KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
Some Santa Clarita seniors are facing a rent increase of nearly 50 percent after their apartment building was sold last year.
Dozens of seniors at the Whispering Oaks Apartments in Newhall are at risk of homelessness after a rent increase from $800 to about $1,300 set for March, according to officials.
“It seems unfair for these residents, many of them on a fixed income,” said John McBride, the former manager of 25 years. “It is more than just a complex, it is a community.”
One resident, who wished to speak on the matter of anonymity, says she might be forced out of Santa Clarita but cannot afford the moving costs.
“We were worried when the building was sold,” she said. “Then all of our fears came true.”
That same resident went on the describe the senior citizens living there as a “very vulnerable population,” with some residents “too ill to work.”
“These people can’t afford a few hundred dollar rent increase, let alone what they are proposing,” she said.
The tenant raised concerns of those on a fixed income, relying on Social Security, which provides seniors an average of about $1,500, according to the AARP — just $100 over the proposed rent.
Whispering Oaks, located on the corner of Newhall Avenue and Market Street, was sold in December with a last assessed value of over $5 million, according to County records.
The complex has 78 affordable units for seniors, according to City documents.
Among the affordable apartments are seven Section 8 housing units, which are provided additional protections, according to the Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA).
“The owner has to submit any proposed rent increase to the housing authority prior to approval for Section 8 housing,” said Emilio Salas, acting executive director.
The rent amount paid by most Section 8 participants is between 30 – 40 percent of their monthly income, according to County officials.
After a rent increase is proposed, the LACDA looks at other listings in the immediate area to make sure the rent is in line with other properties.
California law and program regulations require owners to give their tenants and the LACDA a 60-day advance notice of intent to increase the rent.
The proposed rent increase was reportedly taped to residents’ doors at the end of December with a set date for the hike on March 1.
Officials with the Santa Clarita Senior Center, Bella Vida, are monitoring the situation and encouraging any seniors impacted by the rent increase to reach out.
“We have several social workers on staff,” said Kevin MacDonald, executive director. “There are many resources available for those tenants.”
Assembly Bill 1482, signed into law in October 2019, adds protections to tenants in the state of California starting this year.
Starting Jan. 1, rent increases are capped at 5 percent plus the cost of living, which is currently 3.3 percent in Los Angeles County, according to Ricardo Barajas with the Housing Rights Center.
AB 1482 caps the total rent increase to 10 percent, regardless of the cost of living increase, according to the bill.
The law also prohibits an owner of a unit of residential real estate property from increasing the gross rental rate for the unit in more than two increments over a 12-month period, according to the legislation.
For more information on resources available for impacted seniors, visit the Bella Vida website or the Housing Rights Center here.
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That is just TERRIBLE! My heart goes out to our vulnerable seniors! That’s inconceivable that could happen and make them actually homeless, after a lifetime of doing everything right, only to get totally screwed like this at their age! Is this how we take care of our parents and grandparents?! Is this what WE have to look forward to if we’re lucky enough to live that long?! I’m SICKENED hearing about this! As if it weren’t bad enough to deal with physical and mental issues getting older, then THIS!! I will pray for them, that’s for sure! They’re gonna NEED it!
This is one of the side effects of state wide rent control. A new owner comes in and immediately raises the rent to market rates.
Wait, in a few years it will be impossible to rent. Most apartments will be converted to condos.
Oh my, what to do? Move to Texas.
Learn some empathy.
If we would let Trump deport ALL the illegals it would free up thousands of housing units and competition would work to lower the rents.
What do you think trump did before he became president? America is an open market. If you got the money you buy. If you don’t got the money get lost or like you blame illegals. If you are blaming illegals that can barely afford a one bed room more then likely you don’t have the money yourself. Trump makes his money off high real estate buddy. Now if you took out rich foreign money then we can talk.
Do some more research there Chad. Look at what Trump has done in his career without bias and you can learn something.
What the hell are you ranting about, bruh? Focus. FOCUS. This article is about the new complex owner screwing the pooch and elderly people being taken advantage of. This is not a platform for your political bias.
You sick ????
Whether You are the owner of real estate or a beauty salon or a plumbing business You have the right to charge what you want.
I think this is just horrible. Our seniors have worked their entire lives and are trying to make a home for themselves for the last part of their life. I already know of several couples who have left Santa Clarita due to rent increase. When will this stop? We need rent control. This state is forcing out people who don’t have tons of money and that saddens me,
Funny thing about the large California Minimum Wage Increases….after the landlords get their increasing rent and the government (Federal and State) get their increased taxes, and many businesses closing costing minimum wage jobs, not much increase (if any) in tax home pay. The Fight for 15 will turn into the fight for 20 then 25. All the while property owners with Fixed Rate Mortgages are laughing all the way to the bank.
Who or what corporation purchased it?
The prior owners were scum bags for not putting into place, some terms of sale in order to protect the current residents from something like this. He/she should be ashamed of themselves for (actually) allowing these seniors to be screwed like this. I call it ‘elder abuse’ by both the prior and new owners.
Actually, the prior owner was a good guy. He kept the rents low for years. Unfortunately, he became ill and was forced to sell the building. The big increase is all thanks to the new owner, not the prior owner.
i actually live here now. ive lived a life of working and being layed offed many times. I thought this was the last time I would move. whats happening now, is worse. cause im 70 and I cant bounce back like I used too. and I feel so bad for friends that live here. its so unfair. but I will be moving on the 1st. I know when to leave. my roommate I was caring for had to go into a boarding house in November. then this hit me hard. the owners do not look at how the people are living. they only care about how to make more money.
This story is absolutely heartbreaking on so many levels. This is a senior living complex designed for their housing, not for the younger still working. Most seniors are on a fixed income and many are unable to supplement their income. This used to be a government (federal) subsidized section eight program but under the current administration’s HUD director, Ben Carson, that financial protection has been cut off leaving them to try living on the Social Security benefits for which they have worked all their lives and any retirement funds that were not lost or taken away in the 2008 banking rip-off.
Having been one of the contractors that worked there in the final stages of construction, I have a personal interest. In fact, I stopped in a couple years ago to see how it was doing. That was when I found our what had happened and they were not even allowed to take applications for would-be future tenants.
When income is fixed that means there is no more coming. When the rules are changed there is no good outcome and no place to turn. What has happened to this society that used to care for everybody? Our lives are now consumed by avarice due to unregulated capitalism that eats everything it touches. This is a perfect example of that. The management company that bought this knew full well it was intended for seniors. Comparing it with free market rents should not be a measure unless it is no longer a senior-only complex.
The name of this vulture enterprise is: Positive Investments, located in Arcadia. I sincerely urge you to do a quick search on them and to read the reviews. It only gets worse. These are not good players. They are, yes, vultures.
Please read the end of the article and advise anyone living here to seek counsel. As of January 1st, 2020 it is against the law in Los Angeles to increase rent more than 10% per year and that is putting it simply! Every tenant should have received or should be receiving a “Rent Cap Just Clause” form. I believe in protecting our elderly citizens and obeying the laws of our land!
Maybe Katie Hill can come over and get everybody high.
These new Bill’s gave these heartless landlords the ability to evict my 88yo father on a 60 day no cause eviction. My father now lives with me but how many other seniors are now homeless?
As Mark Rener said at the beginning of thread, if the Liberals didn’t keep restricting the law & thousands of illegal aliens were deported, there would be many buildings that could be deemed for seniors with rent caps, not to mention much less traffic congestion, crashes, hit-n-runs, etc. The taxpayer handouts to illegals could be funneled to seniors as well as homeless treatments!