By SAJE Staff
November 24, 2025
California is experiencing a dual housing affordability and homelessness crisis. By way of addressing these problems, the City of Los Angeles recently approved a rent cap of 4% for annual rent increases in rent-stabilized units. But for renters on fixed incomes, including the 40% of older adults in the U.S. who rely solely on Social Security to get by, even small annual rent increases can become unaffordable and lead directly to homelessness.
Fortunately, as detailed in a new report by SAJE, Los Angeles Proposed Rent Increase Exemption Program: Protecting Older Adults and People with Disabilities from Homelessness, two related tenant protection policies could help better protect financially insecure renters in Los Angeles at minimal net cost to the city and county: a Rent Increase Exemption for Senior Renters (RIESR), and a Rent Increase Exemption for Disabled Renters (RIEDR). Taken together, these programs would exempt low-income seniors, adults with disabilities, and households with disabled members from annual rent raises while providing landlords with subsidies to make up the lost rental income.
The report is grounded in a case study of two similar policies in New York City, which have successfully protected older adult renters and renters with disabilities since the 1970s—policies which have enabled tens of thousands of tenants to remain in their homes without any financial penalty for landlords.
In order to finance RIESR and RIEDR, Los Angeles City and County governments could coordinate implementation using funds from Measure ULA, Measure A, or a future bond measure. Or, the State of California could allow Los Angeles County to pursue a property tax abatement. Business income tax reductions, discounts from landlord fees, and direct payments or subsidies to landlords may also provide practical pathways to implementation, although further studies on these mechanisms are reccommended.
The report finds RIESR and RIEDR would be a small price to pay to prevent vulnerable community members from losing their homes. And, these programs might help balance city and county budgets when weighed against the costs associated with shelter, public health, and other services for people experiencing homelessness. Right now, Los Angeles County is spending almost $2 billion on homelessness—around $28,000 per unhoused person per year.
You can read the report here.
