Inglewood is latest city to approve permanent rent control measure

Add Inglewood to the growing list of municipalities taking rent control into their own hands.

The Inglewood City Council on Tuesday unanimously voted in favor of permanent rent control measures to cap rent increases and offer relocation allowances for unfair evictions, according to Curbed. The decision comes as the cost of living in Inglewood continues to rise, thanks to a tight housing stock and series of megadevelopments quickly changing the neighborhood.

The move comes as a growing number of Los Angeles County municipalities have been trying to create initiatives to protect more tenants from rising rents.  The efforts follow the defeat of Proposition 10 last November, which would have opened the door to statewide rent control.

In the last few years, many of Inglewood’s black and Hispanic residents have been priced out of the city, where two-thirds of the residents are renters. Much of the gentrification is due to the $5 billion sports complex set to rise in the area, expected to open next summer. The NFL Stadium has drawn a flurry of developers and investors to the area, driving up prices for residents.

For the most part, Inglewood landlords will now be prohibited from raising rents by more than 5 percent in a year. There are some exceptions where the cap will be 8 percent, such as if a landlord has kept rents far below market rate, or if landlords complete $10,000 or more worth of improvements.

For renters who have lived in a building for at least two years then get evicted, landlords will be required to provide relocation allowances. In Long Beach, a similar measure was recently passed that allows tenants to receive as much as $4,500 in relocation fees if landlords raise rents by 10 percent or higher.

The new law will apply only to rental properties built after February 1995. Single-family homes and condominiums are excluded. [Curbed] — Natalie Hoberman