Convert A Condo--Take A Hike

"After hearing from a nearly packed chamber of feisty tenants and anxious landlords, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday voted to dramatically raise the relocation fees that condominium developers must pay before kicking out residents of rent-controlled apartments."

"The move, which doubled some and nearly tripled other current fees, marked a significant escalation in the condo conversion wars that have swept the city over the last five years — particularly on the pricey Westside — as a dwindling stock of affordable housing has been rapidly outpaced by a growing middle-class population."

"About 61% of L.A. residents are renters, and there are about 600,000 rent-controlled units in the city. About 12,000 apartments have been converted to condos or demolished since 2001. Tenant complaints reached such a pitch last year that the council agreed to look at policies that might slow the pace without discouraging development."

"In deciding to set fees based partly on a tenant's income, the council majority ignored protests from the city's planning chief, housing chief and members of the Planning Commission, all of whom supported a simpler, fixed structure."

"Planning Director Gail Goldberg...said that when she ran the planning agency in San Diego, officials decided to get rid of the so-called means-based approach because it was difficult to administer and mediate tenant-landlord disputes."