For too long, the narrative surrounding Los Angeles’s housing crisis has been a zero-sum game, pitting tenants against the very people who supply their homes. We, the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA), believe it’s time for an honest, fact-based reckoning. The city’s rush to impose ever-stricter regulations, while politically expedient, actively cripples the essential, multifaceted economic contribution of our housing providers and threatens the stability of the entire rental market.
In a recent piece for Vital City, Howard Slatkin—a former top New York City Planning official and housing policy thought leader—offered a nuanced perspective on the current housing crisis:
“The landlord-tenant relationship is far from a simple battle between good guys and bad guys. In a properly functioning housing system, it can be a mutually beneficial compact, with built-in incentives for landlords to maintain buildings in good condition and provide resident services, and for tenants to pay their rent and be good neighbors. But in a city where housing is scarce and both rents and the costs of operating buildings are so high, the relationship breaks down, becomes heavily regulated and often breaks down further.”
While Slatkin spoke specifically about New York, his observation rings true for Los Angeles and many other large cities across the country.
Los Angeles is an economy driven by its people, and those people need places to live. Housing providers, from the single mom with a duplex to the mid-sized firm building new apartments, are not just collecting rent; they are vital economic engines.
Consider the sheer scale of their impact. Housing providers pay billions annually in property taxes, which fund vital city services, schools, and infrastructure across Los Angeles County. They employ a small army of people: maintenance workers, plumbers, electricians, landscapers, property managers, and financial staff. Every time a new apartment is built or an existing unit is maintained, it ripples through the local economy, supporting small businesses and working-class Angelenos.
Yet, this essential sector is under siege. Recent policy decisions—particularly the perpetual capping of rental income at rates that fail to keep pace with soaring operational costs—have created an untenable financial imbalance. Insurance premiums have ballooned by double-digit percentages. Utility costs are skyrocketing. Maintenance and repair expenses, especially for the city’s aging housing stock, have consistently outpaced general inflation.
When revenue is artificially capped but costs are not, the math simply doesn’t work. For many small, “mom-and-pop” landlords who often charge lower-than-average rents and are already under greater financial stress than larger entities, the choice becomes stark: defer maintenance, or exit the rental market entirely.
This isn’t theoretical; we’re seeing an increasing exodus of small providers, taking much-needed units off the market or selling to institutional buyers who can absorb the losses, further concentrating ownership.
The unintended consequences of this over-regulation are now becoming tragically clear. By restricting the ability of owners to maintain their properties, the city is accelerating the deterioration of LA’s housing stock. By disincentivizing new investment, the city starves the very supply needed to naturally relieve rental price pressure. Turnover, not annual adjustments, is the primary driver of rent hikes. Stricter rent caps, as we’ve warned, merely heighten the pressure for owners to maximize rent when they can, deepening the affordability crisis for new tenants.
To solve the housing crisis, the city must stop viewing housing providers as the problem and recognize them as a crucial part of the solution. We need policies that incentivize, not punish, investment and maintenance. This means allowing rental income to reflect the true, rising cost of operating a quality property. It means streamlining the labyrinthine process for building new housing. It means creating a regulatory environment that supports the local, community-focused small provider.
Undermining the economic viability of the people who house Los Angeles is not a path to affordability; it is a fast track to a diminished city, where poorly maintained housing and constricted supply will ultimately harm every Angeleno. It’s time to replace political posturing with sound economic policy and partner with housing providers to build a stronger, more stable LA for all.
Daniel Yukelson is the CEO and executive director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, and the former Public Works and Planning commissioner for the city of Beverly Hills.