Tenants of rent-stabilized apartment buildings in West Hollywood will see their rents go up by only 3/4 of 1% as of Sept. 1. That is the lowest increase since 2015.
The increases take effect on the date the lease is renewed and are in effect for 12 months. However, this year landlords won’t be able to apply the rent increase until 60 days after the expiration of the city’s eviction moratorium. Set to expire July 31, the City Council on Monday will consider extending the moratorium until Sept. 30. The rent increase applied to apartments that received a certificate of occupancy before July 2, 1979. It is calculated as 0.75% of the Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area.
Last year’s increase was 2.25% and the increase that took effect on Sept. 2, 2018, was 3%.
The low percentage increase will benefit tenants but may add to the burden landlords are feeling because of the rent moratorium. Tenants who prove they have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic can delay payment of their rent. However, on the expiration of the eviction moratorium, they will have to pay back the rent they own over a 12-month period. The city has pushed back earlier deadlines for landlords to meet requirements for complying with its earthquake retrofit rules, which postpones the economic impact of that.
That is the other major dilemma. The homeless crisis in Los Angeles County is at the very least, understating or underreporting the actual numbers of the surging numbers of homeless in cars, encampments, shelters, transitional and the people who are institutionalized then released into the general population. The one thing The County of Los Angeles cannot do, or the State of California for that matter, is deny or camouflage the increasing numbers of homeless crisis that has tripled in 5 years time. Now with leases being terminated and people more than likely evicted, this problem will turn those working class… Read more »
I’ve seen rents going down. Our apartment had multiple vacant units and had to decrease them all significantly in price. There shouldn’t be any increase based on market conditions.
Quite frankly, I am astonished that they are increasing the rate in the first place. There was no increase in 2009 and we are in a far worse situation now.
Just so you know, I don’t have any skin in the game here, quite the contrary. My home is not covered by rent control. To top it off, I am a real estate developer & landlord (although mostly commercial).
The problem is people cannot afford rents even at the current situation and quite literally the State we are in, that’s if job, social security or unemployment checks can cover back rents in the tens of thousands over the course of 5-6 month period. Remember the average rent in Weho is anywhere from $1500-2400 on the east side and $2500-4,000 west of Fairfax. My estimation even with units built before 1979 with vacancy de-control, the rent increases will reflect market rates or what is called what the market can bear, and Weho is one of those cities that has more… Read more »
My fear is that there very well could be an explosion in the number of homeless. Then what ?
Can we get the moratorium extension to October 31st instead and the rent increase should be zero this year as this is the worst year ever during this crazy pandemic.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the big one is not waiting for the pandemic to end and everything to get back to normal.
The landlords have had plenty of time to get these retrofits done pre-pandemic and their delays will start to cause damage, injury and deaths. Another delay is keeping the money in the landlords pockets instead of investing in the safety of the structure and protecting the inhabitants.
Considering the current economic climate, .75% is a generous increase as I expected there to be no rent increases this year. If the moratorium on evictions is extended to September 31, then we have a problem as my calendar only shows 30 days in September!
You are correct! September does have only 30 days. The story has been corrected.