Andrew Kim: Rent-control policies must be updated to address homelessness in LA

In the fight against homelessness, the city of Los Angeles is lacking control over its rent control.

Treating homelessness is an issue that has drawn major attention at the ballot box, and LA voters are eager to approach the problem.

Measure H, which is on the March 7 municipal election ballot, would add a quarter of a percent sales tax in order to raise money for numerous homeless initiatives. In November 2016, a large majority of LA voters supported Measures HHH and JJJ. The former approved funding for housing-first programs for homeless people, while the latter forces new developments to designate affordable housing units for low-income renters.

But despite all these initiatives, there still remains one large barrier to addressing the issue of homelessness. The Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, passed in 1995, prevents local governments in California from establishing new forms of rent control. Despite the ramifications of this state law, it receives very little coverage. Even in a time when many California metros are faced with rent increases similar to those in LA, blowback against Costa-Hawkins remains limited.

While the recent measures provide a benefit for existing homeless populations, it’s time for the city to take a more proactive stance in not just alleviating homelessness, but also preventing it. LA and its elected members in the state legislature should vocally oppose the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act and seek to eventually establish new forms of rent control. While the state legislature fights that battle, LA should continue to fund various anti-homeless measures and continue to fund rent-assistance programs, especially in gentrifying neighborhoods.

[Related: Los Angeles residents vote to pass Measure M and Measure HHH]

Increasing rates of homelessness have largely been attributed to rising rents in LA, and it’s no surprise. According to Rent Jungle, a conglomerate rental-housing search engine, the average rent in LA has gone from $1,585 in 2011 to $2,618 in 2017 – a 61 percent increase over six years.

Considering the median renter in LA already spends 47 percent of their income on rent, according to a study done by the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, the rising cost of rent hardly seems sustainable. And nowadays, instead of inspiring a beloved Broadway rock musical, being unable to pay the rent only seems to land you in the streets, just like 26,000 other people in LA.

Areas with low-income residents are especially vulnerable to the effects of gentrification without rent control. Neighborhoods such as Venice Beach and Echo Park have already been gentrified, resulting in displacement of many disadvantaged populations, and a gentrification map of LA – developed by UC Berkeley in collaboration with UCLA – shows that almost all of central LA is vulnerable to gentrification in the near future. That leaves a lot of people uncertain about their ability to pay rent. Ultimately, rent control is needed to provide low-income areas with housing stability.

Currently, only housing that was built before Oct. 1, 1978 is eligible for rent control and is covered under the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, which capped rent increases for these units. LA should update this ordinance to include housing built before 2010 in order to maintain affordable rents for its residents. Doing so would provide much-needed stability, especially in gentrifying or rapidly developing areas.

But before the city can expand its rent-control policies, Costa-Hawkins must first be repealed on a state-wide level. It has allowed for the continued displacement of disadvantaged economic groups and has rendered local governments powerless in preventing the homelessness that comes as a result of unchecked gentrification.

If there is any time for an anti-Costa-Hawkins movement to occur, it is now. On Feb. 17 a bill repealing Costa-Hawkins was introduced in California legislature. Having city governments like LA and San Francisco pressing upon this issue could prove fruitful, especially with a heavily Democratic state government that would be more open to progressive housing reforms.

Many detractors of rent control claim that such policies remove the financial incentive to build more housing and exacerbate the same housing shortages that lead to higher rents. However, the post-Costa-Hawkins California is still unable to provide ample housing. Coastal California has less than 1 percent growth in housing units and is well below the U.S. average. Furthermore, LA’s high housing demand has been met mostly with high prices, not new housing units.

People in favor of market-price rents need to recognize that the current markets have already failed to meet the current demand, and as a result have already put people’s homes at risk. Still, controlling rents for housing units built pre-2010 shouldn’t deter developers from building new housing units. Newer buildings would still be free from rent control and would likely remain that way for a long time. After all, it’s almost been 40 years since the last form of rent control has been established, and a crucial update to LA rent policies is more than overdue.

The current level of homelessness in LA has already been described as a crisis. We can only expect the number of homeless and people in need of housing support to grow if current housing and rent trends continue. Repealing Costa-Hawkins allows cities to truly address the homeless issue, even before it hits the streets.