The City of West Hollywood is conducting a Rent Increase Freeze and Cap Feedback survey and multiple outreach meetings in September and early October 2022. In March 2020, the City of West Hollywood declared a local emergency due to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic crisis. On April 6, 2020, the City Council implemented a rent increase freeze at all rent stabilized properties until 60 days after the local emergency ends.  During the City Council meeting on August 15, 2022, staff was asked to return in 60 days with a proposal for a date to end the rent increase freeze during the first half of 2023 and to present an amendment to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance capping all future rent increases (annual general adjustment) for rent stabilized properties at 3%. The current annual general adjustment is determined by calculating 75% of the percentage increase of the May-to-May CPI.  Absent the current rent increase freeze, the annual general adjustment beginning September 1, 2022 would have been 6%, the highest in the City’s history.  The existing cap on the annual general adjustment is 7% but was implemented prior to the enactment of the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, which permits landlords to set a new, market-rate rent whenever a rent stabilized unit is vacated and re-rented.

Consistent with the City Council’s direction, the survey and this outreach meeting seeks to gauge the impacts of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, ending the rent increase freeze, and the proposed rent increase cap on landlords who own rent stabilized properties located within the City of West Hollywood.

 To access the survey link, please click: here

For more information, please contact a Rent Stabilization Information Coordinator at rsd@weho.org or at (323) 848-6450.