On Aug. 5, the Beverly Hills Rent Stabilization Division held a community outreach meeting to inform the public about potential changes to the city’s rent stabilization ordinance, and to increase transparency between landlords and tenants. Those who attended the meeting in person at the City Hall Municipal Gallery or on Zoom were also able to connect with resource groups to learn more about protection services for rent increases, evictions and plans for construction.
Recently, the Rent Stabilization Commission has recommended that City Council impose an overall cap of 10% on Chapter 6 tenants’ annual maximum expense for rent, pass-throughs and surcharges. They also recommended a pass-through fee of 50% of the cost of seismic retrofit, which would be paid over a number of months rather than all at once. The commission already voted to remove the water penalty surcharge, which has moved to City Council for consideration.
Still pending City Council review are the rent relief/subsidy program and the proactive inspection program, which would provide aid to tenants. Currently, available resources include an emergency resource guide, tenant and property owner handbook and a newly implemented annual winter newsletter. The division has been working on these materials as well as smaller informational handouts over the last few months.
“These flyers are really designed to get more into the nuts and bolts of it, to help educate both tenants and landlords and make their jobs of understanding and/or administering of these a little bit easier,” said Deputy Director of Rent Stabilization, Nestor Otazu.
Additionally, the division has been working with the Office of Emergency Management to provide an emergency guide that will include a bag of supplies in case of displacement due to a natural disaster.
Buildings that qualify for rent stabilization include those with two or more units, but the list of exemptions is extensive, including single-family residences, hotels, motels and any rooms to be rented for 30 days or less, condominiums, dwelling units in nonprofit cooperatives, government-owned and managed units, units built after Sept. 20, 1978 for Chapter 5 and units built after Feb. 1, 1995 for Chapter 6.
Otazu defined these chapters of the Rent Stabilization Ordinance at the meeting, explaining that the key difference is the rate at which their rent can increase. Chapter 5 tenants are those who moved in under an agreement to pay $600 or less per month in rent. Their allowable rent increase is 8% or the Consumer Price Index (CPI), depending on which value is lower. Currently, the allowable rent increase for Chapter 5 tenants is 3.2%. For Chapter 6 tenants, or those whose rent agreement started at more than $600, their allowable rent increase is 3% or the CPI, depending on which value is higher. The current allowable rent increase for these tenants is 3.9%.
Due to the complexity of the regulations, the city adopted a requirement in 2004 that the Rent Stabilization Division distribute a tenant and landlord rights and responsibilities handbook to all landlords. Additional changes to policies between 2017 and 2018 led to the establishment of the Rent Stabilization Commission in 2019 to increase transparency and outreach regarding tenants’ and landlords’ rights. In 2020 and the years following, further policy changes took place, prompting the community outreach meeting. “As we moved through the pandemic and then even moving out of the pandemic, there were several changes that were made, really in direct relation to the pressures of the pandemic put in the rental housing community,” said Otazu.
As a result of the pandemic, the city enacted an Urgency Ordinance that limited rent increases for both Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 tenants. However, this resulted in more confusion for landlords and tenants throughout the city. In July 2023, the ordinance expired, and the city returned to regular rent increase regulations.
At the meeting, Janet Grundfest, a representative from the Loyola Center for Conflict Resolution, which is a resource for landlords and tenants, gave an overview of the services they provide. “What we do is simple,” she said. “We bring the parties together so that they can discuss what happened in the past, so that in the present, we can help them come to agreements that will help them figure out what’s going to happen going forward.” Representatives from Bet Tzedek legal services also shared their resources that are available to those facing rental conflicts, including in-person legal clinics every second Sunday of the month. Additionally, residents can reach out to the Human Services Division for support by calling 310-285-1006. “Human Services is a great starting place if you don’t know where to start,” said Enisha Clark, human services outreach manager. “If you have a complex or complicated situation, both for tenants and landlords, it’s a great place to start.”
