Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
LA City Council Approves $15 Million Deal To Subsidize Hillside Villa Rents
The tenants are calling for the city to use eminent domain and take ownership if their units.
(
Courtesy of Hillside Villa Tenants
)
Topline:
The L.A. City Council on Friday approved a $15 million deal aimed at assisting tenants in a Chinatown apartment complex who have been fighting rent increases for several years.
What’s in the deal? The city will extend an affordability covenant, paying nearly $15 million to the landlord to subsidize rents for some of the units.
But Hillside Villa tenants argue that another provision of the deal — which will require them to pay back owed rent in monthly installments after a six-month period instead of all at once — could make their payments unaffordable and could leave more renters vulnerable to eviction.
Support for LAist comes from
How did we get here? Tenants in the complex have seen their rent increase in recent years. Hillside Villa, originally built as affordable housing in the 1980s with loans from the city, had its 30-year affordability contract expire in 2019. Rents increased by as much as 300%, Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez said Friday.
The Hillside Villa Tenants Association wants the city to use eminent domain to purchase the property from the building’s landlord Tom Botz outright. But Botz told LAist last year that he's not willing to sell the 124-unit property.
What this could mean for future housing: Hernandez warned that Hillside Villa was just the tip of the iceberg as other similar deals with other properties will also soon expire.
“I have shared my concern that Hillside Villa is far from an isolated incident, it is a canary in the coalmine," Hernandez said. "Across our districts we have thousands of units with affordability covenants that will expire in the coming years. This is a looming cliff that will only worsen our current housing affordability crisis.”
What’s next: Hernandez introduced a separate motion Friday to create an emergency rental assistance program for tenants owing more than six months of back rent because of expiring affordability contracts.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The critical findings are part of long-awaited after-action report was released Thursday. It contains recommendations for increasing emergency staffing and updating old systems. -
Diving has changed, mountain biking has been added. Here's where to watch the Olympics in person in 2028. -
'A Great Day in the Stoke' is a free, daylong event in Orange County billed as 'the largest gathering of Black surfers in history.' The fourth annual festival is set for Saturday in Huntington Beach. -
Kimmel returned less than a week after ABC suspended his show over comments he made about the assassination of right wing activist Charlie Kirk. -
Southern California might see some light rain tonight into Wednesday morning. After that, cooler weather is on the way, but expect the humidity to remain. -
A gate tax at Disney? It's a possibility.
Best of LAist