L.A. RENT CONTROL ORDINANCE PUT ON HOLD FOR STUDY.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

Facing a growing number of complaints from tenants, the Los Angeles City Council acted Tuesday to place a six-month moratorium on evictions allowed under the city's rent-control ordinance and called for a study of the law.

The council ordered the study to look at raising the spending threshold for major rehabilitation work that allows renters to be evicted, as well as raising the relocation fee paid to them.

In a 15-0 vote, council members agreed to the study - the first major examination of the ordinance since 1994.

``There have been unfortunate times when we see apartment buildings burning and people are put on the streets looking for shelter,'' Councilman Ed Reyes said. ``I must say to you there is a fire burning now through the city and no one is paying attention.

``That fire is putting families and children out on the streets.''

Sixty-five percent of Los Angeles residents are renters, Reyes said, and there are requests to rehabilitate more than 1,400 of the city's 600,000 rental units covered by rent control.

The measure now goes to Mayor James Hahn for final approval. Aides said he was studying it.

Two provisions included in the moratorium are an increase in the threshold of work to allow evictions from $10,000 to $19,000 per unit, as well as increasing the relocation fees paid to tenants from $2,000 and $5,000 for the elderly and disabled to $4,000 and $7,000. Those figures could be increased after the study is completed.

Councilwoman Janice Hahn said the study should be looked at as the first step in an overall housing strategy.

``We heard story after story after story after story and some of them were quite harrowing,'' she said. ``We have a housing crisis in Los Angeles that we have to deal with. There are landlords out there who would use this opportunity to try to evict tenants. That is something we cannot allow.''

Landlord advocates argued, however, that the moratorium will only lead to further delays in the repair of buildings.

Attorney Alan Abshetz of the firm of Irell and Manella said there are requests for only 39 evictions this year because of major rehabilitation and argued that the study could go on without a moratorium.

``There is no need to spend $200,000 for a consultant to study what you know,'' Abshetz said. ``There already have been studies and they all come to the same conclusion that rehabilitation is needed to update the housing stock.''

Abshetz also said there is no indication of a current problem, an assertion contested by Larry Gross of the Coalition for Economic Survival.

``The major rehabilitation provision is a threat to the city's supply of affordable housing,'' Gross said. ``The moratorium gives us time to fix a law that is clearly not working and assure tenants they won't face eviction.''