Glendale landlords will pay relocation fees if they hike rents more than 7%

Glendale has passed a mandatory relocation fee ordinance meant to assist renters priced out of their apartments.

It’s an early move by lawmakers in Los Angeles to find ways to strengthen rent control measures after November’s defeat of Proposition 10.

Landlords in Glendale will pay relocation fees to tenants if they plan to raise rents more than 7 percent, according to Curbed. The Glendale City Council approved the measure on Tuesday.

The city approved a temporary 5 percent cap on rent hikes approved in November, but that expires at the end of February.

Glendale’s measure applies to the owners of buildings built before 1995, to comply with the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, which bars rent regulations on buildings built after that year.

Prop 10 was a statewide measure that would have repealed Costa-Hawkins and opened the possibility for sweeping new rent-control laws across California.

Glendale will also require landlords to offer year-long leases to tenants, including at buildings built after 1995. Relocation fees will be lower for owners of smaller buildings.

L.A. County lawmakers approved a rent cap in November for unincorporated parts of the county. That cap was set at 3 percent. The measure has scared off some investors from buying up multifamily assets in those areas, which include urban parts of L.A.

Glendale has a tight residential market. The vacancy rate is under 3 percent and more than half of renters spend more than 35 percent of their income on rent, according to Curbed. [Curbed] — Dennis Lynch