Pasadena's New Rent Board to Cap Increases at 2.75%

Pasadena’s new Rental Housing Board, which was approved by voters in the November election, is set to adopt the city’s first rent increase limit, a 2.75% cap.

The cap covers rent increases during the 12-month period from Oct. 1 through September 2023. The cap is the first action taken under Measure H, an initiative that was described on the city’s election ballot as the Pasadena Charter Amendment Initiative Petition Measure Imposing Rent Control, the Pasadena Star New reported.

The new rules will apply to an estimated 25,000 Pasadena apartments. Measure H calculates the Annual General Adjustment—that’s what the new board, who began meeting in December, calls rent increases—by assessing 75% of the increase in the Los Angeles region’s Consumer Price Index for the 12-month period ending March of the year that the cap is set.

Under the Measure H ballot initiative adopted by the city’s voters, Measure H prohibits landlords from charging an amount that exceeds a base rent plus rent increases given a green light by the rent control board. The base rent is calculated on apartment prices as of May 17, 2021.

Measure H stipulates that initial rents for new tenants will be regulated by state law instead of municipal law. Landlords are able to set new rents when a new tenant moves in. Increases to a new tenant’s rents are regulated by Measure H.

The Rental Housing Board is creating a registry of rent-controlled apartments in Pasadena to monitor compliance.

Measure H also established just-cause eviction protections and offers mandates relocation assistance. Last spring, the charter amendment was place on the ballot after supporters submitted a petition with 15,352 validated signatures.

In Boston, a new rent-control law –in the form of a home-rule petition to the state—that was approved in March by an 11-2 vote of the Boston City Council, awaits action by the state legislature to overturn a ban on rent control that was adopted statewide in 1994.

Gov. Maura Healey has said she supports the measure, but it is yet to be seen whether the governor can muster the support in the legislature to pass it.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu introduced the measure, which ties rent increases to inflation, with a cap of 10%, for apartments in Boston. The plan exempts smaller landlords and units in buildings less than 15 years old. About 55% the Boston’s 313,000 rental units would fall under measure, according to city data.

The City Council in Boston rejected an amendment that Flaherty that would have exempted landlords who live in Boston and own up to six rental units.