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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.
The motion before the city council later today would place a moratorium on rent increases for a year so it is "fair and that they accurately represent increases in the consumer price index." If passed, the moratorium will begin July 1st.
The Coalition for Economic Survival is expected to turn out a large group in support of this motion (see photo to the right), which landlords say will make things harder on them. The Coalitions is also supporting a United Nations report that was partly based on living conditions in Los Angeles. In all, the report found many human rights violations in various U.S. cities and came out with many recommendations.
Update: Today's action only was to tell the City Attorney's office to draw up language for a moratorium. That was approved in a 8 to 5 vote. In two weeks when moratorium language is drawn up, the city council will then debate whether to approve a four month moratorium with a possible two-month extension. "Mom and pop" landlords" with five units or less will be exempt from the moratorium. A report seeking to find out what fees landlords pay to the city was also ordered.
