This week the Council moved forward with a motion by Council President Krekorian to ease overcrowding in rental housing by providing an incentive for building three and four-bedroom units for larger families and multi-generational households.
At present, the City of Los Angeles has a higher rate of housing unit overcrowding than any other major city in the United States. According to the U.S. Census, 17 percent of all renter-occupied households were overcrowded or severely overcrowded. Current zoning regulations, with their density and height restrictions, discourage construction of apartments with three or more bedrooms, pushing developers to build smaller single and one-bedroom units.
The Council President’s proposed ordinance would relax height and square footage limits for additional larger family units in new apartment construction, provided they are rented for a fixed percentage of area median income to maintain affordability for working families.