Activities/Events/Issues in or around Southern California (Los Angeles and Orange Counties)

Believe it or not, Home-Sharing aka Vacation Rentals aka Airbnb is technically illegal in Los Angeles. It seems everyone has done it, or has friends or family who has; whether they host or travel. For the past few years, the Los Angeles City Council has been waiting to vote on a controversial ordinance with rules and regulations about who can home share, how they can do it, and what they have to pay in order to stay compliant. On Tuesday, November 6, the Planning and Land Use Management Committee heard comments from critics and advocates of this politicized ordinance for the sixth time since the motion was introduced in December 2014.

While the November 6 meeting drew numbers for another issue on the PLUM Meeting Agenda, the City Hall's hallways were…

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Los Angeles City Hall

This Tuesday, Oct 24th, 2018 a Special Meeting of the Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee of the Los Angeles City Council convened to hear public comments on the proposed Home-Sharing Ordinance and adjourned without conclusion, again. The meeting was attended by members of the UNITE HERE Local 11, the Los Angeles Vacation Home Rental Alliance, Los Angeles Tenants Union, as well as concerned area landlords and home-share advocates. In the 3 years since the ordinance was proposed, it remains under review.

On June 2, 2015, City Councilmembers Mike Bonin and Herb Wesson first introduced the motion to direct the Department of City Planning to prepare an ordinance governing the use of short-term rentals (a portion of a residential building…

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Was fortunate enough to participate in very first group tour of the new Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw Medical Offices (behind mall on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd) led by Assistant Physician in Charge, Latanya Hines, M.D.2017-08-18_11.54.00_400

 

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The new facilities are beautiful on the outside and state of the art on the inside.  In addition to the modern aesthetic and all the impressive tech there were some nice touches like the featured art pieces sourced by locally based artists.  Hopefully community members will receive many years of top notch medical services as a result of increased access via this new facility.

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The tour and a tasty catered lunch was facilitated by Crenshaw Chamber of Commerce.

 

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Kaiser Permanente…

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City of Los Angeles Parkway Enforcement to begin August 14th

 To those property owners who have been frusturated by the city lack of enforcement in this area this is good news, to those without parking not so much...

 

http://la.streetsblog.org/2017/07/26/parking-round-up-parkway-enforcement-smart-boot-expo/ 

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I for one am generally pro gentrification but I can definitely see how it can offend and change a neighborhood for the worse.  This type of development is needed more in our area (East of Larchmont & South/West of the 101 freeway - Koreatown to the South, Larchmont Village-Hancock Park to the West, East Hollywood to the North, Silverlake-Los Feliz-Echo park to the East)

 

Conscientious, retains character and spirit of the neighborhood, independent company versus large chain or franchise.

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Los Angeles is a very big, mixed up, beautiful mess of a city. Itís got bits that are clean and pretty, others that have more grit with hidden drinking and dining gems hiding behind nondescript storefronts and in back alleys. There are two things nearly all of LA has in common: low vacancy and high rents.


Rental site, Zumper, shows most of West LA from Playa Del Rey to Brentwood sitting at average 1-bedroom rents of over $1,800, with a number of hotspots over $2,400, and with Santa Monica alone able to claim an average of over $3,000 as if trying to compete with San Francisco prices.


While most Angelenos feel the increases on their finances, eyes turn to the battalion of construction cranes that dot the skyline. Before long, those cranes get replaced by…

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If you’ve driven through downtown LA on the 110 in the last few months, you’ve probably noticed the new construction that’s been taking shape on the iconic landscape.

 

What you’ve been driving past is soon to be Metropolis, an ambitiously large-scale complex of retail shops, a restaurant, a boutique hotel, a garden and three towers of luxury condos that start reaching into the skyline from six stories above the street.

 

Here’s a rundown of the three residential towers.

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Tower I 

This tower has already sold most of its availability, and there’s every indication that they will all be sold by the time the tower is available for move-in. Offering 308 units in its 38 stories, this will be the first of the towers to open. It's luxury…

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Increasing numbers to tenants are becoming familiar with the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, and most rental property owners are already familiar with it. For more information on the Los Angeles RSO, have a look here.

 

RSO and most of its regulations have been in place for some years now. However, there are some changes taking effect in 2017 that tenants and owners should both be aware of.

 

Rent Registry Ordinance

 

Effective as of October 4th 2016, the LA City Council has enacted the Rent Registry Ordinance, which applies to all properties covered under RSO. 

 

What landlords need to know

 

  • All properties under RSO must be registered by the last day of February each year
  • A separate form must be submitted for each…

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Down on the corner of South Virgil Avenue and 5th Street, a short walk away from the bustle of 6th street and Wilshire Blvd, are the luxury condos of Element 436.

 

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Having opened its doors in July 2016, Element 436 is a new structure that houses luxury condos near the heart of Koreatown. All residences offer either 2 bedrooms and 2 baths, or 3 bedroom and 2 baths with varying floorplans. Square footage ranges from 1,042 to 1,164 for the 2 bedroom homes, and from 1,341 to 1,385 for 3 bedrooms.

 

Prices have more variance than sizes, starting at $597,600 and reaching up to $914,500 for penthouse level homes. These prices have been rising as more residences are being purchased, so hesitating on getting a spot here won’t do you any favors.

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I recently visited the Los Angeles City East Valley Animal Shelter and learned quite a bit about Pets in Rental Housing for Landlords. Furry friends in a rental can be an area of tension between tenants and landlords, but it doesn’t have to be! As a landlord, you can quickly fill vacancies, gain a little extra income from pet fees, and tenant who own pets tend to stay longer in the same rental (an average of 18 months in LA). Alongside the pros, you may run into some cons. Under the unfortunate circumstances of your tenants having nuisance pets, here are some tips for taking care of the issues:   

  1. Act quickly! A landlord who waits too long to take action may forfeit their right to object.
  2. Refer to the lease agreement your tenant…

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