Owners of apartments subject to rent control in the city of Los Angeles will be able to raise rents by up to 6% starting February 1.
This hike is due to the implementation of a new rent control ordinance, which was approved by the Los Angeles City Council in 2023, prior to the lifting of the rent freeze measures that were in place during the pandemic.
As a result, landlords will be able to increase rents by up to 4% in principle. If the landlord pays for gas and electricity, it can rise up to 6%.
Jinhee Kim, 32, who lives in a one-bedroom apartment in Koreatown, Los Angeles, is worried about the news of the rent increase.
“Last year, I paid $1,450 a month, but this year it’s going to go up about 4%,” Kim said, complaining, ”As the rent goes up, I’m starting to lose the advantage of living in an old apartment.” If the rental rate increases by 4% next month, Mr. Kim will have to spend about $700 more per year.
Eun-ju Lee, 35, who lives in a 100-year-old apartment near the Koreatown Country Club, also had to pay $100 more in rent every month since the new year.
“The rent has been frozen for three years, but it went up $100 at once, which was a bit of a surprise,” said Lee. ”But I’m lucky because I couldn’t find a place to live for this price.”
Kim, the owner of this apartment building, said, “The water bill to the city of Los Angeles has doubled, and the maintenance costs of the building continue to increase,” and “I have no choice but to raise the rent.”
Apartments subject to Rent Control are buildings constructed before October 1, 1978. Rent increases are a huge burden for them, as many of them are low-income residents.
Until now, rent control apartments in the city of Los Angeles and some cities in the county have frozen rents or raised them by an average of around 3% per year through negotiations between landlords and tenants. During the pandemic, rent increases were frozen in the Los Angeles area.
The current rate of increase was determined by the City of LA in October 2022 to reflect changes in consumer prices between October 2022 and September 2023.
Korean-Americans and other tenants say that even if the rent increase is limited to 4%, it is a heavy burden when combined with additional costs.
Sun-kyung Lee, 46, who lives in Koreatown, said, “In addition to the rent, tenants must also pay part of the city’s building safety and sanitation inspection costs (Systematic Code Enforcement Program).” She complained, “Rent goes up 4% every year due to rising prices, and I have to pay additional costs, but the facilities in old apartments never get better.”
You can check whether your property is subject to rent control by entering your address on the LA City real estate information website ZIMAS.lacity.org.
The LA City Council is pushing for an ordinance that would freeze rent increases for one year for all apartments in the city of LA to support recovery from the wildfire damage.
BY HYOUNGJAE KIM [kim.ian@koreadaily.com]
