California may be ending its renter protections but some cities in Southern California are taking action to protect their residents from substantial increases. As home prices continue to rise and rents continue to rise, some cities are seeking to establish rent control to help their residents.
Recently, Bell Gardens became the latest city to take action. Its city council unanimously voted to advance a rent control plan that limits annual increases to no more than 4%. Pomona’s city council also recently capped annual rent increases at 4%.
The Bell Gardens proposal still needs a final vote of approval. Once the plan is finalized, tenant advocates say Bell Gardens will become the first city in Southeast L.A. to enact rent control.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 96% of Bell Gardens residents identify as Latino. More than one-quarter are experiencing poverty. To cover rent, “most folks will say that they’ve already talked about cutting down food costs, they’ve already talked about medicine costs,” said Martha Pineda, an organizer with California Latinas for Reproductive Justice. In the past, she said, “rent hikes have essentially displaced a community that’s lived [in Bell Gardens] for decades.”
A City Of Renters
The population of Bell Gardens is overwhelmingly made up of renters. Close to 78% of the city’s households rent their homes, according to 2021 data from the Southern California Association of Governments. Nearly two-thirds of those renter households are considered “rent burdened,” meaning rent consumes more than 30% of their income. About one-third of renters in the city devote more than half of their income to paying the rent.
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