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For Immediate Release:

INGLEWOOD PASSES PERMANENT RENT STABILIZATION ORDINANCE AFTER YEARS OF COMMUNITY ADVOCACY

Uplift Inglewood Coalition scores victory as Inglewood City Council caps rent increases at 5% per year

Uplift Inglewood Coalition

[email protected]

424-261-2055

INGLEWOOD, CA — On Tuesday, June 11th Inglewood City Council voted on a permanent rent stabilization ordinance for local residents. This comes after more than three years of community advocacy led by the Uplift Inglewood Coalition. The Uplift Inglewood Coalition mobilized more than 150 residents to request amendments to the proposed ordinance, many of whom spoke in public comment for more than three hours requesting that the City Council strengthen the ordinance by reducing the annual rent cap from 8% to 5%. The ordinance includes Just Cause eviction protections, establishes a rent board, and caps rent increases at 5 percent per year, with some exceptions.

WHEN: Tuesday, June 11th, 2019 at 2:00 PM

WHERE: 1 W Manchester Blvd., Inglewood, CA. Inglewood City Hall

The City Council’s unanimous vote constitutes a major victory for the Uplift Inglewood Coalition who, spearheaded a community-led campaign for rent stabilization that amassed more than 10,000 signatures for a ballot initiative last spring.

Uplift Inglewood Coalition member, Dr. D’Artagnan Scorza stated, “The City Council’s unanimous vote will help stabilize the market and protect vulnerable veterans and seniors who live on fixed incomes while ensuring that mom-and-pop landlords receive a fair rate of return. This victory also demonstrates what is possible when people come together and demand change and fight for justice in their communities. This tells corporate landlords that rent gouging and exploiting vulnerable residents will not be tolerated and we will stand up to fight for affordable housing for our neighbors.”

Inglewood resident, Kish Lewis adds, “As a resident who received a $1,000 rent increase, I know better than anyone that hard working Inglewood residents have already been gouged. That’s why an 8% cap was too high. I am happy to see that City Council incorporated our feedback and brought the cap down to 5%.”

In asking City Council to reduce the 8% cap to 5%, Sonya Grey explained the importance of these protections, “My landlord recently tried to give me and my building a $475 rent increase. Uplift Inglewood gave me a letter to put on the doors of my neighbors explaining their rights under the City’s temporary ordinance and then my landlord tried to evict me, which also wasn’t allowed. If this had happened three months ago, I would have been displaced.”

The City plans to extend their temporary rent stabilization ordinance so that there will be no gap in tenant protections until the permanent ordinance goes into effect.

Members of the coalition hope that the passing of rent stabilization in Inglewood sends a clear message to Senators Holly Mitchell, Senator Steven Bradford and other California state legislators as they consider AB 1482 to cap rent increases statewide. With recent reports of homelessness increasing by 16-17 percent in both Los Angeles and San Francisco, it is time for legislators to take bold action.

64 percent of Inglewood residents are renters and 47 percent of households are spending more than 50 percent of their income on housing, according to the City of Inglewood’s Housing Element. Uplift Inglewood Coalition members have seen rent hikes regularly range as high as $800 - $1500 with only a short notice. The Uplift Inglewood Coalition sees a robust Rent Stabilization Ordinance and Just Cause eviction protections as necessary steps in addressing the housing and homelessness crisis in Inglewood, and in California at large.

ABOUT UPLIFT INGLEWOOD

Founded in 2015, the Uplift Inglewood Coalition was created in response to the rising costs of living and housing. The coalition members are parents, teachers, students, faith leaders, residents, elders, youth, business owners, renters, homeowners, and community members looking to help shape the future of our city so that working families can continue to live in Inglewood and benefit from the city’s resurgence. The purpose of the coalition is bring together Inglewood residents with one voice to educate neighbors and advocate for change. Uplift Inglewood Coalition wants secure housing for working families, safer neighborhoods, and community-centered development and is organizing for sustainable community investment that addresses the rising cost of rent and housing prices.