Explainer – Renters Alliance

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.

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.

Explainer

The Annual Rent Increase: What You Need to Know [Updated]

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

Each July City of Beverly Hills posts the maximum allowed annual rent increase percentage for Chapter 6 tenants that is available to landlords for a 12-month period concluding the following June. The percentage rent increase available for Chapter 5 tenants is recalculated each month. Both percentages are indexed to inflation but determined by different formulas. Like much about Beverly Hills rent stabilization it is complicated but poorly explained on the city’s website. Let Renters Alliance explain the annual rent increase in plain language using specific examples.

Explainer

Must the Landlord Provide a Locking Mailbox? Yes!

May 15, 2023May 16, 2023 Mark Elliot 126 N Almont, 136 S Canon, 212 Reeves, mailboxes, Parivash Laaly, USPS

In ambling around the city’s multifamily residential areas we sometimes see the telltale signs of dilapidation. When we peek inside the vestibule we are likely to see mailboxes that are broken and doors that are agape without a functioning lock to secure them. The Postal Service requires locked mailboxes to protect mail recipients from mail theft and identity theft. And that is the responsibility of the landlord. But some landlords overlook the obligation and even refuse to repair mailboxes at a tenant’s request. One tenant’s complaint sent us down the rabbit hole to learn exactly what are the USPS standards for mailboxes — and what we should expect from the landlord that provides it.

Explainer

When Can the Landlord Enter My Unit? [Updated]

May 1, 2023May 2, 2023 Mark Elliot Mark Elliot

According to state law the landlord can enter your premises only for limited reasons and only after lawful notice is provided. The law is specific about reasons and requirements because the right to enter is often abused. In fact we hear more complaints about landlords who bully their tenants to enter than just about any other complaint category except for habitability. While the law is specific it is also complicated. That’s why we have prepared an explainer about the right to enter and the steps a tenant can take to safeguard against abuse.

Explainer

Due Diligence: How to Research the Landlord [Updated]

April 9, 2023April 18, 2023 Mark Elliot 149-159 S Maple, due diligence, Hank Dayani, Mark Elliot

Most tenants won’t need to research the landlord because the relationship is simply business: the tenant writes the check and the landlord provides the housing. But sometimes complications arise and it is useful to know the owner of the property. Not the property management company but the beneficial owner who profits from the enterprise. Here we share some tips on how we do our due diligence using city and state records.

Explainer

Eviction Resources for Renting Households

April 7, 2023April 18, 2023 Mark Elliot eviction

We expect more renting households to come fact-to-face with the eviction process over the next month or two than over the past three years. The Los Angeles County moratorium expired in March. The Beverly Hills moratorium was allowed to expire last May and June 1st rent repayment deadline now looms with no prospect of extension. Households that cannot pay the rent or the rent arrears may find a 3-day pay-or-quit notice posted. Shortly thereafter comes the court summons for unlawful detainer. What’s a tenant to do? Here we present webinars, books and tools to explain the eviction process.

Explainer

Rental Unit Registration: What Does It Mean for Tenants? [Updated]

April 7, 2023April 8, 2023 Mark Elliot rental unit registration

Owners of Beverly Hills rental property which is not exempt from rent stabilization must register each rental unit with the city’s rental unit registry. Registration starts in January. After the registration period closes in spring, a 15-day appeal window opens. The city then sends each rent-stabilized household a ‘notice of rent amount reported by the landlord’ If the reported rent is the amount paid then no action is required; an incorrect rent amount should be corrected through an appeal. But this is also an opportunity to see if the paid rent is the lawful rent. Here’s what you need to know.

Explainer

History of the Beverly Hills Rent Subsidy

April 1, 2023June 18, 2023 Mark Elliot Helen Morales, Julian Gold, Lili Bosse, qualified tenant subsidy

Beverly Hills approved a $1M rent subsidy to tenants in the first year of the pandemic to provide up to $1,000 per month for a maximum of three months to an eligible rent-stabilized household. Restrictions on eligibility meant that only one hundred households saw rent relief. Council then proposed a second round subsidy to disburse the balance of program funds but could not come to agreement on a framework for the subsidy or eligibility criteria. That was nearly a year ago and in the meanwhile tenants have asked, What happened to the rent subsidy? We went back in time to document exactly where this program went off the rails.

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

Explainer

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

March 5, 2023August 29, 2023 Mark Elliot BHPD, permit-by-plate

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.

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