would be a “big problem.”

“It’s too expensive to rent a house or buy a house,” Vitela said. “It’s going to affect a lot of people because we don’t make a lot of money.”

If the complex was sold to a private buyer, the federal government could give vouchers to help cover increased rent for as long as a year, but Tapking said that might not be the case. “I wouldn’t bank on that,” he said.

The waiting list for affordable housing such as Los Arboles Apartments is typically between two and three years, Tapking said.

“Affordable housing is very hard to find,” he said, “and it’s getting worse.”