Local Court Curbs Rent Control Board’s Power

Just weeks after Rent Control Board officials celebrated a U.S. Supreme Court move that bolstered their power, a Los Angeles Superior judge has mandated that the board relinquish some of its authority.

Judge Hugh Gardner III ruled that the state’s Costa-Hawkins Act, which allows landlords to raise controlled apartment rents to market rates after a tenant moves out voluntarily, supersedes the board’s authority to dispute the validity of rent increases in such cases.

The decision calls for the Santa Monica Rent Control Board to cease requiring landlords to register vacancies. It also means the board cannot continue to require landlords to submit petitions to the board whenever they want to increase their rents under the Costa-Hawkins Act.

“Most important, it is the owner which may establish rent for a unit and then notify the Santa Monica Rent Control Board, not the other way around,” the court ruling states.

Doris Ganga, attorney for the Rent Control Board, said she plans to appeal this decision, arguing that it is well within the board’s rights to determine whether a vacancy is voluntary. She said the ruling could make it practically impossible for the board to keep tabs on the effects of vacancy decontrol.