LA Lowers Rent Increase Cap For 74% Of Multifamily Housing Stock

The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to put a 4% ceiling on annual rent increases for rent-stabilized apartments in the city. The decision would affect roughly 651,000 units, or nearly 74% of the city's total. 

More than 60% of residents in LA are renters, and more than half of them are considered rent-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their household income on rent. 

The 11-2 vote is a major change to the law that governs apartments built before 1978, the Los Angeles Times reported. 

The response from property owners was that this is more of the same from the city council.

"They continue to ask landlords to bear the brunt of every issue in the city, and with no regard for whether or not landlords are actually able to afford to make the concession the city council is imposing on them," Universe Holdings Chief Operating Officer Scott Kurzban said. 

"Effectively, we're paying for that rent loss in our [profit and loss statement]." 

Advocates for tenants framed the decision as one that is helping a huge swath of the LA residents vulnerable to rent increases. 

"The city has not done enough to protect renters," Councilmember Nithya Raman, who wrote the proposal, said at the council's Wednesday meeting. "What we have right now is an opportunity to make LA more affordable, because when people can afford to stay in Los Angeles, this entire city thrives."

But Kurzban said the decision also exacerbates animosity between renters and landlords. 

"And that doesn't really help anybody," he said. 

The current caps for annual rent increases are 3% to 8% and can go up to 10% if a landlord pays for utilities. 

Wednesday's vote means the maximum increase for rent-stabilized apartments will be 4%, or 90% of the consumer price index, whichever is lower. The new floor for rent increases will be 1%, and utilities won't factor into the caps. 

A majority of California cities with rent-stabilized apartments set a ceiling of between 3% and 5%, according to the LA Times.