Rent control to be discussed
Buck Wargo
CITY HALL -- Glendale probably won’t have rent control any time soon,
but that won’t stop a discussion on it today.
The Glendale Housing Authority will meet at 2:30 p.m. at City Hall to
hear a report from City Atty. Scott Howard explaining rent control, which
gives the city the right to adopt an ordinance freezing rents of
apartments and setting rate increases of landlords on an annual basis.
The discussion was prompted in February by Councilman Rafi Manoukian
who was concerned about a city report that apartments rents may jump 12%
this year. Although he has not called for controls, he suggested a study
to find solutions for giving renters more rights and protection.
“I just wanted to look at the options and see what the ramifications
are,” Manoukian said. “Rent control hasn’t worked in the past. It does
more harm than good, actually.”
None of the other council members are in favor of rent control, which
can be based on the annual inflation rate.
One concern is that rent control would create a black market in which
people move out and sublease to friends and relatives. The council had
its last discussion on rent control in the 1980s but it went nowhere,
said Councilwoman Ginger Bremberg who opposes it.
“It allows landlords under the excuse of limited income to allow slum
conditions to develop. Look at Santa Monica for God’s sake. They were
totally dedicated to it, and it didn’t work.”
Santa Monica currently limits rent increases to 1% a year.
David Pallack, a lawyer for the San Fernando Valley Neighborhood Legal
Services, which represents low-income families in housing issues, said
rent controls in Santa Monica and elsewhere are helping deal with rising
costs. He said his office has received complaints from Glendale residents
about high rents.
Setting up a rent control program with an appointed board would be
expensive for Glendale. A report to the Housing Authority shows Berkeley
spends $2.4 million a year, Santa Monica $3.7 million and Los Angeles $5
million. Some of that expense is offset by fees, but no cost was
estimated for Glendale.
In his report, Howard said, there are arguments over whether rent
control is effective over time. It provides security to existing tenants
but makes it difficult to maintain property. It also creates housing
shortages, Howard said.
Rent control can’t be used for single-family housing, government
housing, Section 8 housing and luxury housing, Howard said. Rent control
ordinances have upheld court challenges, Howard said.