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Coalition for Economic Survival (CES)
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Eviction Map Shows Where 23,024 LA Rent Controlled Units Were Lost from 2001 to 2017
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In 2017, Los Angeles Lost 5 Affordable Rent Control Units a Day Due to the State Ellis Act!
1,824 Units Lost in 2017
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The City of Los Angeles saw 540 more Ellis Act Eviction application filed by landlords and developers for the last quarter of 2017, October through December.
In 2017 the total number of RSO units lost in the City of LA has reached 1,824 due to the Ellis Act, which 452 units more of the total number of units lost in 2016.
This is the equivalent of losing nearly 5 Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) units a day in 2017.
For the last 9 years, since 2009, the number of buildings lost to the Ellis Act has significantly risen. In 2017, 428 buildings vanished from the city's affordable rent controlled housing stock.
The Ellis Act, a state law passed in 1985, which undermines local rent control laws, provides landlords the ability to evict tenants in order to remove housing units from the rental market.
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The map, using data provided by the
Los Angeles Housing + Community Investment Department (HCIDLA),
visually shows the devastating impact the Ellis Act has had on tenants being displaced and affordable rent controlled housing lost. One can view the address of the buildings and the number of units lost there, due to the Ellis Act, by hovering over the dot using a computer mouse or laptop touch pad.
The housing loss impact has been on neighborhoods across the city, thus worsening Los Angeles' affordable housing shortage.
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"Ellis Act evictions are continuing to wreck Los Angeles and displacing hundreds of people. If measures aren't taken soon, we see no signs of it ceasing.," said Erin Mcel, co-director or the
Anti-Eviction Mapping Project.
Coalition for Economic Survival Executive Director Larry Gross stated that, "Los Angeles' affordable housing crisis is one of the most severe in the nation. This map, which we continue to update, visually shows how the Ellis Act has ravaged our city's affordable rent controlled housing stock. Unfortunately, we are also able to see how the evictions are increasing and spreading across Los Angeles."
Los Angeles is a city of renters with approximately 64% of its residents being tenants. Unfortunately, approximately 64% of those renters are paying unaffordable rents, with many paying 50% or more of their income to rent.
Los Angeles has the highest poverty rate in the nation at 26%, meaning one in every four households is living in poverty.
We have a severe overcrowded housing situation here with families needing to double up and triple up to afford the rent. Seven out of the 10 zips codes in the nation with the most overcrowded conditions are in LA.
The Ellis Act only contributes to our existing housing crisis situation.
We can no longer allow developers to go into communities and just bulldoze them to put up high-priced luxury housing. Because, if this continues, next time around there will be another initiative, which will deal with these issues directly, and it will gather more support.
Short of eliminating the Ellis Act all together, which CES fully supports, the State Legislature should, at the minimum, take action to amend the Ellis Act in the following way:
- Restrict the ability to use the Ellis Act to property owners who have owned the property for at least 5 years
- Limit the number of times a year a developer can use the Ellis Act.
- Provide all tenants, regardless of age or family status, with a one-year notice of eviction. (Assembly Bill - AB 982 introduced by Assembly Members Bloom Assembly Members Richard Bloom and David Chiu, and Senator Ben Allen would provide for a one year notice to all receiving Ellis Act evictions. Unfortunately, AB 982 became a two-year bill due to the lack of Assembly support. We need to push for its adoption. In addition, they introduced AB 1506, which would have repealed the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act that restricts local government from enacting strong and effective rent control laws. AB 1506 did not receive the needed votes to pass out of the Assembly Housing Committee on January 11.)
These actions would curb speculators buying rent controlled property for the sole
purpose of demolishing and destroying this affordable housing.
And, while the Ellis Act prohibits local government from impeding a landlord's ability to exit the rental market or prevent a related eviction, the Ellis Act does not inhibit a municipality's land use powers. In that regard, CES strongly urges the Los Angeles City Council to use it's land use powers and adopt ordinances that:
- Limit the number of rent controlled buildings allowed to be demolished per year.
- Require a one-for-one replacement of all rent controlled or affordable units that are demolished or converted at affordable rent levels.
- Develop incentives for developers to develop on vacant, commercial or city-owned parcels, while creating disincentives and obstacles for development projects that would result in demolishing or converting existing affordable housing.
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Minimum Wage Increase by 50 Cents
in California
Across the state, it went up $0.50 to $10.50 an hour at businesses with less than 25 employees. For larger businesses, it goes up to $11 an hour.
Los Angeles County already has a higher minimum wage that went into effect last July. It's $10.50 and $12, again based on the size of the business. In July 2018, the wages will increase to $12 and $13.25.
Some people do not feel it's enough. Larry Gross from the Coalition for Economic Survival said the increases still do not average enough for rent.
"It currently takes about four minimum wage jobs to afford the average rent in L.A. This increase, while needed, will have little impact on relieving our housing crisis," he said in a statement.
Statewide the minimum wage will continue to rise over the next five years, hitting $15 an hour by 2023. In Los Angeles County, those increases will happen faster for larger businesses by 2020.
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Thursday, January 11, 2018
On January 11, 2018, the California Assembly Housing Committee held hearings on AB 1506, a bill to repeal the dreaded Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act. AB 1506 was introduced by Assembly Member Richard Bloom, (D-Santa Monica) with David Chiu (D-San Francisco & Committee Chair), Rob Bonta (D-Alameda) and State Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica).
Coalition For Economic Survival Executive Director Larry Gross traveled to Sacramento to testify in support of the bill. He was joined by hundreds of tenants and tenant organizers from throughout the state.
Landlords also tuned out in full forces.
The Costa Hawkins Act, passed in 1995, mandates all local rent control laws to allow for unlimited increases on vacant units, providing a great incentive to landlords to evict long-term low rent tenants in order to jack up rents, exempts all new construction from rent control and prohibits rent control on single-family house rental providing Wall Street corporate landlords like Blackstone and Invitation Homes formerly Waypoint Homes who own thousands of single-family rentals the ability to rent gouge, refuse to make needed repairs and exploit tenants.
After over 4 hours of testimony and debate Democrat State Assembly Members Ed Chau (Monterey Park) and Jim Wood (Healdsburg) abstained joining with Republicans Steven Choi (Irvine) and Marc Steinorth (Rancho Cucamonga), who voted no, in blocking AB 1506, thus denying tenants the ability to secure strong and meaningful rent control laws in California.
We urge that you contact Chau and Wood, who are up for re-election, to express your outrage. They voted against the California Democratic Party position of supporting the concept of repealing Costa Hawkins.
Assembly Member Ed Chau: (916) 319-2049, Assembly Member Jim Wood: (916) 319-2002.
Also Assemblymen Richard Bloom, who authored the bill as will as Assembly Members David Chiu, and Rob Bonta and Assemblyman Mark Stone (D-Santa Cruz) who voted in support for AB 1506 should be thanked for standing up for Californian tenants.
This is not the end. The fight to #RepealCostaHawkins and the Ellis Act continues......
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Support the Coalition for Economic Survival's efforts to
* Secure tenants' rights
* Preserve existing affordable housing
* Prevent tenant displacement
Show you support for the work of CES by making a beginning of the year Tax Deductible -
Donation Now!
The economic justice victories that CES has won over the years such as rent control in the cities of Los Angeles and West Hollywood, creating the city of West Hollywood and winning numerous laws to combat slum housing, secure tenants' rights and preserve affordable housing ha
s only been possible with the generous financial support from people like you. 2017 is CES' 44th Anniversary year. Help make it another year of victories by
clicking here to donate now.
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