L.A. County Moves to Cap Rent Hikes in Unincorporated Areas

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has advanced a proposal to cap rent increases for rent-stabilized units in unincorporated parts of the county.

The supervisors by a 3-2 margin approved a resolution to prohibit landlords of rent-stabilized apartments in unincorporated L.A. County from raising rent by more than 3% a year.

The proposal, which requires a second vote by the county board to become law, also caps annual rent increases for small property owners at 4% and sets the bar at 5% for owners of luxury units, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The supervisors agreed to extend a temporary 4% cap on rent increases in unincorporated areas through the end of December. The new caps, which would be permanent if they get final approval, will take effect at the beginning of 2025.

The proposal was put forward by Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who said it is intended to keep housing affordable for renters while keeping mom-and-pop landlords in business.

“My goal—always—is to slow the tide of the corporatization of rental property ownership across L.A. County. When that happens, affordability goes out the window,” Mitchell said at a board meeting this week.

However, landlords who are facing skyrocketing insurance costs warned at the meeting that the proposed caps on rent increases, which would apply to all rent-controlled units in unincorporated L.A. County, could force them to sell their properties and create a “tsunami of displacement,” the report said.

According to a recent study commissioned by the county, a total of about 51,700 rent-controlled units that would be impacted by the proposed caps. All of these units were built before 1995 and most are located in East L.A., South L.A. and the San Gabriel Valley.

The two supervisors who voted against the new caps on rent hikes said the limits will overburden small property owners. “We’ve once again put these struggles on the back of landlords,” Supervisor Kathryn Barger said at Tuesday’s meeting.

The California Apartment Association, which represents apartment owners, issued a statement branding the proposed rent increase caps in unincorporated Los Angeles County “draconian.”

“Rather than alleviating intense regulatory pressures, an unworkable policy is being considered. This will exacerbate the housing crisis by discouraging investment in new and existing rental housing and ultimately hurt all residents,” Fred Sutton, the association’s senior VP in Los Angeles, said in a statement.