LOS ANGELES RENT IS OUT OF CONTROL

This year LA will revise the limit on annual rent increases for the first time in 39 years.

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Background Info

The "Rent Stabilization Ordinance" is the rent control law in the City of Los Angeles. It covers about 70% of renter-occupied units in the city.
It applies to buildings constructed before Oct 1, 1978, and only applies to those with two or more units on the same property (apartments, condos, duplexes, etc. but unfortunately not single family homes).
The RSO sets a formula for allowable rent increases per year which is tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of inflation.

Every year LA sets the annual allowable rent increase for RSO units by rounding CPI to the nearest whole number, and limiting allowable rent increases to a range between 3-8% each year. So for example:

If CPI is 5.3% then the allowable rent increase will be rounded down to 5%.
If CPI is 5.5% then the allowable rent increase will be rounded up to 6%.
If CPI is 10% then the allowable rent increase will be capped at 8%.
If CPI is 1.2% (or is negative) then the allowable rent increase will still be as high as 3%.

This sets the base allowable rent increase rate, and landlords are allowed to add an additional 1% each for gas and electric utilities if they are included in the rent. (This is why allowable RSO rent increases for Feb 1, 2024 are 4% for rent alone, and up to 6% if utilities are included.)

The bottom of the range, the 3% “floor” does not force any particular landlord to raise the rent. Rather, it forces the city to allow landlords to raise the rent every year, regardless of the rate of inflation if the landlord chooses to do so. It provides landlords with a minimum guaranteed increase in their passive income, if they want it.
In March 2020, as an emergency pandemic protection, all RSO rent increases were put on hold until February 1, 2024. (That means if you live in an RSO unit, you should not have received a rent increase since 2020.) And while this alone did not solve the housing crisis, it did prevent a much worse disaster from taking place. That freeze expires one year from the declared end of the pandemic, which means it expires on Feb 1, 2024. If you live in an RSO unit your rent might go up on that date.
It requires landlords to register their rental units.
Allows evictions only for specific legal reasons.
Requires the landlord to pay tenant relocation assistance money for certain types of evictions.
Requires the landlord to provide tenants with a list of their rights prior to a “Cash for Keys” buyout.
Requires landlords to pay interest on all security deposits held for at least one year for their tenants.

Learn more at: LAHD RSO Site

Enter your address at this link, then look to the left under the “Housing” drop down. Look for the “Rent Stabilization Ordinance” field to indicate “Yes” or “No”.

LA’s RSO currently allows these rent increases:

Annual Rent Increase Formula

The LA Housing Dept. sets a yearly allowable rent increase that matches 100% of CPI. (CPI is a measure of inflation over the previous year.) Rent can be raised only once every 12 months.
The allowable rent increase is limited to a range between 3% minimum, and 8% maximum. (Read more about this below!)
Annual Increases for Included Utilities

The landlord can add an additional 1% per utility paid by the landlord. This only applies to gas and/or electricity.
This is why allowable rent increases are listed as a range (for example: on Feb 1, 2024 allowable rent increases were set at 4-6%).
One-Time Increase (10%) for Each Additional Occupant.

Landlords can increase the rent (10% maximum) within 60 days of learning about the additional tenant.
There is no increase for the first minor dependent child added to the existing rental unit.

Problems with the RSO

Three Problems with LA’s RSO Annual Rent Increase Formula

The rent is already too damn high. Rent hikes increase the rent burden and cause overcrowding, evictions, and are the number one cause of homelessness.

As the city with the most renters in California, we deserve the best rent control.

Problems with the RSO

The 3% Minimum Allowable Rent Increase is too high.

For 20 of the past 30 years the 3% guaranteed minimum rent increase has been higher than the rate of inflation. Landlords insist that they need allowable rent increases to keep up with costs, but for a long time these increases have exceeded inflation and landlords have raked in extra profit at the expense of renters.

Because rent increases compound every year, housing prices have inflated far beyond what they would have if rent increases had matched CPI. The rent never goes down, only up. The result has created a compounding overpayment for our residents, and it disproportionately impacts long-term tenants.

Problems with the RSO

The 8% Maximum Rent Increase is way too high.

If an 8% increase is allowed to happen every year, then “stabilized” rent will double every 9 years.

With the 3% minimum increase every year, RSO rents will double about every 24 years.

How often will your wages double?

Problems with the RSO

Costa-Hawkins’ Vacancy Decontrol incentivizes gentrification.

Costa-Hawkins is a California state law that incentivizes landlords to harass existing tenants out of their rent stabilized units because it allows them to raise rents of vacant units up to market value, a practice known as “vacancy decontrol”.

Repeal of vacancy decontrol is on the statewide ballot in November 2024. Sign up below to join our citywide RSO fight and build the movement that we need to win the statewide fight!

OUR DEMANDS

60% CPI and never more than 3%.

Annual Rent Increases should be set at 60% of CPI (not 100%) and never exceed 3% per year.

Several cities in LA County and across the state have similar annual rent increase formulas. Oakland uses the same 60% CPI (3% max) formula. Santa Monica, Cudahy, and West Hollywood all have 3% rent increase ceilings.

As the city with the most renters in the state, Los Angeles deserves the strongest rent control.
No increases for included utilities.

A previous independent study of LA's RSO and found that there was no connection between the cost of providing utilities and the additional allowed rent increase. It further found that the 1-2% supplemental increase “substantially exceeded the actual cost increase” of providing the utilities.

Additionally, landlords already consider the cost of providing utilities when they set rent (they charge more if utilities are included), and they are already allowed to raise rent every year.
No increases for Additional Occupants

Angelenos are already forced into overcrowded housing by high rents. Increasing rent for additional occupants keeps friends and families from helping their loved ones avoid homelessness.
Furthermore, there is no requirement for these increased charges to be removed after an additional occupant moves out.
We demand stability for residents, not investments.

Strategy & The Power Map

Where does your Councilmember Stand?

In Los Angeles there are 15 City Council Districts. We know that we can’t count on certain council members to represent the interests of their constituent tenants. And we know there are others that we can count on to value Housing for Residents, not Investments.

LA Council District Map with Landlord Lackeys in Dark Gray, and Movable Middle in Light Gray

The Landlord Lackeys

John Lee, CD12

voted to make RSO rent increases as high as 9% in 2024 and against extending the Covid Rent Freeze. He is accused of ethics violations and his former boss, former Councilmember Mitch Englander, was recently sentenced to prison for corruption.

Traci Park, CD11

has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from Douglas-Emmett, a landlord currently carrying out one of the largest mass evictions in LA history, at Barrington Plaza.

Monica Rodriguez, CD7

voted with Lee to make RSO rent increases as high as 9% in 2024 and voted against extending the Covid Rent Freeze. Supported by the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA) Candidate PAC, California Real Estate PAC (CREPAC), and the Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater L.A. PAC.

LA Council District Map with Tenant Defenders in Red, and Movable Middle in Light Gray

The Tenant Defenders

Hugo Soto-Martinez, CD13

CM Hugo Soto-Martínez’ motioned to extend the eviction moratorium, and initiated the 2024 revision of the RSO. His office has been spending discretionary funds to directly canvass tenants being threatened with evictions and host local tenants rights workshops.

Eunisses Hernandez, CD1

CM Hernandez, in conjunction with CM Soto-Martínez, moved twice to block rent increases on rent stabilized units until the RSO is permanently reformed. She recently presented a motion with CMs Raman and Soto-Martínez, to prevent landlords from evicting the 7000+ tenants with unprocessed rent assistance applications.

Nithya Raman, CD4

As chair of the Council’s Housing & Homelessness committee, CM Raman led the successful passage of a package of tenant protections, established minimum rent debt for eviction, required landlords to pay relocation fees for tenant displacement, and established universal “just cause” eviction protections.

And Coming Soon: Ysabel Jurado, CD-14!

We’ve endorsed Ysabel Jurado for CD14 in 2024 because she is a tenants rights attorney, and affordable housing activist who will help us secure the rights we need!

Importantly, the Tenant Defenders are a united voting block. Hugo, Eunisses, and Nithya are the only councilmembers who did all of the following:

Acted to prevent evictions for the 7,000+ tenants with pending rental assistance applications.
Voted twice to block all rent increases on RSO units until the RSO formula is permanently revised this year.
Voted to allow councilmembers to spend unused LAPD discretionary funds on homelessness prevention and outreach.
Support every provision of Jan 2023’s package of expanded tenant protections.
Voted twice to extend the eviction moratorium beyond its Feb 1, 2023 deadline.

The Movable Middle Ground

These council members might vote either way, so it’s especially important that they hear from tenants in their districts! Is your council rep a swing vote?