Does Rent Increases Cause Homelessness in Los Angeles?
Los Angeles is one of the most densely populated cities in the United States. With an increasing population, apartments have become scarce causing rent prices to skyrocket. Even with the 3% rent control cap, many residents cannot afford to pay the increase.
According to research on Zillow, homelessness is definitely strongly correlated to rising rents in Los Angeles. In fact, rents have risen nearly 4.2% in the last year and is continuing to rise as demands increase. Income levels are not keeping up with the rapid rent increases, causing many people to become homeless or pushed into worse neighborhoods.
By the end of 2016, Los Angeles Housing Services Authority has reported approximately 46,000 homeless people living in Los Angeles. With 2017 half over, there is already approximately 57,000+ homeless people in Los Angeles. This huge leap in homelessness is believed to be directly correlated to the strong rental market.
Opponents of the theory stated that there is no proven correlation between homelessness and rents in Los Angeles, even stating that if people couldn’t afford the rent increase, they can easily find a less expensive apartment. Although that may be true in theory, the increasing population and high demand has made it exceptionally difficult to find a reasonably priced apartment.
Currently, Los Angeles is looking for other methods to curb homelessness through government subsidized living spaces and tax incentives for developers. As of now, there are no way to tell if these solutions are effective. If you’re interested in finding out more information about rents in Los Angeles or if you are curious about the topic, please contact us.
