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?

This summer will be a difficult time for some Beverly Hills tenants. The one-year rent repayment period has expired so rent delayed pursuant to the city’s moratorium is now due in full. In July landlords can again raise the rent with the percentage to be decided by city council at the upcoming June 27th meeting. And August 1st is the first in a series of rolling monthly deadlines for repayment of rent delayed pursuant to the Los Angeles County moratorium. Housing costs will be more of a burden than ever. What happened to that Beverly Hills rent subsidy?

Beverly Hills City Council has tentatively agreed to create a new rental housing assistance program for tenants in order to blunt the impact of excessive rent increases in the years ahead. High inflation, compounded by City Council’s commitment to allow landlords to recoup rent increases denied during the pandemic, promises increases for rent-stabilized households well in excess of what the rent stabilization ordinance allows. As proposed this subsidy would defray about three-quarters of the monthly rent increase for eligible tenants paying a rent of less than $2,000. Details TBA when the issue comes back to Council in June. This is our recap of the Council’s April 26, 2022 discussion.