Los Angeles: “L.A. City Council narrowly agrees to consider four-month rent hike moratorium,” By David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, May 7, 2010
A divided Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to draft an ordinance preventing the owners of thousands of apartments from imposing an optional 3% rent increase between now and Oct. 31.
On an 8-6 vote, the council asked City Atty. Carmen Trutanich to prepare a rent moratorium for buildings constructed before 1978 that have six or more units–a group that is governed by the city’s rent control law.
However, council members moved at the last minute to exempt rent-controlled buildings with five units or less. That move drew complaints from Larry Gross, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival, a renters’ rights group. “We won a little, but not enough,” he said.
East Palo Alto: “Wells Fargo reducing rents at 437 ex-Page Mill units,” by Jessica Bernstein-Wax, San Jose Mercury News, May 6, 2010
More than 400 East Palo Alto tenants living in Page Mill Properties’ former buildings recently got good news in the mail from Wells Fargo Bank.
The bank, which took over Page Mill’s 1,800 East Palo Alto rental units in March after the company failed to make a $50 million balloon payment and defaulted on a loan, decided to reduce rents at 437 apartments effective May 1, spokeswoman Elise Wilkinson said Tuesday.
“We have recently reviewed the rents for all tenants at Woodland Park (apartments), and, based on that review, have reduced certain rents to bring those rents within what we understand to be the current allowable (rent stabilization ordinance) guidelines,” Wilkinson said in an e-mail. “The rents on 437 units were reduced. No rents were increased.”
The reductions represent a significant break from the sometimes hefty increases tenants at the buildings received for about two years after Page Mill began buying units in 2006.
Chicago: “Foreclosures hit 6,560 Chicago rental buildings in 2009,” by Mary Ellen Podmolik, Chicago Tribune, May 5, 2010
More than 125 apartment buildings in Chicago on average went into foreclosure each week of 2009, affecting tenants living in almost 21,000 rental units, according to a new report.
The study, by the nonprofit Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing, found that lenders began foreclosure proceedings against owners of 6,560 multiunit rental buildings last year.
The problems were particularly dire for renters in nine city neighborhoods, where foreclosure actions were filed against more than 200 buildings during the year. Those communities are Austin, Humboldt Park, Belmont Cragin, New City, Englewood, West Englewood, Logan Square, North Lawndale and South Lawndale.
The lender initiating the highest number of foreclosure actions against multifamily buildings last year was Deutsche Bank, with 591 foreclosure filings, followed by U.S. Bank with 576 and JPMorgan Chase with 545.
Washington DC: “On the Chopping Block: The Office of the Tenant Advocate,” by Lydia DePillis, Washington City Paper, May 5, 2010
It’s Justify Your Existence Week down at the Wilson building, where Councilmembers are hearing testimony on the proposed budget, department by department. Last week, schools and environmental programs fought for their survival. On Monday, it was the Office of the Tenant Advocate’s turn.
The small office, composed of 15.5. full-time-equivalent staffers, was born in 2005 with the help of Councilmember Jim Graham. It has been a thorn in the side of landlords—besides helping tenants redress grievances on a case-by-case basis, the office has also advanced legislation to help tilt the playing field in favor of renters (the OTA has been a force in working for tenant organization standing, for example, and the new Housing Conditions Calendar).
Los Angeles: “Tenant Advocates Back One-Year Rent Freeze in Los Angeles,” by Dean Preston, BeyondChron, May 4, 2010
Tenant advocates are taking aim at rent control provisions that allow rent increases during sharp economic downturns. In Los Angeles, City Council member Richard Alarcon has called for the passage of a one-year moratorium on rent increases for more than 600,000 apartments across the city. The proposal would block landlords from imposing the 3% rent increase that would otherwise be allowed on July 1 under the city’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance (LARSO). The proposal will be heard in committee this Wednesday.
Silicone Valley: “Silicon Valley apartment rents nudge upward,” by Sue McAllister, San Jose Mercury News, May 2, 2010
After sliding since late 2008, apartment rents climbed in the first quarter of this year in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties — the latest sign that the region’s economy is stabilizing.
The average monthly rent for all types of apartments in large complexes climbed to $1,510 in Santa Clara County, up nearly 2 percent from $1,482 in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to a report from RealFacts. The company, which tracks rents and occupancy rates in apartment complexes of at least 50 units, said San Mateo County’s average rent inched up to $1,636 from $1,628, an increase of half a percent.
Despite the slight increases, rents are still lower than in the first quarter of 2009, when Santa Clara County’s average was $1,613, and San Mateo County’s was $1,741.
