Rent Stabilization Commission

RSO Commission Recommends No Change in the Max Rent Increase

July 19, 2022July 20, 2022 Mark Elliot max, Rent Stabilization Commission

The Rent Stabilization Commission at its July meeting discussed a recommendation to City Council that could amend the rent stabilization ordinance to allow certain pass-through charges and make a potential adjustment to the way the maximum allowable annual rent increase is calculated. Commissioners agreed to recommend an 8% cap on the annual rent increase for all rent-stabilized households in Beverly Hills and deferred action on pass-throughs until August. It was another circuitous and frustrating discussion in the commission’s marathon effort to work though the fundamental concepts behind the rent stabilization ordinance.

News

RSO Commission to Discuss the Rent Increase Cap and Allowable Pass-Throughs

July 2, 2022July 3, 2022 Mark Elliot max increase, pass-through, Rent Stabilization Commission

The Rent Stabilization Commission at its regular July 6th meeting will revisit an issue that will concern every Beverly Hills rent-stabilized household: potential future amendments to the rent stabilization ordinance relating to the maximum allowable annual rent increase and and the charges that may be passed-through to tenants. Each can make a difference in the amount of rent we pay but affect the price of housing in very different ways. Let’s take a look at what’s on the commission’s agenda and how it may affect tenants.

Rent Stabilization Commission zoom meeting January 5, 2021

News

RSO Commission OKs Fees, Whiffs on Habitability

January 8, 2022January 8, 2022 Mark Elliot Frances Miller, habitability standard, Neal Baseman, relocation fees, Rent Stabilization Commission

The Rent Stabilization Commission has agreed to recommend to City Council that relocation fees should be calculated differently. Most households would receive a substantially reduced fee according to our analysis. Households that rent from a ‘mom-and-pop’ landlord owning four or fewer units could see their fee further reduced. The good news is that the commission came to loggerheads on habitability so no action was taken that would tank a better standard for conditions in Beverly Hills rental housing.

Analysis

Commission Recommended Relocation Fees: A Bad Deal for Tenants

December 31, 2021December 31, 2021 Mark Elliot relocation fees, Rent Stabilization Commission

On December 5th the Rent Stabilization Commission is poised to pass a resolution that will recommend Beverly Hills to change the way the relocation fees are calculated. The new formula would reduce the fee for nine out of ten rent-stabilized households, should they be evicted, and effectively reduces the compensation for moving expenses to a flat $1,000 regardless of apartment size. The commission majority supported a change to relocation fees by a 4–2 vote. Tenant commissioners didn’t support it, though, because it would be a bad deal for tenants.

Commentary

Courier Gets It Wrong: Relocation Fees Would Fall, Not Rise

December 19, 2021December 22, 2021 Mark Elliot Courier, relocation fees, Rent Stabilization Commission

Again the Beverly Hills Courier gets it wrong. A recent report says the Rent Stabilization Commission’s recommended change to Beverly Hills relocation fees would result in higher compensation for most tenants. Not true: nine out of ten households would receive a lower fee — as much as several thousand dollars less — while some households would see their compensation further slashed if they rent from a ‘mom-and-pop’ landlord. We try to correct the record with this letter to the editor but the “Newspaper of Record for Beverly Hills” declined to print it.

News

RSO Commission Recommends Changes to the Relocation Fees

December 6, 2021December 20, 2021 Mark Elliot Neal Baseman, relocation fees, Rent Stabilization Commission

At the November 3rd meeting the Rent Stabilization Commission recommended a new formula to calculate relocation fees in Beverly Hills that will, in most instances, reduce the fee paid to households if evicted by the landlord due to no fault of the tenant. At the next meeting in December the commission recommended that tenants of ‘mom-and-pop’ landlords should receive 25% less. If City Council enacts these changes then come July households across the city will fare much worse than today if evicted for no fault. Let’s take a look at the commission’s recommendation.

News

Habitability Comes to the Rent Stabilization Commission

November 3, 2021 Mark Elliot habitability standard, Rent Stabilization Commission

The Beverly Hills Rent Stabilization Commission on November 3rd will discuss a rent stabilization ordinance amendment concerning a new habitability standard for rent-stabilized housing, housing inspections and other policies related to maintenance of the rental housing stock. This is not the first city policy discussion about it. Fifteen years ago City Council considered and rejected a rental housing inspection program that might have made all the difference to tenants today. Will this time be any different?

News

Rent Stabilization Commission Recommends End to Moratorium Protections

October 25, 2021October 26, 2021 Mark Elliot eviction moratorium, no-fault moratorium, Rent Stabilization Commission, rent-increase moratorium

If the Rent Stabilization Commission has its way, all moratorium protections for tenants that were enacted during the pandemic would come to an immediate end. Commissioners have recommended to City Council that payment of full rent should resume — and that no-fault evictions and evictions for nonpayment should go forward too. Rent increases would also resume as early as December if City Council agrees at its October 26th meeting.

News

RSO Commission Special Meeting: Moratorium and Relocation Fees

September 12, 2021September 12, 2021 Mark Elliot no-fault moratorium, relocation fees, Rent Stabilization Commission, rent-increase moratorium

The Beverly Hills Rent Stabilization Commission will hold a special meeting on Monday, September 13 at 6 pm to discuss COVID–19 moratoriums on no-fault eviction and rent increases as well as potential amendments to the rent stabilization ordinance concerning relocation fees. It is a special meeting because the last regular meeting was cancelled. And it is carryover business because both issues have already been discussed but not resolved.

Commentary

It is Premature to End COVID-19 Tenant Protections

August 31, 2021 Mark Elliot no-fault moratorium, Rent Stabilization Commission, rent-increase moratorium

The Beverly Hills Rent Stabilization Commission on September 1st will likely decide whether to recommend to City Council that tenant

News

RSO Commission to Discuss Modifications to COVID Emergency Order

August 31, 2021August 31, 2021 Mark Elliot no-fault moratorium, Rent Stabilization Commission, rent-increase moratorium

The Beverly Hills Rent Stabilization Commission has been busy since it was reconstituted in August with new tenant representatives. The commission first recommended bringing to an end the city’s moratorium on eviction for nonpayment. Then it took tentative steps toward allowing a double rent increase while trying to cushion the impact on tenants. Now at the upcoming September 1st meeting the commissioners will decide whether to end or amend the other emergency tenant protections: the moratoriums on rent increases and no-fault evictions. Is it time for those protections to end?

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