Los Angeles, CA :- Residents in Los Angeles are confronting potential rent increases reaching 6%, while city leaders suggest implementing lower limits.
As the season of generosity unfolds, numerous residents in Los Angeles are facing an unwelcome revelation — rent hikes reaching as high as 6%.
City leaders are exploring significant adjustments to the rent control regulations affecting a large portion of L.A. apartments. Recently, external economists along with the city’s housing officials have concluded that certain elements of the long-standing rent control formula need to be revised to better address the interests of both tenants and landlords.
Due to the L.A. City Council’s inaction on the matter before the approaching February deadline, numerous tenants are set to face significantly larger increases determined by the previous formula.
Cindy Sanders, a senior resident of a rent-controlled apartment in Studio City, recently discovered a notice affixed to her door indicating that her rent is set to increase by 5% starting February 1.
As a retiree, Sanders pointed out that her Social Security benefits are set to increase by 2.5% next year, leading to her rent rising more quickly than her income for the second consecutive year.
Advocates for tenants are urging the City Council to implement a temporary halt on rent hikes until a revised rent control formula is established by the council. At this point, the council has yet to show any intention to address the forthcoming rent hikes.
“Tenants should not be penalized for the city’s delay in acting,” said Faizah Malik, an attorney with the nonprofit public interest law firm Public Counsel and a member of the Keep L.A. Housed coalition.
The surge in rent for numerous tenants in L.A. starting on Feb. 1 can be traced back to the final moments of the city’s COVID-19 emergency period.
During the pandemic, the city imposed a ban on all rent increases in rent-controlled housing for almost four years. The duration of that rent freeze exceeded that of numerous other cities, prompting significant backlash from landlords who reported a steep increase in their expenses during that period.
The City Council has decided to lift the COVID-19 rent freeze, effective February 1, 2024. On that day, most tenants in L.A. found themselves facing potential rent increases of up to 4%, with an extra 2% added if their landlord covered both gas and electricity in their units.
