The Brief

Rent gobbles up more than 30% of income for most tenants in the city of Los Angeles, putting 59% of L.A. renters in the federal government’s “cost-burdened” category. In a few weeks, many of those tenants could see their rent rise again.

New rent caps are scheduled to take effect next month for apartments covered by L.A. rent control. Increases could be as high as 5% — unless the City Council acts quickly on a pending proposal that would lower rent caps to 2%.

It’s been more than one year since an independent rent control study was submitted to the city, recommending changes that would reduce annual rent hikes. But so far, no council votes have been scheduled.

Tenant advocates say they’re frustrated by the delays on updating a formula that is now more than 40 years old.

“Other things have been prioritized, with the wildfires ... and the budget crisis,” said Pablo Estupiñan, a coordinator with the Keep L.A. Housed coalition. “There's a lack of commitment from council offices on moving forward.”

The report was commissioned by the City Council in 2023. It was submitted to the city in May 2024 by the Economic Roundtable, a local nonprofit research group. LAist made the study public after obtaining it through a public records request.

The 193-page report highlighted provisions in L.A.’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance that have benefited landlords at the expense of tenants. Based on the report’s findings, the L.A. Housing Department issued recommendations that — if passed — would lower allowable rent increases to 2% starting July 1.

A politically charged debate 

A spokesperson for Councilmember Nithya Raman, chair of the council’s Housing Committee, said her office is working to schedule a vote this month on updating the rent control rules. But it’s unclear if the full council can pass an overhaul before council members begin their four-week summer recess on July 2.

Throughout this process, landlords have urged elected leaders to not further limit their ability to offset rising costs of property ownership.

The city "is creating a stifling environment,” said Fred Sutton, spokesperson for the California Apartment Association. “You had a four-year rent freeze. You had eviction moratoriums under COVID... The City Council is continuously sending signals to the entire world that it is not a safe place to do business.”

There were significant challenges for L.A. landlords during the pandemic, according to the Economic Roundtable report. Local restrictions on rent hikes and evictions for non-payment of rent came at a time when building maintenance, utility and insurance costs were rising faster than inflation.

Coupled with broad economic pressures, the city’s policies have convinced some landlords to leave the L.A. rental market. Bruce Painton told LAist that after owning a 33-unit rent-controlled apartment building for 11 years, he recently sold.

“Some months I had no income — it was all expenses,” Painton said of his experience during the pandemic. He said he now plans to buy real estate in Texas.

“They don't have all the fees and problems that we have in Los Angeles,” Painton said.

Will the City Council be able to vote on the new rent control rules before their summer recess begins?

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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Balancing landlord and tenant interests 

The Economic Roundtable report found that many landlords were able to absorb the shock of the pandemic because of turnover rates in rent-controlled apartments. About 40% of units became vacant between 2020 and January 2023. Under the city’s rent control rules, landlords are allowed to raise rents to higher, market rates when new tenants move in.

On the other side of the equation, the report found a significant number of L.A. renters are living on a financial knife’s edge. About 1-in-10 L.A. tenants are spending more than 90% of their income on rent alone.

Council members have been hearing from tenants like Cristina Campos, who told LAist she can’t afford the city’s current annual increases. She and her husband have lived for 23 years in a rent-controlled South L.A. apartment, where they raised two children who are now in college.

Campos said she already struggles to pay rent, and other units in their neighborhood are now renting at cost far out of her family’s reach.

“I always say, I don't want to go live with my neighbors under the bridge,” Campos said, speaking in Spanish. “But I might have to leave the unit if they keep raising the rents so high.”

Cristina Campos has joined organizers with the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment to call for lower rent control caps in L.A.

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David Wagner

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Other tenant protections have stalled

The L.A. City Council passed some of the longest-lasting tenant protections in the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic. But recently, votes affecting tenants and landlords have become more politically fraught inside City Hall.

A proposal to temporarily freeze rents and limit evictions after the Palisades and Eaton fires failed after weeks of heated debate in council chambers. Similar protections were instead enacted by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.

Dan Flaming, co-author of the Economic Roundtable report, said rent control policies are technically complex and politically charged. The issue directly pits the interests of landlords against those of renters, he said.

“It's contentious,” Flaming said. “It’s challenging for the council to parse this and enact changes to the status quo.”

How rent control currently works in L.A.

Rent control in L.A. generally applies to apartments built before October 1978. Those older units make up about 70% of all apartments in the city.

With about 64% of L.A. households renting rather than owning their homes, the city’s rent control policies play a huge role in housing affordability for hundreds of thousands of families.

Existing tenants in rent-controlled units can only have their rent raised by a set percentage each year. The limits change every year, ranging from 3% to 8%, depending on how high inflation is running in the L.A. area.

Landlords who pay for a tenant’s gas and electricity can add another 1% for each utility they cover, bringing L.A.’s maximum allowable rent hike to 10%. That’s much higher than in most other Southern California cities with rent control policies.

By comparison, rent hikes are capped at 3% in Santa Monica and Santa Ana, and up to 5% for certain units in unincorporated L.A. County.

A "For Rent" sign hangs outside an apartment building in northeast Los Angeles.

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David Wagner

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LAist

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Where do council members stand?

LAist contacted all 15 City Council district offices to ask where council members stand on updates to L.A.'s rent control policies. Only three took a firm position.

Spokespeople for Councilmembers Hugo Soto-Martinez and Eunisses Hernandez said they support capping rent hikes at 3%, in line with demands from Keep L.A. Housed.

A spokesperson for Councilmember Bob Blumenfield said he supports the recommendations from the L.A. Housing Department, which call for a new range of 2% to 5%.

Councilmembers Imelda Padilla, John Lee, Ysabel Jurado and Tim McOsker did not take a clear stance on the issue. Neither did Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson or Housing Committee Chair Raman.

A spokesperson for Councilmember Curren Price noted that he recuses himself from votes on the city’s rent control policies because he is a landlord.

The offices of Councilmembers Adrin Nazarian, Katy Yaroslavsky, Monica Rodriguez, Heather Hutt and Traci Park did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Why this matters now

The lack of clarity from city leaders comes just weeks away from new rent caps taking effect, despite acknowledgements from L.A. housing officials that the formula used to determine those limits is out of step with other rent control policies across the state.

Increases of up to 3% are scheduled for July 1, with the utilities bump bringing the maximum rent hike to 5%. That’s slightly down from the 4% to 6% range last year, when inflation was higher.

The authors of the Economic Roundtable study identified L.A.’s 2% utilities surcharge as a policy heavily weighted in favor of landlords. Those extra annual rent increases are higher than the actual increased costs of providing gas and electric service each year, the study found. Over time, the increases can exceed landlords’ total cost of providing those utilities.

Building on the study’s findings, the L.A. Housing Department recommended doing away with the 2% utilities bump. Housing department officials also agreed with the study’s recommendation to base annual rent hikes on a different measure of inflation, one that measures rising consumer costs but excludes shelter from the equation.

The Keep L.A. Housed proposal would further lower annual rent increases. Under the L.A. Housing Department’s recommendations, landlords would get at least a 2% increase each year. But the tenant advocacy group wants to let the city’s allowable increases go as low as 0% in years with flat or negative inflation.

Keep L.A. Housed also wants to end the current 10% bump landlords are allowed to charge when tenants bring additional residents into their household. The Housing Department did not recommend eliminating the increase for additional occupants.

Tenant advocates and some city councilmembers rallied outside L.A. City Hall last year to call for lower increases in rent-controlled housing.

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David Wagner

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LAist

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Under proposals from both the L.A. Housing Department and Keep L.A. Housed, allowable rent increases would be 2% starting on July 1. If the council fails to act, rents will be allowed to rise between 3% and 5%.

Christina Boyar, an attorney with Public Counsel and a member of Keep L.A. Housed, said minor policy tweaks can greatly affect housing stability. Rent increases of an extra 1% or 2% each year compound over time, and can quickly outpace inflation and wage gains for many tenants.

“While it may seem like a small difference,” Boyar said, “that is hundreds of dollars for working families who are already struggling.”

Boyar pointed to a 2020 study from the U.S. Government Accountability Office that found a $100 increase in median rents is associated with a 9% increase in homelessness.

Big surf from distant hurricanes in the Pacific could bring coastal flooding to Southern California starting this weekend.

Hurricanes Polo and Odalys are expected to cause coastal erosion, flooding and high surf along Southern California's already battered coastline. Swells from Polo are expect to arrive as early as late Sunday and peak Monday and Tuesday.

Bryan Lewis, National Weather Service meteorologist, told LAist that high tides could reach 7 feet. He said Long Beach and Avalon are among the more vulnerable areas for potential flooding and erosion.

Long Beach and Los Angeles warned residents to prepare for potential flooding and other effects through at least Wednesday.

In early September, Hurricane Marie brought coastal erosion and flooding that led homes being red- and yellow-tagged in L.A. and Orange counties.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Friends & Family Flea, a new market from the team behind Maum Market, will make its debut Saturday in Koreatown. 

For organizer Arnold Byun, the launch is something of a homecoming. 

Nearly five years ago, Byun and his co-founder, Kioh Park, were living in Koreatown and spending months at Document Coffee Bar dreaming up what would eventually become Maum Market, the Asian makers market they launched in January 2022. The market now has a regular presence at ROW DTLA, where it hosts pop-up markets on Dock Street several times a year.

“The genesis of Maum Market is actually really embedded in Koreatown,” Byun, 31, told The LA Local. “And we have a lot of affection and personal history with Koreatown, so it’s a very personal thing for us just to return to our roots.” 

Most of the 24 vendors participating in the first Friends & Family Flea have some connection to Koreatown, Byun said. Some grew up in the neighborhood, some still live there and others have moved away but retain ties to the area. The vendor list includes apparel brands, artists, jewelry makers, beauty and wellness businesses and food vendors. 

“We’ve been trying to be pretty intentional about curating from the community as much as possible,” Byun said.

There will be plenty of food and shopping, including “sogeum-bbang,” or salt bread, tea, handmade candles, soaps and vintage clothing, as well as flash tattoos and burgers and fries from Love Hour. The LA Hwatu-Hanafuda Club will teach visitors about hwatu, the Korean deck of playing cards with roots in Japan. The club will also offer $5 tarot card readings.

Friends & Family Flea, a new market from the team behind Maum Market, will make its debut Saturday in Koreatown.

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Courtesy Eena Cho

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Eena Cho, founder of the LA Hwatu-Hanafuda Club, was born and raised in Koreatown. She remembers living with her mother in an apartment on Wilshire Boulevard and Vermont Avenue and volunteering at the senior center near Seoul International Park, where she spent time with older Korean residents.

She also grew up playing go-stop with her grandparents during Korean holidays, like Chuseok and Seollal. 

“That was a big part of my childhood,” said Cho, 24. “Another part is that living in LA where there’s so many different groups of people together, I remember my best friend Maria growing up, she was Mexican, and we would be playmates because both of our parents were working overtime.”

For Cho, joining Friends & Family Flea felt like a natural fit.

“Koreatown is a beautiful diaspora of many different cultures,” Cho said. “And I think that makes Koreatown, Koreatown.”

Friends & Family Flea, a new market from the team behind Maum Market, will make its debut Saturday in Koreatown.

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Courtesy Eena Cho

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The local focus is a big part of what Byun hopes will distinguish Friends & Family from other flea markets and fairs. He said organizers wanted to create something that “intentionally celebrates a specific neighborhood,” in this case, Koreatown. 

For the Koreatown market, that also means highlighting small businesses beyond the restaurants that often get the most attention.

“It’s more about, you know, where do we get our dry cleaning, where do we get our shoes done, or these kinds of services that I think don’t get highlighted as often as maybe restaurants do, but are really core and essential parts of a community business,” Byun said.

Byun’s own history with Koreatown also makes the neighborhood an especially fitting place to start.

His family immigrated to the South Bay from Korea in 2002, when he was 6. He remembers coming to Koreatown with his parents on the weekends for Korean meals and grocery trips.

Byun still thinks of the neighborhood as a second home for Korean immigrants, while appreciating how its community has grown more diverse.

“I’m just really happy to see it become a really beloved neighborhood,” he said.

The market is also giving back locally. Hats sold at the event will benefit the Koreatown Youth and Community Center, Byun said.

And this may not be a one-time run. If Saturday goes well, organizers hope to bring Friends & Family Flea back to Koreatown on a monthly basis. They also plan to offer discounted vendor fees to Koreatown residents.

“I feel like there was so much opportunity for us to really hone in and create something more hyperlocal and also really embed ourselves in the community as well,” Byun said.

When I lived in the UK, I worked on a BBC television show about birding. It was a strange experience as I couldn’t exactly book guests — “Hello Mr. Sparrow, could you be on location for an interview at 2 p.m.?”

So instead I spent a lot of time with the crew climbing up mountains with a large tripod on my shoulder. Did you know there’s a bird in the Scottish Highlands whose plumage turns white in winter to blend in with the snow? (It’s called a ptarmigan. Don’t pronounce the p.)

But it did mean I was attuned to British bird calls. I could hear something and pronounce solemnly: “Ah yes, that’s a lark. And that one's a chaffinch."

Moving to LA meant learning a new set of bird calls

When I moved to the U.S., however, it was a whole other story. I really didn’t recognize any of the bird calls. They were all so different. I just shrugged and figured they were part of the backdrop. But one day recently, a woman told me about a free app and said it was life-changing. "Hmm, I’ll see about that," I thought.

Merlin bird app

It’s called Merlin, from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and it’s kind of like Shazam for bird calls. As in, you click it, and it tells you what bird song you can hear around you. When I opened it in my backyard for the first time, a whole orchestra of bird sounds opened up around me. I admit: it was kind of life-changing.

Of course it first picked up a crow, which I know only too well, given its loud, raucous sound. But then it identified a house finch. Huh. Who knew they were in my backyard? And as I listened closely, I realized … I knew that sound! It’s the first thing I hear when I wake up at dawn, lovely and melodic.

The house finch, awakening the day.

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Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library

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So now when I open my eyes in the morning, I say, "Good morning, house finch, communing with fellow beings alive on a vibrant California morning!" It kicks off my day, although I guess I’ve been reading too much Mary Oliver.

The backyard birds you're probably hearing right now

But then other birds I didn’t know would pop up on my phone during the day, with names as intriguing as their calls: the spotted towhee, the orange-crowned warbler, or Cassin’s kingbird.

I mean, they do realize they’re in a backyard in Los Angeles, not some estate in Georgian England? My favorite for a while was the dark-eyed junco. Now we’re talking romantic heroes. Imagine him slyly popping across the apple tree limbs to call to you. Dark-Eyed Junco, at your service.

Dark-eyed junco, at your service.

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Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library

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Meet Swinhoe's white-eye, a non-native bird spreading across SoCal

And then there’s Swinhoe’s white-eye. Which sounds a little like an eye ailment, but there you go. It’s a tiny bright yellow bird with a white ring around each eye. So cute! I first noticed them when there were a bazillion of them in a tree outside my house. It was such an unusual sight that I mentioned it to a woman walking her dog, and we stood there, oohing and aahing, until we both realized we’d oohed a little too much, and it was time to go.

Swinhoe's white-eyes are not native to SoCal, but are thriving.

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Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library

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When I researched them, I was surprised to find they’re not native to SoCal. They’re actually pretty new to the area. There were just a handful in Orange County 20 years ago, probably having been brought over from Asia as pets and escaped. And now, they’re thriving and have spread everywhere from Baja to San Luis Obispo. Who knows where they’ll end up next? If anyone sees a chartreuse cutie in New York, let me know. It'll probably be very tired.

Yes, you can see I’ve become slightly annoying with my newfound bird interest. I’ll be asking my family what they want for dinner, and I’ll say, “Wait, is that the spotted towhee?” and turn to my phone, and my teenager will wrest it out of my hand and say, “Mom, be in the present!” Which is right. But my morning serenade as the birds come online one by one and greet the new day — well, that’s as present as you can be.

Walk through the automatic doors at the Carson Library and you’ll see on your left a 1973 painting called "Dominoes" by John Riddle.

Riddle, a prominent Black artist, has worked in the L.A. County Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum, and has been collected by Jesse Jackson and Roberta Flack.

Riddle's work was previously owned by the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company in West Adams. Over two decades, the company’s art director, William Pajaud, an L.A. artist himself, carefully collected hundreds of pieces of Black art. Each piece in the collection, Pajaud said, would be a chapter telling the story of African Americans in the U.S. The collection included oil paintings, watercolors, and sculptures in clay, wood and metal.

When Golden State Mutual Life Insurance shut down, the company sold most of the best pieces at a private auction in 2007, with some selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. L.A. County was able to acquire about 120 works, including Riddle's piece.

To keep the works accessible to the public and free of charge, county officials chose four public libraries and three community centers to show the work. Earlier this year, the county arts department created a new website with a map to make them easier to find. The locations include the Golden State Mutual historic building in West Adams, plus:
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Libraries

• Carson Library (Carson)
• A.C. Bilbrew Library (Willowbrook)
• Masao W. Satow Library (Gardena)
• View Park Bebe Moore Campbell Library (View Park/Windsor Hills)
  

Community centers:

• Curtis Tucker Behavioral Health Center Health Services (Inglewood)
• Willowbrook Senior Center Aging and Disabilities (Willowbrook)
• Mark Ridley-Thomas Behavioral Health Center Health Services (on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Medical Campus).

“All of these are county-owned spaces that are available, accessible to the public and to patrons to be able to live with the works, learn about the works, see the works, learn about the works,” said Kristin Sakoda, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.

Dominoes by John Riddle. The painting was part of the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance collection but is now part of the Los Angeles County Civic Art Collection.

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/LAist

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As you walk past the checkout desk at the Carson Library, toward the teen section, you’ll see another remarkable piece from the county’s holdings. It’s a two-foot-tall sculpture made from one piece of mahogany. It’s called "The Embrace" by artist Elizabeth Catlett, whose work is in the collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, among many other institutions. Catlett depicted two people hugging, their faces and bodies fused together, their eyes looking at the viewer.

Detail of El Abrazo (The Embrace) by Elizabeth Catlett.

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/LAist

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In the auction catalogue for the Golden State Collection, Catlett wrote: “I still work figuratively, trying to express emotion through abstract form, color, line, and space. I attempt to reach out to ordinary people who have little or no experience or understanding of art principles, and extend to them what I may feel about a subject."

Ancestral Fragments by Stanley Wilson.

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/LAist

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Meanwhile at A.C. Bilbrew Library, north of Compton, there’s a piece by Charles White, who lived in L.A. County for decades and mentored many artists in the region. His paintings and drawings in the 1960s took on the issues of the Black Civil Rights Movement, and that led well-known Black Americans like Nat King Cole and Eartha Kitt to buy his art.

County officials are hopeful that the communities around these neighborhoods enjoy the art’s benefits, including “mental health, in our education, our youth development, our sense of inclusion and belonging,” Sakoda said.