ACTION Apartment Association

Council to Consider Banning "Price-Fixing" Rental Software

03/08/2025 10:16 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City Council on Tuesday will consider drafting an ordinance to ban the use of price-fixing software that may have been used to jack up rent prices in the LA area after the recent wildfires.

The proposed ordinance, which would return for Council approval within 60 days, would include "enforceable penalties for noncompliance," according to the item placed in the agenda by Councilmembers Caroline Torosis, Ellis Raskin and Dan Hall.

Newsom extends rental price gouging protections after L.A. fires

03/08/2025 10:13 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Friday's executive order:

Caps prices until July 1 for rental housing, hotels and motels to no more than 10% from before the state of emergency was declared due to the fires.
Prohibits landlords until July 1 from evicting tenants so they could relist rental properties at a higher price.
Exempts until July 1 single family homes of four bedrooms or more in certain zip codes — many in L.A.'s west side — from the 10% rent cap if they weren't in the rental market in the year before the emergency.

City Officials Considering Unprecedented Bond

03/07/2025 5:02 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica officials are exploring an unprecedented $460 million bond measure to pay for capital projects traditionally funded by ongoing City revenues.

City to Enforce Short-term Rental Laws

03/06/2025 8:06 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Under the resolution approved last Tuesday ratifying the Emergency order issued January 8, property owners can continue renting furnished or unfurnished units for less than one year to those displaced by the wildfires.

The move to reinstate enforcement was prompted by concerns the provision for short-term rentals could be abused, although staff indicated no violations have been found.

Los Angeles stops accepting new applicants for Section 8

03/06/2025 7:52 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles has stopped accepting new applicants for the Section 8 voucher program that subsidizes rent for tens of thousands of tenants in the city.

The local authority, which is funded by the federal government, said it made the move because it doesn't expect Congress to provide enough cash this year to maintain current operations.

Santa Monica Rents Rise in Wake of Wildfires

03/05/2025 9:38 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Apartment List researchers saw rent increases in cities close to the Palisades and Eaton fires, with rents rising by 3 percent in Santa Monica since the start of the year and 2 percent in Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena.

Notification Forms for Eviction Protections and Rent Relief Now Available for Wildfire-Impacted Tenants

03/04/2025 10:40 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Department of Consumer and Business Affairs has made the forms available to help renters qualify for protections recently enacted by the Board of Supervisors. The safeguards apply throughout the county, including all 88 cities and unincorporated areas, and aim to prevent displacement due to financial hardship caused by the fires.

City Must Use Savings to Stay Afloat

03/04/2025 10:37 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The dire fiscal prognosis comes one week before the City Council is scheduled to meet on Saturday "to lay out priorities and a framework" for the 2025-2027 Operating Budget.

The five-year forecast shows that General Fund expenditures will "significantly exceed revenues" until Fiscal Year 2028-29, even with the use of new business license and parking facility taxes, said Finance Director Oscar Santiago.

AND: https://www.santamonica.gov/blog/city-council-to-discuss-biennial-budget-plan-focused-on-economic-growth

Council Sets Aside 3 Affordable Housing Sites

03/04/2025 10:36 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Bergamot Station Arts Center, 4th/5th/Arizona and Downtown Parking Structure 1 are the last of five City owned sites designated as "surplus land" to build 1,880 affordable units.

SM.a.r.t Column: The Perils of Passing the Buck: How Self-Certification Threatens Public Safety

03/03/2025 9:54 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The new proposal, by allowing architects to vouch for submittals for the safety, sustainability, and code compliance, where any warranty or promise undermines the standards of care. If something goes wrong – whether it’s a structural failure, a fire hazard, or an ADA violation – the architect doesn’t have the shield of sovereign immunity that the city does. Furthermore, with limiting city staff budgets for inspectors, would third-party inspectors be retained by the architect? That can increase risks to potentially face lawsuits, crippling insurance claims, and damage to their professional reputations.