Housing in Pasadena (Photo – ColoradoBlvd.net)
Governor Gavin Newsom has announced a series of executive order extensions and modifications designed to safeguard renters, support displaced residents, and stimulate housing development amid ongoing emergency conditions in Los Angeles County and surrounding areas.
By News Desk
These actions, intended to address housing affordability and prevent exploitative practices, aim to foster community recovery as the region continues to grapple with emergency conditions.
Key Provisions and Changes
– Extended Price Gouging Protections
Governor Newsom’s latest order extends the critical price gouging protections for hotel and motel rates, rental housing, and evictions aimed at re-letting properties at higher rates. These protections will remain in place until July 1, 2025, and importantly, all time limitations previously associated with these measures have been suspended. This ensures continuous consumer safeguards amid the emergency.
– Increased Flexibility for Rental Pricing
In response to ongoing housing challenges, the executive order offers greater pricing flexibility for certain housing units:
– Increased Rental Pricing Flexibility:
For certain housing not offered for rent in the year prior to the emergency:
- Large Single-Family Homes: Homes with four or more bedrooms, located in specific ZIP codes where the Fair Market Rent for a four-bedroom unit exceeds $5,500, will see a temporary suspension of rental price restrictions until July 1, 2025.
- New Housing Units: Newly constructed residential units that received their first certificate of occupancy on or after January 1, 2025, will also be exempted from these price restrictions.
These adjustments are designed to encourage a greater supply of housing while addressing higher financing costs in the region.
– Broader Price Gouging Protections
The executive order extends a rule that removes lease length limitations for price gouging protections, previously enacted under Executive Order N-17-25. With this extension, all rental housing, regardless of the lease duration, will continue to be protected from price gouging until July 1, 2025.
– Extended Transient Occupancy Status for Displaced Residents
Displaced residents in Los Angeles County who are residing in hotels, motels, or similar lodging facilities will maintain their transient occupancy status for the entirety of their stay, up to July 1, 2025. This extension supersedes the recent extension granted by the Pasadena Rental Housing Board and ensures displaced individuals do not need to relocate frequently to avoid the typical 30-day limitation. It also allows the continued collection of the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) during this period.
– Priority Access to Affordable Rental Housing
In another critical move, Governor Newsom has granted priority access to affordable rental housing for households displaced by the ongoing emergency. These displaced individuals will have priority placement on waiting lists for affordable housing administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development. This priority status will remain in effect through March 6, 2026.
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