Uplift Inglewood Claims "Victory" with Temporary Rent Stabilization Ordinance

The Inglewood City Council unanimously passed Mayor James Butts’ emergency rent stabilization ordinance despite him not thinking it was a “pressing issue” at the time Inglewood voters re-elected him this past November.

Mayor Butts was asked about Inglewood residents opposing the Clippers Arena, due to the continued increase of rents.

There are only two community groups, IRATE and Uplift Inglewood, that oppose the Clippers arena. [Note: Two community groups have filed lawsuits over the project.] The voices against the arena are minuscule compared to our population.
Curbed LA

Well Mayor Butts has done an about face and listened to the overwhelming amount of rent horror stories on his Facebook page and has created a band aid solution for an ailment that will only heal with surgery. A permanent rent stabilization ordinance with the same terms in the temporary one.

A temporary, forty-five (45) day moratorium, was implemented by the council that includes freezing rent increases at 5% annually. At Councilman Eloy Morales’ urging, a “no just cause evictions” was added to ensure residents wouldn’t face eviction unless they were found to be doing drugs and/or committing violent acts on the property.

“While it’s only temporary, this moratorium begins an effort to protect mom-and-pop landlords, families, seniors, and veterans from the threat of displacement.” said Uplift Inglewood Coalition member/Inglewood School Board Member D’Artagnan Scorza.

When reached by 2UrbanGirls, Scorza and I discussed that this ordinance is only temporary and is planned to only be extended for a year. The expiration will most likely fall around the time Inglewood voters will return to the polls to be asked to return Councilmembers Morales, George Dotson, Ralph Franklin and Alex Padilla to another four year term.

Despite the high rents being placed on renters, the Inglewood General Fund doesn’t see any increases, as property owners only pay a $20 tax per unit. The Inglewood City Council should create an equitable solution, and ask voters to increase the taxes paid by property owners, on a sliding scale, based on the number of units they have. Mom and pops shouldn’t have to pay the same for small complexes as those purchased by real estate investors.

2UrbanGirls was able to reach Odest Riley, Mayor Butts appointee to the Inglewood Housing Advisory Committee, which hasn’t met since his appointment in 2017. Riley shared his thoughts on the temporary ordinance.

“I think it’s a good step. With Gavin [Newsom] getting involved in the issue, the state will start to work on ways to help correct the housing crisis.” said Riley. “Remember I always said it was a statewide issue.”

During the November 2018 election, Prop 10 was heavily supported by Inglewood voters, not a miniscule amount of the voting population.

“Inglewood showed they are trying to come up with something that not only helps renters but also protects the small mom and pop owners as well.” said Riley.

Based on the notices residents are posting on social media, the outrageous rent increases are coming from real estate investors not mom and pop landlords. Many mom and pop landlords still accept Section 8 vouchers while the corporate landlords do not.

The city put out an online survey to gather details of rent increases. By February 15th, Mayor Butts said they received 8 submissions. The online portal was due to remain open through the middle of this month but instead we got a timely temporary ordinance that will be extended in time for it to become a hot button topic for November 2020 elections.