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Rent Stabilization Commission Recommends Updating Relocation Fees

BY SAMUEL BRASLOW Over the course of several meetings, the Beverly Hills Rent Stabilization Commission has made a sweeping set of recommendations to the City Council for changes to the relocation fees granted to displaced tenants of rent stabilized apartments. If approved by the City Council, the changes would raise the amount of compensation granted to tenants in most cases, but would also reduce the level of compensation required of small landlords.

Under the city’s current regimen passed in 2017, the Rent Stabilization Ordinance requires owners of rent stabilized units to provide relocation fees to evicted tenants if the landlord or his family (including spouse, children or parents) plan to live in the unit; if a landlord seeks to move a new building manager into a unit occupied by a previous building manager; when a landlord intends to demolish or move the building, or convert the unit into condominiums, stock cooperatives, or community apartments; or if a landlord wishes to do major remodeling.

In those situations, the landlord must pay the tenant a relocation fee that scales with the number of bedrooms of the unit. Disabled, elderly, or minor tenants receive additional support. Landlords must pay tenants approximately $7,000 for a studio, $10,300 for a one bedroom, and $14,000 for a two or three bedroom. Landlords must pay an extra $2,000 for disabled, elderly, or minor tenants.

Director of Community Development Ryan Gohlich off ered some context to the Commission, saying that these types of evictions happen with vanishing frequency. “We have a very, very low number of relocation fees that get paid out annually when we're not in the middle of a moratorium,” he said. “I think that number of relocation fees actually represents less than one quarter of 1% of our total RSO inventory.” (Rent Stabilization continues on page 16)