{"id":2584,"date":"2008-02-09T13:05:09","date_gmt":"2008-02-09T20:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=2584"},"modified":"2008-02-10T09:58:46","modified_gmt":"2008-02-10T16:58:46","slug":"los-angeles-city-rent-control-read-it-and-reap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2584\/los-angeles-city-rent-control-read-it-and-reap\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles City Rent Control: Read it and REAP."},"content":{"rendered":"

I notice my sidebar title is “Investor”.\u00a0 OK, I can run with that.\u00a0 But please don’t expect fun and easy tips on how to get rich quick.\u00a0 I haven’t quite mastered that yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, as the owner, operator and manager of a few residential rental units within the City of Los Angeles,\u00a0 I can speak with a little authority on understanding and coping with rent control regulations.<\/p>\n

Like any bureaucracy, Los Angeles Housing Dept is alphabet soup of departments, divisions, and special programs.<\/p>\n

The acronym that most strikes fear into the heart of Los Angeles property owners is REAP: Rent Escrow Account Program.\u00a0\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0 Which basically means that if the City determines your property is “unsafe” or “untenantable”, the city collects your rent and places\u00a0your money in a city\u00a0escrow account,\u00a0after first reducing the amount due\u00a0based on a sliding scale of whether the conditions are “nuisance” or “hazardous”.\u00a0\u00a0 You\u00a0don’t have\u00a0access to the money.\u00a0 \u00a0Administration fees are charged, the City pockets any interest earned.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But then, the City makes the needed repairs with the money, right?\u00a0 Hmm, no, not automatically.\u00a0 The tenants or the property owner must petition for a release of escrowed funds, with the burden on the property owner to show “financial hardship preventing payment of such services beyond a mere negative cash flow for the property.”<\/p>\n

“Mere”?<\/p>\n

Back in 2001, city controller Laura Chick admitted that the REAP program was “broken<\/a>“.\u00a0 To me “broken” implies something that no longer works, but did in fact work at some point in time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Speaking as a pragmatist, REAP never worked.\u00a0 It takes money to make repairs.\u00a0 Reducing a property owner’s cash flow reduces his or her ability to make the needed repairs.<\/p>\n

What would work?\u00a0 Speaking again as a pragmatist, make low-cost\/no-cost funds available to rental property owners for the sole purpose of repairing their properties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I notice my sidebar title is “Investor”.\u00a0 OK, I can run with that.\u00a0 But please don’t expect fun and easy tips on how to get rich quick.\u00a0 I haven’t quite mastered that yet.\u00a0 However, as the owner, operator and manager of a few residential rental units within the City of Los Angeles,\u00a0 I can speak […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2584","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-investment","7":"category-real-estate","9":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2602,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2602\/city-of-los-angeles-tenant-relocation-assistance\/","url_meta":{"origin":2584,"position":0},"title":"City of Los Angeles Tenant Relocation Assistance","author":"Cheryl Johnson","date":"February 15, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Rent Control took effect in the City of Los Angeles in 1979.\u00a0 In February, 1986,\u00a0provision for tenant relocation assistance was added by amendment.\u00a0 For the purpose of relocation assistance, the ordinance recognizes two categories of tenants:\u00a0 Eligible - which is basically everyone, and Qualified - which is any tenant with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Investment"","block_context":{"text":"Investment","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/investment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18160,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/18160\/overnight-news-the-purge\/","url_meta":{"origin":2584,"position":1},"title":"Overnight News: The Purge?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"May 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"This is Marxism in one gerundive: Ants are to have been devoured by Grasshoppers. If you say, \"Then what?\" \u2013 you're out of the club, but that doesn't really matter: The goal is not their success but your failure. Civilization is created by Ants for Ants. What happens when civil\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Group Therapy"","block_context":{"text":"Group Therapy","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/group-therapy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ya think it's easy?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/BHBNewTopImage-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7923,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/7923\/handling-a-deal-with-a-foreign-buyer-or-seller\/","url_meta":{"origin":2584,"position":2},"title":"Handling a deal with a foreign buyer or seller","author":"Phil Hodgen","date":"April 17, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I am an international tax lawyer. I handle lots of real estate transactions with foreign sellers and buyers. I don't have a real estate license, and I don't ask for a piece of the commission. Got that out of the way for ya, didn't I? Here are a few things\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Mother"","block_context":{"text":"Big Mother","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/big-mother\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2524,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2524\/the-odysseus-medal-its-not-just-about-the-lender-escrow-officer-and-agent-doing-their-job-its-about-them-doing-their-job-as-a-team\/","url_meta":{"origin":2584,"position":3},"title":"The Odysseus Medal: “It’s not just about the lender, escrow officer, and agent doing their job; its about them doing their job as a team.”","author":"Greg Swann","date":"January 21, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The Odysseus Medal this week goes to Trevor Smith for Theology, Postmodernism, and a Different Kind of Buyer:- Postmodernism places value on the journey. Many of my clients are very interested in learning about the process of real estate. They don\u2019t want\u00a0somebody to\u00a0do it for them. They want to be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Carnivals"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Carnivals","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blog-carnivals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10037,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/10037\/capture-appreciation-and-cash-flow\/","url_meta":{"origin":2584,"position":4},"title":"Capture Appreciation and Cash Flow","author":"Cooksquared","date":"October 12, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The advantage of investing in today\u2019s market is the potential to capture appreciating assets that provide strong cash flow. These investments are the holy grail of real estate investing. In strong markets, these properties simply don\u2019t exist, but in down markets, a smart investor can pick out these diamonds among\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Real Estate"","block_context":{"text":"Real Estate","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/real-estate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1669,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/1669\/how-not-to-divorce-the-real-estate-commissions-la-buyer-figures-out-who-pays-the-commissions-but-seems-not-to-grasp-the-nature-of-the-listing-agreement\/","url_meta":{"origin":2584,"position":5},"title":"How not to divorce the real estate commissions: L.A. buyer figures out who pays the commissions but seems not to grasp the nature of the listing agreement","author":"Greg Swann","date":"July 17, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Via Freakonomics, the L.A. 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