Nashia Lalani*

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In the months leading to the election, cities and counties began to adopt resolutions and other measures to advance potential rent control measures. In Los Angeles, the City Council approved a Resolution in support of Proposition 10 by a vote of 13-1 last month. The Resolution highlighted the increasingly high rental rates in the area and across California that have created a severe housing affordability crisis. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a similar Resolution in support of Proposition 10 acknowledging the opportunity for policymakers to confront the housing affordability crisis by expanding rent control. On Tuesday, voters defeated Proposition 10 by a vote of 65% to 35%. Notwithstanding this defeat, we anticipate that local governments will continue to explore ways to address housing affordability, including rent control, as a policy priority concern.
Continue Reading Battle for Rent Control May Not be Over

The City of Los Angeles continues to move toward the adoption of an ordinance that establishes an Affordable Housing Linkage Fee (Ordinance). As currently proposed, the key provisions of the Ordinance are as follows:

  • It applies to any new building permit or entitlement application submitted on or after 180 days after the Ordinance’s formal adoption date. Any such application submitted before that will not be subject to the Ordinance.
  • If the project does not qualify under any of the available exemptions, the Ordinance mandates a “linkage fee” of $5.00 per square foot for non-residential uses, $12.00 per square foot for residential uses with 6 or more units, and $1.00 per square foot for residential uses with 5 or less units. Note that the applicable deductions/credits may reduce such fees.
  • It provides exemptions and deductions/credits for certain projects. In particular, no linkage fee would be required with respect to affordable units that meet specified requirements. Also, the first 25,000 square feet of nonresidential floor area in a mixed-use building would be excluded from the fee obligation.
  • The linkage fee would be annually adjusted for inflation.

Continue Reading Update – City of Los Angeles Affordable Housing Linkage Fee