In a season of gift-giving, many Los Angeles residents are unwrapping a less pleasant surprise — rent increases of up to 6%.
City officials have been considering major changes to the rent control limits that apply to three-quarters of L.A. apartments. In recent months, outside economists and the city’s own housing officials have determined that some aspects of the city’s decades-old rent control formula should be changed to more fairly balance the needs of tenants and landlords.
However, because the L.A. City Council has failed to vote on the issue ahead of a looming February deadline, many tenants are about to receive substantially higher increases based on the old formula.
Cindy Sanders, a senior citizen living in a rent-controlled apartment in Studio City, recently found a notice taped to her door saying that her rent would be going up 5% on Feb. 1.
“I was just like, oh my God, Merry Christmas — here’s one more thing we have to look forward to,” Sanders said.
As a retiree, Sanders noted that her Social Security benefits will be going up 2.5% next year, causing her rent to grow faster than her income for the second year in a row.