Renters Alliance – Page 2 – The Voice of Multifamily Residents in Beverly Hills Since 2017

Renting Households Will Be Hardest-Hit by Electric Rate Change

May 27, 2024May 27, 2024 Mark Elliot SoCal Edison, utilities

The California Public Utilities Commission has approved a change in electricity rates that will hit hardest the smallest households that pay the power bill directly to investor-owned utilities like Southern California Edison. New for electricity bills in 2025 is a higher fixed charge of $24.15 monthly that will fund improvements to the power grid and the costs of mitigating damage from wildfires. Offsetting the higher charge is a modest decrease in electricity usage rates. The goal is to encourage consumers to buy electric appliances and vehicles but the cost of the policy change will be borne disproportionately by smaller households.

LA County rent relief program splash screen

News

County COVID Rent Relief is Available…With Caveats

May 26, 2024July 5, 2024 Mark Elliot Los Angeles County, rent relief

Los Angeles County is providing another $68 million in rent relief to qualified LA County landlords for COVID–19 rent arrears. Funds will cover up to $30k in back rent if that debt was incurred after April 1, 2022. The caveats: the landlord must apply; and priority will go to geographic areas in the county that are deemed high or highest need. The application window closes June 4th.

News

Beverly Hills to Dissolve the Rent Stabilization Commission

May 26, 2024May 26, 2024 Mark Elliot

City council has tentatively agreed to dissolve the Rent Stabilization Commission. The commission from the outset was beset with operational challenges: discussions were by turns divisive and meandering; commissioners were slow to grasp complex policies; and commissioner vacancies proved difficult to fill. Given the dysfunction this commission was a distraction for rent stabilization staff that had more important problems to address. So city council tentatively agreed to scuttle it. What does that mean for Beverly Hills tenants?

Commentary

My Beverly Hills City Council 2024 Election Endorsements

February 22, 2024July 5, 2024 Mark Elliot Alissa Roston, Craig Corman, Election 2024, Mary Wells

The polls close on March 5th and that means those who have not already voted have less than two weeks to mark our ballots. And arguably the most consequential contest on this primary ballot is our municipal election. Ten candidates are running for Beverly Hills city council. It can be a challenge to make an informed choice so I want to offer my personal endorsements.

Frequently I am asked for my opinion because I am active in the city on the subject of tenants’ rights. Here I reluctantly offer my own personal endorsements because I know that we want our concerns are represented in city hall and it can be difficult to decide for whom to vote.

It matters. Do you feel that you are the last to know when construction is going to disrupt your day? Are you worried about car break-ins because you feel like our alleys are not sufficiently patrolled? These are concerns that are unique to tenants. We need city hall to hear them. And we need new councilmembers who will talk about them.

I feel that two candidates are the best all-around choices for city council: Craig Corman and Alissa Roston. Now, they may not necessarily be the most ardent tenants’ rights champions so I want to share my reasons for choosing them. Read on to learn why I support them for city council in 2024.

News

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.

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, 2023July 5, 2024 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 5, 2024 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, 2023March 25, 2024 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 5, 2024 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?

Explainer

My Landlord is Asking for an Estoppel. Need I Sign It?

July 16, 2024July 29, 2024 Mark Elliot

An estoppel certificate is a legal document that simply establishes the terms and status of a rental agreement (or lease) for a third party like a prospective buyer. Typically a tenant is asked to complete an estoppel when purchase negotiations advance and that request may come from the current owner or an agent working on behalf of a prospective buyer. It is nothing to fear; it is a standard step in the sale of real property. In any case the lease or rental agreement may require the tenant to complete it. When presented with an estoppel to complete and sign you may have questions. Here is what you need to know.

Explainer