COUNCIL MOVES TO UPDATE THE RENT STABILIZATION ORDINANCE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FORTY YEARS

For Immediate Release: November 12, 2025

Los Angeles, CA – Today, the Los Angeles City Council voted 12-2 to amend the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) for the first time in forty years. Stemming from an amendment introduced by Councilmember Raman in 2023 to analyze updates to the RSO, this long overdue update significantly decreases the burden on renters to meet the economic realities of our time.

After lengthy discussion in full Council, the proposed changes were amended and the following updates to the RSO were adopted: 

• Establish a floor of 1% for annual rent increases 
• Establish a ceiling of 4% or 90% of the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower
• Delete the provision for 1-2% increases for gas and electricity
• Ensure that additional dependents do not trigger a rent increase of 10%

“We have not built enough housing in this City and the cost of rent has skyrocketed out of control. We have closed off avenues for people to come here and build their lives — and we’re seeing the impacts of that play out in real time. People are being forced to choose to leave LA. This has been devastating for our City’s resilience, our creative economy, and our overall economic strength,” said Councilmember Raman, Chair of the Housing & Homelessness Committee. “Only greater supply will sustainably reduce costs across LA, but a change to our rent stabilization formula is long overdue. Today, we took that long overdue step, updating the RSO to adjust costs for renters and give people a reason to stay. Today, we stood up as a Council and said ‘Our people are our City.’” 

Following today’s vote, the City Attorney has been instructed to draft the revised Rent Stabilization Ordinance, which will return to Council for final ratification.  

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