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To Live And Rent In LA
Your guide to renting in this complicated — and expensive — city.
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.
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The Family Housing Crunch
Millennial parents across Los Angeles are considering moving away due to the region’s severe lack of affordable family-sized housing.
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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.
Affordable Housing
We've been covering the state of affordable housing in L.A. in this 4-part series.
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?
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.
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 calls a 'leading eviction law firm.' A judge said legal citations submitted in Block's name for a case were fake. 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.
Latest Renting Stories
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Price gouging exploded after LA fires. Community rent hike investigators ask: Where are the charges?More than 1,300 Zillow listings appeared to illegally raise rents in the early days after the fires. Four months later, few criminal cases have been filed. -
On top of layoffs and budget cuts, the mayor’s budget proposal includes a pessimistic outlook for the city’s housing market in the upcoming year. -
Undercover testers were deployed to find out if landlords discriminate against Section 8 tenants. The results suggest voucher refusal remains common. -
UCLA and Rand researchers say Measure ULA has decreased new apartment development, including some units that would have gone to low-income renters. -
A new USC survey finds people worried about losing their housing opened their doors to fire victims at higher rates than Angelenos with stable housing. -
Despite being offered help with rent, debt and medical care, nearly half the people contacted by a county homelessness prevention program never call back. -
Federal officials are letting LA County fast-track housing vouchers for 50 low-income households displaced by January’s fires. What you need to know to apply. -
A survey by the L.A. City Controller’s Office found 72% of tenants said landlord harassment continued after the city closed its case. -
Why do so many L.A. landlords make renters bring their own refrigerators? An Inglewood state assemblymember is seeking to stop the practice. -
L.A. Supervisors backed off plans to cut aid that helps people stay housed — but went forward with other cuts prevention advocates say will make it harder for people at risk of losing housing to get legal help.
