Rent Control
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Allowable rent hikes depend on where you live, and in what type of building. We did the hard work to help you figure it all out. -
Rent hike limits under a key state law changed little for many SoCal renters in 2024. Here’s what to do if your landlord demands more. -
Despite COVID rent freezes, tenants still get demands from landlords to pay more. Whether they can fight back depends on where they live. -
The new 3% cap would take effect at the start of 2025. But it's limited to people living in pre-1995 buildings in unincorporated areas. We help make sense of the confusing rules.
LAist reporters and a panel of experts answered your questions about the latest renter rules in L.A. County.
Key Coverage
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Barrington Plaza landlord says it needs to halt business for fire safety repairs. Tenants say their apartments will still be rented after they’re kicked out. -
Los Angeles allows higher rent increases than other neighboring cities with rent control. There’s a new push to change the rules. -
Renters say landlords aren’t fixing unhealthy living conditions. Will a new approach to code enforcement succeed where existing efforts have failed? -
The city passed a law against harassing renters in 2021. But tenant advocates say enforcement has been lacking. -
Now that L.A. officials know who landlords are trying to evict, city workers are showing up at renters’ doorsteps to offer help. -
A new proposal would keep eviction protections in place for renters in the city of L.A. who adopted COVID cats or pandemic pups.
The Family Housing Crunch
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The severe lack of family friendly housing has millennial parents asking: Is leaving Southern California our only option? -
Everyone agrees the shortage is real and damaging. Potential solutions: Incentives, requirements, even a return to government-owned housing. -
Empty nesters own more L.A. homes than millennials with kids. Here’s how some older homeowners are finding ways to spread their wealth.
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Affordable Housing
Affordable housing is explicitly exempted from state and local laws that limit the size of rent increases. This is the final part of a four-part series.
Read the full series below:
Read the full series below:
Understanding Section 8
What is Section 8?
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Section 8 is the country’s largest rental assistance program, providing federal subsidies that enable low-income tenants to pay no more than a third of their income on rent.
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But the number of vouchers pales in comparison to the overwhelming demand for affordable housing in cities like Los Angeles, where sharply rising rents have long outpaced sluggish wage growth.
If you’re facing a rent increase, eviction or need help affording rent in L.A. check out this list of resources.
LAist Exclusive Investigation
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Dennis Block runs what he says is California’s “leading eviction law firm.” A judge said legal citations submitted in Block's name for a recent case were fake. Six legal experts told LAist the errors likely stemmed from AI misuse. -
Most L.A. tenants don’t have an attorney in eviction court. If you’re facing an eviction, here’s how to start looking for legal aid.
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Latest Renting Stories
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Mayor Karen Bass decided last year to exclude single-family neighborhoods from her signature housing policy. Now the city faces a lawsuit over the change. -
State investigators say Invitation Homes, the nation’s largest single-family home rental company, increased rents above legal limits on 1,900 California homes. -
Developers were counting on the mayor’s initiative to streamline projects in residential areas. Then the rules changed. -
A long-awaited report from the city’s housing department lays out the steps to potentially providing L.A. renters with a right to counsel. -
Lawyers who don’t typically handle eviction cases are answering L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’s call to help Angelenos stay housed. -
The council approved a hotly debated proposal to lower allowable rent hikes in most of the city’s apartments from a maximum of 9% to 6% in February. -
The council was scheduled to consider a hotly debated plan to lower allowable rent hikes in most of the city’s apartments from 7% to 4% this upcoming February. The vote was delayed. -
Some elected leaders wanted to continue a pandemic-era ban on rent hikes. A plan to reduce allowable increases moved forward instead. -
The city of L.A. has banned increases in most apartments for close to four years. A new proposal would push back new rent hikes for six more months. -
Last month, the city launched a new $18.4-million rent relief program for tenants. Now small landlords can apply too.
