Curbed Los Angeles: County supervisors vote in favor of temporary rent ‘freeze’

Los Angeles County supervisors voted 4 to 1 in favor today of temporarily restricting landlords in unincorporated communities from raising rents more than 3 percent per year. The so-called rent freeze will have to be voted on again before taking effect. That’s likely to happen in 60 days, and if ultimately approved, it would limit increases to 3 percent per year for six months, using today’s rent levels as the baseline. (That baseline, proponents say, is critical to stopping landlords from passing big rent hikes ahead of the final adoption.) It’s a stop gap measure, Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said, while county officials mull a permanent rent stabilization ordinance in Los Angeles County, where a housing crisis is helping fuel a scourge of homelessness.