Housing Department officials are proposing that Los Angeles spend nearly $15 million to subsidize the rent of people living at a Chinatown apartment complex to resolve a long-running dispute over planned rent increases, it was reported Saturday.
According to a Friday memo issued from the department to the City Council, the subsidies would apply to 106 of the 124 units at the Hillside Villa Apartments, and would run through February of 2034.
The subsidies would not apply to 17 units that are already being charged market rates or the unit occupied by the building manager.
A 30-year agreement protecting residents at the complex from rent increases expired in 2019, and since then city officials and tenants have been exploring ways to deal with planned increases by its owner.
Those explorations have included looking into a city purchase of the property, or facilitating a transfer to another owner.
Ann Sewill, the housing department’s general manager, told the council in her memo that a purchase of Hillside Villa would cost nearly $93 million when renovations and refinancing were factored in. Additionally, the owner has shown no interest in selling, Sewill added.
The department’s plan would give the city the right to purchase the building if the owner decides to sell before February 2037. It would also give tenants six years to paying back rent owed between 2019-24.
An aide to Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez, who represents the area, told the Los Angeles Times that Hernandez was reviewing the proposal and hadn’t yet decided whether to support it.
“She is eager for the tenants — who are the directly impacted parties — to have an opportunity to weigh in and for this to be discussed in a public forum at council,” spokeswoman Chelsea Lucktenberg said.
The City Council’s housing committee will debate the proposal on Wednesday.