Los Angeles Tenants in Rent-Controlled Properties May Face More Landlord Harassment, but Better-Maintained Units

A recent study published in Urban Studies, “Harassment or neglect? How market dynamics and rent control shape landlord behavior in Los Angeles,” examines how housing market conditions in Los Angeles, CA influence landlord profit-seeking behaviors, particularly harassment and neglect. The researchers collected and analyzed tenant survey data to assess whether differences between market and contract rents, rent control protections, and gentrification patterns affect landlord behavior. The study found that tenants in rent-controlled units are more likely to experience harassment and illegal eviction attempts while those in gentrifying neighborhoods report more landlord harassment. However, the study did not find strong evidence that rent-controlled tenants experience greater landlord neglect, suggesting that systematic code enforcement may help maintain housing conditions. 

Depending on the housing market contexts, landlords may be motivated to raise rents or displace current tenants to increase profits. The study examines these dynamics in Los Angeles, which has two primary policies addressing housing costs and quality: the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) and the Systematic Code Enforcement Program (SCEP). The RSO limits rent increases to 3-8% per year and includes a just-cause eviction ordinance that prohibits terminations of tenancies without a good or just cause and entitles residents to relocation assistance. On the other hand, the RSO does not prevent landlords from resetting rents to market rate once a tenant moves out. The SCEP monitors housing quality through inspections of RSO properties. The researchers hypothesize that larger gaps between market and contract rents (“market-contract rent differentials”) may incentivize landlords to defer maintenance, that gentrification may encourage harassment as landlords attempt to remove tenants for higher-paying renters, and that rent control policies may reduce neglect but increase harassment as landlords seek to push out long-term tenants. 

Between January and October 2019, the researchers conducted a door-to-door survey of randomly selected units in Central and South Los Angeles – areas with high poverty rates, large immigrant populations, and substantial rent burdens. Surveys were conducted in both English and Spanish. They obtained a total of 794 completed surveys (a 20% response rate), which included information on tenant housing history in the two years prior, maintenance issues, and experiences with landlord harassment or neglect. Using this information, the researchers classified tenants’ experiences with two key landlord behaviors: neglect and harassment. Neglect was measured by the number of maintenance issues experienced in participants' homes over the past six months and whether landlords refused to make necessary repairs. Harassment included landlord threats, intimidation, assault, refusal to collect rent checks, illegal rent increases, illegal eviction, or discrimination. 

Market rent estimates from Rentometer were used to calculate each unit’s market-contract rent differential in 2019, defined as the difference between what tenants pay (contract rent) and the estimated market rent for each survey participant’s address. Household market-contract rent differentials ranged from -$1,280 to $3,900, with 89% of tenants surveyed paying a contract rent lower than the estimated market rent for their units. Neighborhood-level data from the Urban Displacement Project’s Gentrification Index were used to assign each participant’s address to a particular gentrification and displacement typology. The authors define gentrification as a process of neighborhood change driven by rising real estate investment, higher-income in-movers, and demographic shifts. Neighborhoods were classified into five gentrification categories, ranging from low-income stable to advanced gentrification. Units were also categorized as either rent-controlled or non-rent-controlled under the RSO. 

The researchers found that tenants with large rent differentials (paying below market rent) reported higher maintenance issue rates but were not significantly more likely to have landlords neglect repairs required to meet building codes than tenants with smaller rent differentials. Those with a rent differential over $900 were 17.5 percentage points less likely to experience any landlord harassment in general. Tenants living in rent-controlled units were 4.0 percentage points more likely to experience three or more forms of landlord harassment and 3.9 percentage points more likely to endure illegal eviction practices, such as refusal to accept rent checks or other means of pushing people out compared to tenants in non-rent-controlled units. However, rent-controlled tenants did not report higher rates of landlord neglect, which indicates that systematic inspections under Los Angeles’ Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) may be successful in helping to maintain housing quality.  

The findings also suggest that harassment was more prevalent in gentrifying neighborhoods where landlords may seek to displace existing tenants in anticipation of rising market rents. Tenants in gentrifying neighborhoods were 2.5 percentage points more likely to report having three or more issues with landlord harassment and 7.4 percentage points more likely to report experiencing landlord threats and assault. Furthermore, the study found that Latinx households reported harassment at significantly higher rates, at 3.8 percentage points more likely to experience three or more forms of harassment, highlighting the importance of targeted outreach and services for populations that may be less aware of their rights. 

The high harassment and neglect rates revealed by the study signal a need for proactive strategies to address harmful landlord behaviors like tenant anti-harassment ordinances and systematic code enforcement programs. Mandated inspections seem to be effective as rent control tenants do not report neglect at a higher rate than those without rent control, preventing neglect in rent-controlled units. However, Latinx households experience harassment at significantly higher rates, highlighting the need for targeted outreach and legal protections for tenants who may be less aware of their rights or may fear retaliation for reporting violations. Finally, expanding legal support mechanisms, such as guaranteeing legal counsel or enabling lawyers to recoup fees when they prevail in court, could further strengthen tenant protections, particularly for households unable to afford legal services upfront. 

This article can be found at: https://bit.ly/3XsERCm.