Culver City Passes Temporary Rent Cap
By Chava Gourarie August 14, 2019 3:59 pm
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Culver City, Calif., has passed a temporary rent cap, limiting rent increases to 3 percent for a period of 12 months in most apartments in the city.
The ordinance was approved four-to-one at a city council meeting Monday night after hours of debate, and also includes additional tenant protections.
The decision is a stopgap measure, allowing Culver City time to consider more permanent rent control options, and adds the city to a growing list of Southern California cities using rent control to address a growing affordability crisis, the Los Angeles Times first reported.
It follows an earlier meeting in June, when the City Council took steps to implement the rent freeze, as Commercial Observer reported.
The cap applies to unregulated multifamily units built before February 1995, which translates to 2,894 units, or 84 percent of Culver City’s rental stock. Rents for those apartments increased by 14.8 percent in the last three years, according to a report commissioned by the city, and 4.4 percent since last year, to an average of $2,210.
While rents are increasing across Los Angeles, Culver City in particular has experienced rapid transformation, as large numbers of tech companies, including Netflix, Amazon and Apple, have moved into the petite westside city.
The report also reviewed five other local governments that have implemented temporary rent freezes via emergency ordinance, including Glendale, unincorporated Los Angeles, and Inglewood.
In Culver City, the temporary freeze was put in place in order to stop landlords from preemptively raising rents before permanent rent control measures are introduced, the Times reported.
