rent control (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland: low income, subletting, apartments)

[Tia 914]

the last I knew, California refused to allow rent control...
is that still the case?

[kettlepot]

Some city's have rent control - Berkeley and Santa Monica I believe. So it's virtually impossible to find an apartment in those cities. Other cities are beginning to impose restrictions on the ability of landlords to raise rents, but these are usually just inconveniences not actual controls.

[Tia 914]

my opinion didn't even count when I lived there, but I think the state should require it... formerly good cities are "shot" because people can't afford to live there (regular ppl with regular basic jobs, that is)... can hold OXNARD up as a prime example...
kinda sucks, having to move out of state because they won't put any type of cap on rents

[frankintank]

I lived in Berkeley under rent control in 87-88 (as a tenant) and was not persuaded of any "positive" effect other than a transfer of wealth from middle class property owners to well-heeled college students. Shortsighted liberals think that WANTING to believe in something must necessarily make it so. They turned a blind eye to the shortages induced (units taken off the market because it wasn't worth it for owners to rent them). AND to the out-in-the-open black market in units soon to be vacated. The people who knew they would be giving their landlord a 30 day notice would advertise to sell this "inside info" to motivated renters for often ridiculous premiums of $1000 or more. So much for helping the little guy who couldn't pay for inside info. Just as before - he was priced out of the market. Berkeley was unique in that it also had COMMERCIAL rent control which was repealed/reversed/sunsetted? while I lived there. What was the horrible economic consequence of that? I had to begin paying market prices at the theretofore artificially low priced mexican restaurant I frequented on Telegraph Avenue. Dinners went up a buck or 2 per plate and they were still an incredible value. But the commercial property owner who rented to the restaurant owner was no longer being forced to subsidize a dinner-out program for college students. Well here I am 20 years later, having rented in all but the last 5 of them, and NEVER has it occured to me that the government has any place dictating the terms of a contract to the person I rent from and me. Just because an interest group (renters) can mobilize political force against a less popular interest group (landlords) and compel them to hand over money (in the form of subsidized rent) doesn't change the fact that this transfer of wealth is nothing more than sanctioned theft.
Am I hypocrite for having benefitted? I suppose. Though I just played by the rules as they were when I got there. I was there less than a year, the place got sold & we left. Much of the foregoing is stuff I figured out looking back on it. I've always voted against socialists, even though I've always been in the low income strata they pitch to. Perhaps therein lies my redemption.

[Ultrarunner]

Many cities have rent control. Add Oakland and Hayward to your list.

As a lifelong CA resident, I would have to agree with the last poster. I have friends that were making more money, subletting their San Francisco apartment than they were paying in rent to the owner. I realize it is one extreme example, but, none the less, it happens.

[SandyCo]

Los Angeles has rent control, but with strange rules. First of all, it only applies to multi-family buildings that were built before 1978. If you move voluntarily, the rent for the next tenant is whatever the market will bear. I'm trapped in my rent controlled unit until I move out of L.A. altogether, since I can't afford to pay another $400/month.

What has been happening in L.A. is that apartments are being converted to condos. This has contributed to a severe lack of affordable housing in this area, of course. For example, the building across the street from me just converted, and those condos start at $400,000! That's more than twice what I could afford to buy.

[Ultrarunner]

Sandy, I'm not sure what you are saying...

Is your apartment only worth $400 per month or is the Apartment Owner paying half your rent each month because of rent control?

In either case, sounds like you are getting a great deal...

[frankintank]

Bareknuckled capitalism isn't always pretty, though it often is. I still think it's hands-down the fairest system possible for the flawed humans who must use it. I am, if anything, a financial under-achiever. Not usually the type to offer glowing praise for a semi-Darwinian world view. But guess what? I could have worked harder, made better choices, or decided that financial success was worth more to me than it ultimately was. I think many of the people I rented from made sacrifices I didn't, and took risks I wouldn't. Altruists? No. Providers of valuable services? Absolutely. Well rewarded? Not always.

[SandyCo]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

Sandy, I'm not sure what you are saying...

Is your apartment only worth $400 per month or is the Apartment Owner paying half your rent each month because of rent control?

In either case, sounds like you are getting a great deal...

Actually, I'm paying between 25% and 30% less than the market rate. Yes, I do have a good deal, considering what I could/should be paying. However, if you look at the overall picture, and see what $1,300 for a two-bedroom apartment really gets you in L.A., it ain't much! (No, I don't pay $1,300; that's how much two-bedroom apartments are renting for in my building now).

[avl777]

Does anybody know if the landlord is responsible for the cost of trash pick up services and water in a rent control property in Los Angeles? I've lived in a duplex for 16 months and just learned that my apartment is in rent control. Also, my landlord never gave me a copy of the lease agreement when I moved in and I have many questions that should be in that lease agreement. If I ask her for it she will question me even though She should have given it when I moved in. She will probably wonder what I'm up to and give me a hard time about it.