Council OKs Rent Hikes of 10% for New Tenants

The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday agreed to amend the city’s rent-control law, allowing landlords to raise rents by 10% for any new tenants that move into existing households.

With the 10-0 vote, the council also amended the ordinance to prohibit landlords from raising the rent when a baby is born to a tenant, or evict a tenant who has a child plus an additional renter.

The changes only pertain to those 460,000 rental units that fall under the city’s rent-control law. Those units include all apartments, condominiums or other residences that were built before 1978.

Last week, the council adopted another amendment that requires landlords to pay tenants 5% interest on security deposits.

Landlords may raise rents once a year, and now they may increase the rent by up to 10% when a roommate moves in. The landlord also has the right to approve an additional tenant.