Mark Elliot – Renters Alliance

220 Lasky Fire: Grief for Occupants, Opportunity for the Landlord

August 14, 2023August 15, 2023 Mark Elliot 220 Lasky, Mark Migdal, Migdal BH Properties LLC

A structure fire at 220 Lasky on the morning of August 1st displaced eight households from their rent-stabilized housing. The cause of the fire is unknown and remains under investigation. What is known is that the fire originated in unit #3 in this 8-unit apartment building and firefighters were able to contain it. But the smoke and water damage has rendered the property uninhabitable. Nearly two weeks after the fire the landlord has yet to provide displaced occupants with the required temporary housing. It seems like the landlord is playing for time while pitching low-ball buyouts to traumatized tenants.

Explainer

Beverly Hills Affordable Housing Eligibility: What You Need to Know

July 24, 2023July 24, 2023 Mark Elliot affordable housing, Mark Elliot

City of Beverly Hills has guidelines for prioritizing the eligibility of applicants for affordable housing: seniors get first shot then families with children, etc. The guidelines have been on the books for years. But only recently has there been an opportunity to use them as a few new deed-restricted affordable units became available. Looking ahead to the decade ahead, more affordable units will come online so we thought it helpful to describe the process of qualifying with a focus on the guidelines that help to determine eligibility.

City council listens as the city clerk digests twelve public comments into a minute-and-a-half 'summarization.'

News

City Council Agrees to Reduce Public Participation

July 22, 2023July 23, 2023 Mark Elliot Julian Gold, public participation

Mayor Julian Gold at the June 27, 2023 City Council meeting decided that public comment would to be limited to 90 seconds per speaker. That is half the three minutes usually allowed. The mayor also trimmed comment time on agenda items to two minutes from three. Finally he directed the city clerk to summarize written public comments rather than read them in their entirety. Would City Council go along with the mayor’s initiative to limit our ability to address our elected representatives?

News

City Negotiates Purchase of 113 North Gale Apartments for Redevelopment

July 19, 2023 Mark Elliot 113 N Gale, Metro, Redevelopment

Every Beverly Hills City Council evening meeting is preceded by a closed session where confidential issues such as litigation, employment and real property is discussed. This week’s closed session agenda featured a city negotiation over the purchase of land at 113 North Gale. That multifamily property is adjacent to city-owned land that fronts on Wilshire and which the city wants to redevelop most likely as housing above retail. If the city and landlord agree on terms then the 113 N Gale parcel will be part of it. What does that mean for tenants at the Gale property?

Mayor Gold limits public comment to 90 seconds at the June 27, 2023 council meeting

News

Mayor Slashes Time and Limits Opportunities for Public Comment

July 12, 2023July 23, 2023 Mark Elliot good government, Huma Ahmed, Julian Gold

City of Beverly Hills mayor Julian Gold has taken a big step backward on public participation. He has cut in half the time afforded to members of the public who attend in order to address City Council face-to-face. Tonight we had only 90 seconds to face our elected representatives instead of the customary three minutes. The mayor also cut by one-third the time a member of the public is afforded to comment on any matter that is on the agenda. Instead of three minutes to talk about rent increases, for example, tenants and landlords were permitted to speak for only two minutes. Written comments took the worst hit: instead of reading them aloud, as usual, the city clerk merely summarized them. The city clerk says all of it was perfectly legal. But that does not make it right.

Lili Bosse at the June 27, 2023 formal City Council meeting

News

Beverly Hills Rent Subsidy: More Talk or Real Action?

July 10, 2023July 10, 2023 Mark Elliot qualified tenant subsidy

Rent increases for Beverly Hills rent-stabilized tenants took effect on July 1st. Most tenants will see a maximum annual increase of 3.2% while a very small number of tenants with tenancies regulated by Chapter 5 of the rent stabilization ordinance can see a maximum 5.9% rent increase. The latter percentage is higher than any time in the past three decades. When agreeing to those percentage increases City Council revived talk about a proposed tenant subsidy. Is this talk to deflect political heat or will eligible tenants actually see relief?

City Council pictured at the formal meeting June 27, 2023

News

City Council Agrees to 3.2% Chapter 6 Rent Increase

July 9, 2023 Mark Elliot Chapter 5, max increase

City Council approved a maximum allowable annual rent increase for most rent-stabilized tenancies at 3.2% effective July 1. That percentage was recommended by staff as a return to the customary practice of indexing the rent increase to inflation. City Council also disallowed landlords from recovering rent increases missed due to the moratorium. Together with a 5.9% rent increase for Chapter 5 households, the outcome was City Council’s effort to close the book on the pandemic.

Commentary

Our Take on the 5.9% Chapter 5 Rent Increase

July 8, 2023July 27, 2023 Mark Elliot Chapter 5, max increase

City Council has approved a maximum allowable annual rent increase for Chapter 5 rent-stabilized tenants that is the highest percentage in three decades. At 5.9% it is nearly twice the rate of inflation for our region and it will fall hardest on our longest-term renting households that are almost exclusively headed by seniors who live on a fixed-income. Meanwhile these households are also exposed to a variety of possible pass-through surcharges (including for seismic retrofit). What are our councilmembers thinking?

News

City Council OKs Biggest Chapter 5 Rent Increase in Decades

July 8, 2023July 8, 2023 Mark Elliot max increase

City Council has approved the highest annual rent increase for Chapter 5 rent-stabilized tenants in decades. At 5.9% this year’s increase is nearly twice the rate of inflation for our region. It falls hardest on long-term rent control households that are headed almost exclusively by seniors who live on a fixed-income. Meanwhile Chapter 6 tenants get a relative break with a 3.2% rent increase. Yet there is no sign on the horizon of the often-mentioned rent subsidy which was left for dead by a City Council committee a full year ago. What are our councilmembers thinking?

Explainer

What is Proper Notice for a Rent Increase?

July 6, 2023 Mark Elliot max increase

Beverly Hills agreed on the maximum allowable annual rent increase for rent-stabilized households just days before the new percentages took effect on July 1st. Landlords who waited to learn the maximum percentages available were unable to raise the rent as early as July and unless they were quick on the draw they could miss the minimum 30-day notice deadline for August 1st. Some cheated the advance notice and others didn’t post the notice properly. We thought an explainer was in order: What is proper notice for a rent increase?

Explainer

Is the Landlord’s Rent Increase Lawful? Trust But Verify!

July 4, 2023July 5, 2023 Mark Elliot max increase

Beverly Hills is a rent control city which means the allowed annual rent increase for rent-stabilized tenants is regulated by a local rent stabilization ordinance. The ordinance determines the allowable rent increase and the city posts that percentage online. Sometimes the landlord raises the rent and a tenant will wonder, Is the landlord’s rent increase correct or even allowed by law? Here we explain how to find the allowed percentage and verify that the rent increase imposed by the landlord is correct and lawful.

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