Rents In LA, Orange Counties Rise At Fastest Rate In 14 Years

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Rents in Los Angeles and Orange Counties rose at a 5.8% annual rate last month -- the highest for a July since 2005.

That's according to the Consumer Price Index, which polls consumers and surveys data from landlords.

The stats say that so far this year, the LA-OC  rent index has risen an average of 5.5% compared to 4.9% in 2018 and 4.6% from 2015-2017.

Some point to pending California rent control legislation  -- Bill AB-1482 --  as the reason for the soaring rents.

Nicholas Dunlap, President of the Apartment Association of Orange County, says property owners are raising rents before the bill becomes a statewide law and rent can't be raised above a certain level.

"I think you now have a situation where people are kind of looking ahead and seeing the writing on the wall with this pending legislation and realizing, 'Hey, if we didn't get this done ahead of time, we could really be in a tough spot,'" said Dunlap.

The proposed bill is currently being examined in the Senate Appropriations Committee.