High rents drive tenants out of town
By Daily Bruin Staff
Sept. 24, 2000 9:00 p.m.
 Daily Bruin File Photo Apartment prices in Westwood have
increased in recent years in response to the high demand for
housing near campus.
By Jessica Kwek
Daily Bruin Contributor
UCLA students comb the streets of Westwood each year searching
for affordable housing, but what many of them find in the end are
overpriced apartments.
Wedged between Bel Air, Brentwood, Century City and Beverly
Hills, some see Westwood as a target for overpriced housing.
“They’re just normal, average apartments,”
said Jannie Younis Alvarez, manager at RentOnWeb.com.
“There’s really nothing special about the apartments in
Westwood.”
But the shortage of available on-campus housing, proximity to
UCLA, and nearby luxury housing units all lead to outrageous rent
rates in Westwood, said Liz Kemper, director of Student Legal
Services .
As a result, some choose to live outside of Westwood to escape
the high rent.
“I opted not to live in the heart of Westwood because the
prices are simply too high,” said Jamie Bakos, an employee in
Westwood.
Inflated rental prices stem from the high demand for housing
near campus.
As UCLA’s population grew over the years ““ from
5,000 students in 1944 to more than 36,500 students today ““
so has the number of people living in Westwood.
Despite Westwood’s increased population, few apartment
buildings are being constructed today.
Most apartments in Westwood were built in the ’60s and
’70s, according to Sonya Burnett, an administrative assistant
at the Community Housing Office.
The buildings in Westwood are predominantly older buildings,
with a few larger property-managed buildings that are owned by
companies with other apartment complexes.
Landlords of smaller, older buildings try to keep their prices
competitive with the property-managed buildings, Burnett said.
Since 1995, prices have soared in Westwood. In the early
’90s landlords charged about $700 for a one-bedroom apartment
in Westwood. Tenants today pay $1,100 for the same apartment,
Kemper said.
Despite high prices, many Westwood buildings remain under rent
control, including most apartments dated before 1978, Kemper said.
Rent control means a landlord can only raise a tenant’s rent
3 percent each year or 5 percent if they pay some of the
tenant’s utilities.
“However, if a tenant voluntarily vacates the building,
the landlord can raise the rent as much as they like for the next
tenant,” Kemper said.
Because undergraduate and graduate students generally do not
live in the neighborhood for more than a few years,
Westwood’s high turnover rate gives landlords the opportunity
to raise rent.
Along with raising rent, landlords are also raising security
deposits.
“I’ve noticed landlords are doubling
deposits,” Alvarez said. “This means the tenants end up
paying three months’ rent just to move in.”
Subsequently, some students opt to move to cheaper areas such as
Palms, Mar Vista and West Los Angeles. However, rent in these areas
are affected by prices in Westwood.
“If rent in Westwood goes up $200, rent in Palms goes up
$200 as well,” Burnett said.
A two-bedroom apartment that costs $1,610 in Westwood can run
for $1,085 in Palms and $1,050 in Mar Vista, according to a UCLA
Community Housing’s Rental Rate Survey this year.
“Palms is cheaper and the apartments are generally bigger
than apartments in Westwood,” said Nicole Morones, a
third-year mathematics student. “The only drawback is the
distance to UCLA, but still, many students live in that
area.”
Besides high prices, students are concerned whether they receive
fair treatment from landlords.
Last spring, four students founded the Student Tenants’
Union, which provides information about tenants’ rights to
transfer students and those living off-campus for the first
time.
“It is important that we collectively come together as
students,” said Vartan Djihanian, one of the union’s
founders.
Some residents fear their landlords are taking advantage of them
because they are students.
“Many landlords know that we are first-time renters and
they take advantage of that situation,” said Dena Yahya, a
third-year political science student.
Similar prices are prevalent near other highly populated
universities.
“It is the same near USC. Apartments are overpriced and
you’re not getting a good value for your money,” said
Adrian Fontanilla, a fourth-year music student at USC.
But not all college campuses face this overpriced housing
problem.
California Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo has several
large, privately owned housing buildings that cater to students,
according to Jessica Reed, a former resident there.
They offer separate leases for each roommate, similar to
on-campus housing, at affordable rates. Additionally, many
apartments are furnished and close to campus, Reed said.
In contrast, apartments in Westwood aren’t private
buildings that cater to students.
Not only have rental prices in Westwood gone up, but the
community itself has diminished in the the past two decades.
Burnett said Westwood residents today do not enjoy the same night
life that once existed years ago; they pay higher prices for a
less-lively neighborhood.
“Years ago Westwood just started to pick up around 11
o’clock,” Burnett said. “Today when I go into
Westwood at 11 o’clock the streets are dead.”
Yet Westwood remains a popular neighborhood to live in because
it is in the heart of West L.A.
“Everyone wants to live near UCLA in Westwood,”
Alvarez said. “Not only to be near UCLA but also because it
is a trendy, upscale area.”
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS California laws prevent
landlords from taking advantage of tenants. PROVISION OF
SECURITY DEPOSIT In California, a security deposit is
limited to two month’s rent for an unfurnished apartment.
USE OF SECURITY DEPOSIT Landlords may only use the
deposit toward unpaid rent, to repair damages caused by the tenant
other than normal wear and tear, for necessary cleaning of the
premises , or to remedy out violations of the rental agreement.
RETURN OF SECURITY DEPOSIT Landlords must return
the full deposit or partial refund with a list of itemized
deductions within 21 days after the tenant moves out.
REPAIRS The landlord must repair problems as that
make the unit uninhabitable, such as poor plumbing, gas or heating
systems, and unsanitary grounds with debris and rodents or vermin.
But, the landlord is not responsible for repairing damages caused
by the tenant or the tenant’s guests. The landlord and the tenant
may sign an agreement that the tenant will assume responsibility
for all repairs and maintenance in exchange for lower rent.
Landlords usually have 30 days to make repairs after a tenant
informs them of a problem except in emergency cases. SOURCE:
California Department of Consumer Affairs and Nolo Self-Help Law
Center Original graphic by ADAM BROWN/Daily Bruin. Web adaptation
by CHRISTINE TAN
