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Huntington Park council approves $167 annual rental registration fee to fund rent-stabilization enforcement
Summary
After a presentation showing annual program costs near $950,000, the council approved a $167 per-unit annual registration fee to fund the rent-stabilization office and enforcement staff, with staff and several council members stressing the fee is cost recovery and not allowed to be passed through to tenants under the ordinance.
City staff and consultant Lizette Montoya presented a cost study and recommended a $167 annual registration fee per dwelling unit to fund the city's rent-stabilization program (RSO). Staff said the program’s ongoing operating cost is projected at about $950,000 per year, covering dedicated staff, legal review, outreach, and the software platform that supports registration and case tracking. The consultant noted 5,691 of a potential 9,599 units had registered in the system so far and explained that the $167 figure was calculated based on estimated registration rates and cost recovery.
Public commenters included tenants and landlord representatives. Some landlords and an industry group asked for fee reductions for small "mom-and-pop" owners and warned that fees would be passed to renters; tenant advocates and council members countered that the RSO ordinance caps rent increases at 3% and prohibits direct pass-through of the registration fee to tenants, and they argued the fee is necessary to fund enforcement and tenant assistance.
Council members and staff clarified program mechanics: the fee is annual; it is intended strictly for program cost recovery (the RSO is structured as an enterprise fund); certain units (including owner-occupied duplexes with proper documentation) are exempt from paying fees though still required to register; the initial system implementation carried one-time costs and annual licensing and maintenance (staff cited an initial system cost and an annual license expense); and the city can revisit fee levels if actual costs deviate from projections.
Council member Flores moved to approve the resolution establishing the $167 per-unit annual registration fee. The motion passed on roll call: four members voted yes and one voted no (Council member Macias voted No). Staff said fees would be used only for RSO administration and enforcement, and if collections exceed costs the council could consider directing excess funds toward rental assistance or other housing-stability programs in the future.
