The majority of Los Angeles is currently under rent control and has continuously been pushing towards stricter rent control policies. Last year, there was a huge debate over AB 1506 to revoke the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, which has put certain limitations on rent control, specifically properties built after October 1978 and single family homes.

In January 2018, AB 1506 was stopped by landlords in the California Apartment Association (CAA), claiming that the bill would stunt development and add to the problem of housing shortages in Los Angeles. Although AB 1506 was stopped, the appeal was only one vote shy from advancing to the Assembly floor.

In response to the close vote, tenant activist groups were encouraged to transition their focus to overturning the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, bringing an extreme form of rent control back to California. Currently, advocates of the repeal are collecting signatures to add the repeal measure to the November 2018 ballot. The outcome of their efforts will be known in about 180 days.

In recent time, cities that have not been under rent control, such as Long Beach, are inching closer to rent control. In Long Beach, petitioners were given the green light by the Long Beach city attorney to begin collecting signatures for a measure called the Long Beach Rent Control Ordinance. More information regarding this initiative will come to light in the months to come.

The rent control initiative has not only been pushed to cities in Los Angeles, cities in Orange County are also starting to feel the pressure. On February 6th, city council members were in favor of rejecting rent control, citing that it has caused more problems in areas that it has been enacted. Although rejected, Orange County is starting to feel the effects of the push for rent control.

Overall, rent control has been proven to fail everywhere it has been implemented, stunting growth and shunning development in many different cities. If passed, the measure will be proven quite detrimental to the apartment building industry. It is important to stay updated on the progress of the measure. Please subscribe to get updates on the measure. In the mean time, if you are interested in buying or selling an apartment building, please contact me at 818.915.9118 or email me.