Could changes to the Ellis Act be on the way? Under the terms of the 1985 Ellis Act, property owners may evict all of their rent-controlled tenants with only four months notice and money for relocation, so long as they convert the building to another use. It was originally put in place to give property owners a way to exit the rental market, but decades later it has become an engine of gentrification and is being used more and more frequently in Los Angeles, even as the city struggles with a dire housing crisis.
Some landlords have been using Ellis to duck rent control provisions or cash in with a sale to hungry developers. In Fairfax, evicted tenants are suing after finding their units on Airbnb weeks after being Ellis evicted. In Hollywood, developers Ellised all the renters at the historic Villa Carlotta with plans to convert the building to a hotel, but without the necessary zoning exemptions that would actually allow that.
City Councilmember Paul Koretz has been pushing to investigate how the 31-year-old act is affecting LA's housing market—he believes the act has turned from a method for property owners to legitimately leave the rental business into a tool for "rampant speculation." The city's Housing Department is now compiling a report on the Ellis Act that they expect to release this year.
With the future of city planning probably headed towards the ballot box, a potential regulation of the Ellis Act adds another complicated avenue to an already convoluted map.
But how did it get to this point? A new interactive map (via the LA Daily News) paints a clearer picture of the path Ellis Act usage has taken through LA over the past decade.
1,075 Ellis Act applications were filed with the city between 2006 and 2015.
In 2015, 221 Ellis Act applications were filed. Since then, a total of 2,287 rent-controlled units have been removed from the rental market.
The 2,287 affordable units that vanished off the market in the past two years represent a sharp increase in Ellis Act applications since the start of the decade. In 2010, just 28 Ellis Act applications were filed with the city.
There have been spikes in evictions in the past. Right before the housing market crashed in 2008, speculation saw landlords ramping up Ellis Act evictions in an attempt to cash in on a booming market. 188 applications were filed in 2007, up from 104 the previous year. When the bubble burst, however, the evictions dropped significantly. Only 14 Ellis Act Applications were filed with the city in 2009.
Ellis Act information can shed some light on which neighborhoods are primed for redevelopment. In 2015, the 90006 zip code saw the highest number of Ellis Act applications. Parts of Koreatown, Harvard Heights, and Pico-Union all fall within that zip code. Venice and West Hollywood also saw increased Ellis Act applications in 2015.
Overall, though, the most Ellis Act applications in the past decade—73—were filed in the 90025 zip code, which covers parts of West LA, Sawtelle, and Century City. The past few years have seen a small explosion in new apartments in Sawtelle that may be contributing to that number.
Not far behind was the 90291 zip code, with 71 Ellis Act applications since 2006. The Venice area has seen evictions skyrocket amid high profile tech companies like Google and Snapchat moving in to the neighborhood. It's also glutted with Airbnb units.
- Evictions gain new attention at LA City Hall as tenants get ‘priced out’ [LADN]
- Ellis Act Applications [Interactive Map]
- Here's How Serious California's Housing Shortage Has Gotten [Curbed LA]
- Inside Hollywood's Legendary Villa Carlotta as It Anxiously Awaits Renovation [Curbed LA]
- Rent-Controlled Tenants Were Evicted, Then Found Their Apartments on Airbnb [Curbed LA]
Comments
1,075 Ellis Act applications over 10 years is really nothing. LA County has around 4 million housing units, so this effected very few people. I’m all for revoking the Ellis Act but I guarantee you what replaces it will have way more loopholes and be exploited by even more landlords. On the flip side when landlords hear about revoking it they will start applying in enormous numbers and really effect people like what happened when Culver City talked about rent control and rents shot up 20-30% overnight. Cali & LA government will only make things worse, usually they create a bigger mess then what they started with.
By Jesus Loves You on 03.29.16 4:37pm
Spot on, Jesus Loves You. Let the market work, find its own level, and rents, both short term and long term, will be what the market will bear. Reform or better yet outright remove rent control and ALL other draconian restrictions on the market INCLUDING reforming or removing Prop 13 and the Ellis Act. Even the mortgage interest tax deduction and property taxes (yeah, no chance I know). Let property owners make best and highest use of their properties whether that be primary residence, airbnb short term rentals, long term stable rentals or some combination, and let there be a natural equilibrium.
By Kosher on 03.30.16 1:37pm
The problem isn’t Ellis Act evictions but the utter lack of housing supply. Getting rid of the Ellis Act doesn’t do anything but make fewer developers rent instead of sell. . .
I mean, yeah, a landlord that evicts and starts Airbnbing is a dick, but let’s actually address the problem and encourage more housing!
By wackyxaky on 03.29.16 9:09pm
Exactly, they’re crying about the symptoms as usual, instead of the problem. Fix the zoning to allow a shit ton more development, and then you won’t need rent control or the ellis act.
When will the city of LA actually grow some balls, tell the NIMBYs to go to Kansas, and put forward a brand new zoning with lots of high density upzoning to serve our current and future needs, instead of the needs of the 1960s?
By goingup on 03.29.16 9:49pm
rent control is the issue, approximately 80% of la’s housing stock is covered by this outdated policy. eradicate it, problem solved.
http://www.cesinaction.org/CESOnTVRadio/LARentHasRentControlBeenSuccessful.aspx
By Safe Space on 03.29.16 9:24pm
I don’t see any scenario where the tight housing supply here will change. developers are only going to build during economic up cycles like we are in now when they can get funding for their projects. all the renter rights groups would fight any attempt to phase out rent control.
By LAoneWay on 03.30.16 7:51am
Great interactive map, but once again this is much ballyhooing over NOTHING.
"The 2,287 affordable units that vanished off the market in the past two years represent a sharp increase in Ellis Act applications since the start of the decade." Where is this number of 2,287 coming from? And more importantly, what was the TOTAL NUMBER of so called ‘affordable units’ (I assume this is slang for units that fall under rent control?) available in these markets, which I assume cover the cities of Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood ONLY, as these are the only cities in LA County that have rent control.
How many rent controlled units total (not Ellis Act applications) have been actually taken off the market in the cities of Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, and Santa Monica (the only cities in LA County with any form of rent control) over that ten year period, a full decade, from 2006-2015? And how many rent controlled units are there in total in those same 4 cities? What % of the entire ‘affordable unit’ market does this number comprise?
51 total Ellis Act applications for the entire 90026 zip code over a 10 year period = just a hair over 5 applications per year average. OH NOES!
The most in any zip code, again over that entire ten year period 2006-2015, is 73 in 90025 (Sawtelle/"West Los Angeles") followed by Venice 90291 at 71. SHOCKING!
By Kosher on 03.30.16 12:40pm
I remember the first time I learned that there were laws preventing homeowners from ending leases at the conclusion of the lease. The fact that the city can tell you what to do with your own property is absurd. The Ellis Act should be repealed, the restrictions on dense development should be lifted and as significantly more units are build, rent prices will come down. It’s called Econ 101.
By LADude on 03.30.16 1:18pm
Don’t tell people in LA such things they won’t understand common sense and why you are not trying to tax people to fix this. They only thing they want to hear who is being taxed and who is paying a fine to help the poor or non-working population.
By Jesus Loves You on 03.30.16 2:57pm
"About 80 percent of Los Angeles’ rental stock, or about 623,000 units, is rent-controlled." And of that, "A total of 2,287 units were "Ellised" over the last two years, a sixfold increase over 2010-2011."
So 2,287 units out of 623,000 so called "affordable housing units" aka rent controlled units, were removed the past "2 years" (the article states "since 2015", so I assume that means since January 1, 2015 through to present). That is literally slightly over ONE THIRD OF ONE PERCENT of the affordable housing stock (2287/623000 = .003671 = .3671%).
And that 623000 units is the number in Los Angeles City ONLY, I believe, while the 2287 removed no doubt covers Los Angeles City + Beverly Hills + Santa Monica + West Hollywood. I wouldn’t be surprised if, relative to the entire number of affordable housing/rent controlled units in all 4 of those cities, the percentage is actually one quarter of one percent or even less, maybe one tenth of one percent gone this past couple of years.
Get back to us if say 5-10% or more of rent controlled properties go "poof" within a couple of years.
By Kosher on 03.31.16 12:00pm