Renters Alliance – The Voice of Multifamily Residents in Beverly Hills Since 2017

Permit-by-plate update January 24, 2023 Tomlinson and Maycock

Permit-By-Plate: The Good, Bad and the Ugly

March 5, 2023March 6, 2023 Mark Elliot

Since December Beverly Hills residents have been on notice that the city is changing-up the residential permit parking program. Gone is the simple application to the transportation division and rearview mirror hangtag. Now the application is online through a cumbersome third-party website. Starting in April, permits and exemptions will be validated primarily by license plate through BHPD. The city promises greater efficiency but the public pays a price in convenience — and in privacy. Let’s look at the good, the bad and the ugly.

Explainer

Accessory Dwelling Units Coming to Multifamily Near You!

December 28, 2022January 10, 2023 Mark Elliot

Explainer

Pass-Throughs and Surcharges: What You Need to Know

August 9, 2022August 10, 2022 Mark Elliot

Explainer

County Moratorium Continues No-Fault Eviction Protection (Except for Landlord Use)

July 17, 2022 Mark Elliot

Conditions in the 200 block alley between Reeves and Crescent

Explainer

How Much Can My Landlord Bill Me for Trash Pickup? [Updated]

July 12, 2022December 7, 2022 Mark Elliot

Explainer

Ellis Act Evictions: Senior and Disabled Occupants Get More Time

May 17, 2022 Mark Elliot

Major remodeling unit available for rent

News

Eviction for Major Remodeling: Finally Off the Books After 43 Years

March 16, 2023 Mark Elliot major remodeling

Beverly Hills City Council in January eliminated the landlord’s ability to evict a rent-stabilized household for the purpose of major remodeling. The provision was complicated and infrequently used but nevertheless represented a threat to tenants in an overheated rental housing market. The problem was the definition of ‘major remodeling’ in the rent stabilization ordinance: an expenditure as little as $7,000 on interior upgrades could qualify and result in a no-fault eviction. Not only is it good to have it off the books — but merely taking that step represents city council’s first effort to amend the rent stabilization ordinance in FIVE years.

City Council Installation 2023 invitation

Commentary

To My Rent-Stabilized Neighbors: No Need to Save this Date

March 13, 2023March 13, 2023 Mark Elliot Julian Gold, Lester Friedman

The installation of the incoming Beverly Hills mayor and vice-mayor will take place on April 4th, says the city’s official announcement. “Save the date!” But it is difficult for me to suggest my neighbors should save the date for a ceremony where Vice-Mayor Julian Gold and Councilmember Lester Friedman will be nominated and elected by fellow councilmembers to the offices of mayor and vice-mayor respectively. Not that I begrudge the honor. All councilmembers give generously of their time to conduct the people’s business. And every year councilmembers rotate into those two ceremonial offices. It just happens that I’m not feeling any love for tenants from Gold and Friedman and that puts me into something less than a celebratory mood.

News

Aggressive Landlords Pursue Rent Arrears Despite Moratorium Declaration

March 10, 2023 Mark Elliot eviction, LA County eviction moratorium

The county moratorium is likely entering its final month and is expected to expire on March 31, 2023. Full rent will likely be due on April 1st and repayment of rent arrears is due one year later on March 31, 2024. However tenants who have delayed the payment of some or all of the monthly rent with a moratorium declaration may still find themselves with a 3-day notice to pay-or-quit. And if not resolved the step is a court date. We hear from some tenants who used the moratorium that the landlord is using court as a threat in order to collect rent debt prematurely or coerce the tenant to voluntarily vacate.

Deputy Director Helen Morales's last appearance at city council February 7, 2023.

News

Beverly Hills Rent Stabilization Director Departs [Updated]

March 9, 2023March 10, 2023 Mark Elliot Helen Morales, Julian Gold, Timothea Tway

The internal staff memorandum was brief and to-the-point: “Helen Morales is no longer with the City, effective immediately.” As the city’s first deputy director of rent stabilization Morales had a hand in standing-up the new program and getting the city’s Rent Stabilization Commission up-and-running. With those administrative tasks unfinished and households about to be displaced for redevelopment, is this the time right for a management change-up? Or is it overdue?

News

City Council: No Extension on Moratorium Repayment Deadline

February 18, 2023February 18, 2023 Mark Elliot eviction moratorium, tenant harassment

Beverly Hills city council at the February 7th meeting has kept in place the tenant repayment deadline of May 31, 2023 for rent that was delayed using the city’s COVID emergency moratorium. That date was established last spring when council decided that the residential tenant moratorium should expire on May 31, 2022. The one-year rent repayment period is now coming to a close. As other municipalities and the county continue to provide COVID-related tenant protections, we asked city council to consider extending our rent repayment deadline. City council declined. Rent that was delayed under the city’s moratorium is now subject to a 3-day notice (and thereafter eviction proceedings) if not repaid by May 31, 2023.

News

County Extends Nonpayment Moratorium Through March [Updated]

February 3, 2023March 9, 2023 Mark Elliot LA County eviction moratorium

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has extended county moratorium protections for low-income renting households through March 2023. To gain the protection a qualified renting household must file the county moratorium declaration with the landlord by the end of the 7th day after rent is due. Any tenant that can qualify but has not paid full rent, or that has already been served with a 3-day notice to pay or quit, should consider sending the county declaration to the landlord immediately!

Rent Stabilization Commission January 1, 2023

News

Rent Stabilization Commission Seeks a Tenant Representative

January 22, 2023January 22, 2023 Mark Elliot Rent Stabilization Commission

City of Beverly Hills is seeking a tenant-representative to fill an announced vacancy on the Rent Stabilization Commission. Formed in 2019 to hear tenant-landlord disputes, the commission was instead directed to consider amendments to the city’s rent stabilization ordinance and to make such recommendations to City Council. Discussions necessarily focus on policy but often touch on more general concerns about rental housing. This is a good opportunity for a tenant to learn about rent stabilization and to have a voice on an issue that affects more than half of all city households.

Commentary

Forget Winter – We are in Tarp Season!

January 13, 2023January 14, 2023 Mark Elliot 352 S Reeves, habitability standard, water damage

Record precipitation hit our region as an ‘atmospheric river’ of water vapor stalled over California. The storm was preceded by a series of advisories from the National Weather Service warning of heavy rain, strong winds, thunderstorms and floods. Some areas saw more than one inch of rain per hour! Indeed the weather folks called last week’s storm the most impressive since 2005. That can present quite a challenge to an old roof!

News

Pass-Throughs Back at the RSO Commission for 9th Time

January 4, 2023January 4, 2023 Mark Elliot pass-through, Rent Stabilization Commission

At the January meeting the Rent Stabilization Commission will take a record NINTH swing at crafting a recommendation to City Council concerning pass-through surcharges. In prior meetings commissioners found agreement to limit the cumulatively cost of any pass-throughs plus the maximum allowable annual rent increase to 10% of the base rent. Beyond that outer bound the commissioners have split on nearly every pass-through under consideration. At this meeting commissioners will try to come to some agreement on whether landlords should be able to pass through the cost of seismic retrofit, capital improvements and other major costs; and if so whether both Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 rent-stabilized tenants should pay for it.

News

What You Need to Know About the Cheval Blanc Hotel Petition

December 17, 2022 Mark Elliot Cheval Blanc, John Mirisch, Lili Bosse

In November City Council granted approvals for the Cheval Blanc hotel which is proposed to span four parcels between North Beverly Drive and Rodeo Drive south of Santa Monica Boulevard. Four buildings including the former Paley Museum would be replaced by one structure rising nine floors with 115 hotel rooms at an anticipated room rate of $2,000 as befits a luxury hotel with restaurants and a private club (the penthouse asks $30,000 nightly). It’s not a done deal, however, because a petition is circulating to send this project to the voters in a referendum with a Monday deadline. Sign or not sign?

John Mirisch discussing tenant protections December 13, 2022

News

Today’s Council Agenda: Redevelopment and Tenant Protections

December 13, 2022January 28, 2023 Mark Elliot displacement, John Mirisch

The economics of redevelopment has changed. In the past the city’s zoning code kept a lid on multifamily demolition and redevelopment: density was limited, building heights topped-out at three stories in most multifamily areas, and the required off-street parking made small-scale redevelopment impractical. Sacramento has changed the game with new laws, new incentives, and new limits on local control. In the cross-hairs are the rent-stabilized households who stand to lose their longtime home. What can the city do to protect tenants from displacement?

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Explainers