West Hollywood apartment renters shouldn’t expect a check in the mail from their landlords this coming January. The city’s Rent Stabilization Commission has decided that landlords will not be required to pay any interest on apartment rent deposits for 2013.
The commission made a similar decision last year, which reflects the low rate of interest paid by banks on savings accounts. The rate is determined by averaging the regular savings account rates paid by five local banks on July 1 of each year. That average then is rounded to the nearest one-quarter of one percent. The average this past July was .038 percent.
Interest rates on tenant deposits have declined steadily since 2000, when the rate was 5.75 percent. In 2001 the rate fell to 1.25 percent, in 2003 to .75 percent and then stayed at .5 percent from 2003 to 2009. In 2010 and 2011, the rate was .25 percent.
Landlords are required to pay accrued interest by Jan. 31 for the previous year.
