LA Board of Supervisors vote to extend 4% rental increase cap

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to extend a 4% rental increase cap for rent-controlled apartments in unincorporated areas, mostly in South and East Los Angeles, and San Gabriel Valley areas.

The board voted 3-2 to extend the cap for another six months, until the end of the year, to help out renters who may still be suffering setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic, and would likely face significant rent hikes without the protection.

The county froze rent hikes for rent-controlled units in March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The freeze was extended multiple times.

In Nov. 2022, a temporary 3% cap on annual rent increases was approved by the board and again the following year, an extension was approved with a cap increase to 4%.

The intention of the cap was to keep residents housed as pandemic tenant protections went away.

Tuesday's vote came with two dissenters. Supervisor Kathryn Barger voted against the extension of the cap, as she says it also hits landlords affected by rising costs.

"The rent cap formula selected by the majority of our Board for next year does not include mortgage costs. Inflation is real. Further burdening property owners who also have bills to pay–such as rising homeowners insurance–and are struggling to keep up with costs is unbalanced and the wrong approach," Barger said.

The supervisor said solutions should be focused elsewhere, like developing more new housing.

Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, who introduced Tuesday's motion, said residents continue to face economic hardships, inflation and a rise in housing costs.

"Low-income Black and Brown residents, who disproportionately are renters, experienced immense public health impacts, loss of employment, and increased healthcare expenses during the pandemic. Consequently, many are still facing significant rental debt," Mitchell said.

"As many tenants arrange payment plans for unpaid rent, their monthly payments will increase even if their base rent remains the same."

There are roughly 109,000 renter households in unincorporated areas, with about 51,700 units across 10,900 properties subject to rent stabilization, according to the motion