A one-year moratorium on rent increases for rent- controlled properties in Los Angeles was proposed Wednesday by Councilman Richard Alarcon.
"My motion will put a one-year hold on increases in rent to help our working families, and give the council time to consider longer-term fixes to ensure fairness in our rent control ordinance," Alarcon said.
The Rent Stabilization Ordinance allows landlords to raise rent annually for rent-controlled properties in an amount equal to or less than the percentage increase in the U.S. Consumer Price Index for that year.
The minimum allowable rent increase -- dubbed the "floor" -- is 3 percent, even in years when the percentage increase in the consumer price index is less than 3 percent.
Alarcon wants the council to pass a new ordinance that would freeze rents at their current levels for a year. He wants it to take effect before July 1, when new rent increases are supposed to kick in.
"Rent control was created to protect families, but when we're in an economic recession, families who are struggling to make ends meet can still be saddled with rent increases," he said.
Alarcon noted that an Economic Roundtable study released by the city's Housing Department recommended eliminating the 3 percent minimum on rent increases, and instead using the Consumer Price Index as the benchmark for setting rent increases.
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The Economic Roundtable study indicated that in six of the last 15 years, the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index was less than 3 percent.
The five other cities that base their rent control increases on the CPI do not have a 3 percent floor like Los Angeles does. Those cities are San Francisco, West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Berkeley and Oakland.
Alarcon's office said there are more than 630,000 rent-controlled units in Los Angeles, a city where more than 61 percent of residents are renters.
