Angelenos apartment hunting on Craigslist became victims of a recent rental scam. More than two dozen renters were ripped off by the con artists, who preyed on suspects seeking inexpensive apartments. Three suspects have been detained. more ›

Rent checks have been going up eleven months in a row in Southern California, The Orange County Register reports. In July, rents rose at an annual rate of 1.4 percent in the Southland, continuing a steady rise since they took a dip in 2010. But it might too soon to start ask Jimmy McMillan to open a West Coast branch of The Rent Is Too Damn High Party. more ›

San Pedro Police are on the hunt for Darryl James Stamper, 49, who allegedly beat his landlord, reports The Daily Breeze. When Stamper's landlord confronted him for his rent money, he said "No" and punched the victim several times. The landlord suffers broken bones as a result of the attack. more ›

Jonathan Larson's celebrated rock musical, Rent, is currently running at a secret warehouse location in Mission Junction. Perfectly contextualized in an atmospheric, industrial setting, this production of Rent features hearty, resonant voices, emotionally charged performances, live musical accompaniment, and appreciable direction by Kate Sullivan and Caitlin Hart that remains true to the 1996 Broadway original. more ›

If you are a renter, and looking to move in the coming months, some encouraging news: Rents between now and the end of next year are expected to decline by an estimate 3.2 percent, according to the 2011 USC Casden Multifamily Forecast, a report released today by the school's Lusk Center. more ›

Borders bookstores are closing up all over, including several in the SoCal region, with more shut-downs just announced. In Pico Rivera, the Borders at the city's Towne Center is one of the first-round stores to get the ol' bankruptcy boot, but, as the Whittier Daily News reports, the bill for bringing books for sale to the community is still unpaid. more ›

Officials at Monrovia High School have halted a production of the musical Rent after deeming the subject matter "inappropriate" and finding that several students and parents were not comfortable performing in a play that dealt with AIDS and homosexuality and that contains "a stripping scene and a prostitute," according to Monrovia Patch. more ›

Gabriela Montero and Gustavo Dudamel are frequent collaborators as Salonen was with John Adams, Saariaho, or Dawn Upshaw. We get a chance to see this collaboration for the first time next month (Montero performed last at the Hollywood Bowl with Thomas Wilkins). more ›

Controversy spilled throughout the downtown community over the weekend after The Must, a popular wine bar in the Historic Core, was suddenly closed following an apparent surprise business deal over the space's lease. The end result left The Must stripped of furniture and its wine stock. more ›

Want to rent this place? Then you'll have to declaw your cat and devocalize your dog. That's what some Californians face when looking for rentals and it's something Assemblyman Pedro Nava wants to put a stop to. His bill, AB 2743, seeks to prohibit landlords and property managers from requiring cat declawing and dog debarking procedures as a condition of rent. However, the bill only applies to rentals that allow pets in the first place -- if a place has a no pets policy, then the subject is null. more ›

Today the Los Angeles City Council could place a one-year moratorium on annual rent increases to the city's stock of 630,000 rent-controlled apartments [Update: the motion under consideration today would only do it for four-months]. Based on a study by the city's housing department last year, landlords have been raising rents even when the Consumer Price Index was considerably low. more ›

Get ready.Neil Patrick Harris' vision of the musical "Rent" will happen August 6th through 8th at the Hollywood Bowl, says the LA Times.. With wine flowing and the stars above, this show ought to be get crazy (have you been to the Sound of Music sing-a-longs? it's a riot). This will be Harris' first time directing a musical theatre production. But, of course, we all know his of wonderful his talents, thanks to the Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and his Hollywood Boulevard production of Accomplice. more ›

We once heard someone say finding a new apartment every year or so is a "Los Angeles thing to do." True or not, apartment hunting is a big business here--from Westside Rentals to various other pay websites to the free Craigslist where free rent can be found, provided you're willing to throw in some spanking and leather here and there. more ›

They tend to be our least favorite people, since we write hefty checks to them every month for our rent, but landlords aren't doing so well these days. Vacancies in commercial buildings are up and rising, say recent reports, and this year looks to be a tough one for landlords looking to lease. more ›

Tonight and tomorrow at 8 pm famed conductor Zubin Mehta takes to the Walt Disney Concert Hall stage to lead the Vienna Philharmonic. On the program are Angela Maria Blasi, soprano, Bruckner’s “Symphony No. 9,” Wolf’s “Italian Serenade” and Marx’s “Selected Songs.” more ›

Talk about disturbing: "Broadcrest Foothill Apartment Homes claims Alicia Ortiz broke her lease on an Upland apartment when she and her 17-year-old son were killed by her sister's disgruntled ex-husband. The landlord informed her former husband, Carlos Ortiz, that she gave 'insufficient notice to vacate.' The company says it is owed $2,821 in rent and penalties," reports the Associated Press today. And it's not just some oversight or a situation where they didn't know what happened, finds the Daily News. Worst of all, the property manager and the company won't even comment. more ›

According to the OC Register, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics latest consumer price index reveals that rents in Southern California have gone up at a rate less than 5% from March until November of this year, and that "if the numbers hold up in December, it will be the first time since 2000 that area rents have gone up less than 5% year-over-year," which was when they rose only 4.3%. In addition, "November SoCal housing costs overall, which include utilities and furnishings, were up 2.6% compared to a 4% jump this time last year." Consumer prices overall rose 1% last month in Southern California, which happens to be "a 10-year low." more ›

There's good news coming out of City Council President Eric Garcetti's district about a problem largely unreported in the home foreclosre crisis. When a landlord goes into foreclosure, renters, even the ones who are in perfect standing, are being pressured by the new property owner--banks--to vacate. Tomorrow, the 13th distric councilman will present a motion to halt this activity via a moratorium. From the press release: more ›

Changes could be brewing over at Olvera Street where a Downtown News investigation looks at the cost of rent, which is currently well below market rate. The area, which is run by a City of Los Angeles department not quite self-sufficient yet: more ›

We've heard before that the sinking housing market would actually serve to increase the rent on apartments in Los Angeles, and we've had a few lively discussions about proposals to undo rent control laws. But who knew the rate increases would be so drastic? Today's LA Times is reporting on the going rates for a four-bedroom, eight-bath (eight???) Malibu beach house: $150 grand. Per month. more ›

He already served a month of jail time when he was convicted last Spring, but today, sleazy wannabe slumlord Darren Stern, who also goes by Henry Shalom, was ordered to pay millions back to rent-control tenants that he mistreated in order to get them to move out so he could raise rents, eventually selling the buildings at "inflated" prices, according to CBS2. more ›

And you thought your monthly rent was high... more ›

Just in time for spring, the LA Times is reporting on something I think would just go marvelously with that recession you've been looking at: more ›

This sounds fun... or not: the Apartment Owners Association Convention is this week at the convention center downtown. more ›

Núñez represents downtown Los Angeles, to the south of, and East LA in the state assembly. It is rumored he wants to run for Mayor. It is not like Democrat Fabian Núñez, Speaker of the California State Assembly, is some bogus politician with bad intentions and total self-serving motives. I am not going to argue with him for looking into universal preschool, high speed rail and global warming solutions for California; in fact, I... more ›

Bills just came in. Rent's due. I made a major and very necessary computer purchase that needs to be paid off right away. My credit cards are tired. I'm poor. There won't be any lavish lunches or fancy foreign cheese purchases from Whole Foods happening for me anytime soon. If I'm not careful, the next few weeks might be Top Ramen City -- what's a budget-minded foodie to do? Luckily, I have two dozen... more ›

Harry Potter is a touchy subject these days. The books have been around for so long, that kids who once loved Harry Potter are growing increasingly embarassed by that fact and now distance themselves from the teen magician. Still older kids -- like, say, ADULTS -- have followed every book with a frenzy and will no doubt join in this week's madness as Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows hits stores all over LA. Then there's the whole drama over leaked pages, the perfectly timed movie premiere of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the will Harry die/won't Harry die debates raging on message boards and so on. There's even a crazy woman who has incoroprated the new book into her wedding plans! Ugh - it's all a bit nuts. more ›

An article in the NY Times advises renters are better off paying that monthly check to the landlord than actually buying property. In “A Word of Advice During a Housing Slump: Rent” writer David Leonhardt takes data from every metropolitan area (including LA) to forecast the benefits of buying vs. renting. Leonhardt writes: “Over the next five years, which is about the average amount of time recent buyers have remained in their homes, prices... more ›

photo excerpt of "Washing Out" by our common more ›

The Silverlake Film Festival is on and, as you might guess, it features new independent films, many from local filmmakers (right on). But if you guessed that the Silverlake Film Festival was taking place in Silverlake, you'd be dead wrong. more ›