Survey finds correlation between income and rent
CITYWIDE — Ah, it’s good to be smart and rich in Santa Monica!
The city’s renters are a highly educated young bunch who have a high disposable income and are generally happy with where they live. That is, compared to renters who moved into the city before Jan. 1, 1999, when the vacancy decontrol law came into effect, allowing landlords to raise rents on vacant units to market level, according to a tenant survey.
Godbe Research, a Half Moon Bay-based market and public research agency, presented its findings culled from a survey about renting in Santa Monica to the Rent Control Board last week.
The purpose of the survey was to compare tenants who moved into a unit before and after the inception of the vacancy decontrol law. It measured the impact the law has had on tenant perceptions on renting, and explored their views on housing-related issues such as relationship with landlords and quality of life.
Godbe Research conducted the survey from May 7 through May 17 on a sample size of 750 out of more than 18,000 current renters in Santa Monica. The sample includes residents in rent-controlled units, excluding tenants in Section 8 affordable housing, in owner-occupied complexes with three or fewer units, and in properties under the Ellis Act, a now-defunct law that allowed landlords to evict tenants to remove their units from the market.
The breakdown between renters who moved into a unit before and after 1999 was almost evenly split.
“The main conclusion that came out was, not surprisingly, the amount of people who moved into the unit before 1999 had rented longer in the city than those who had moved into the unit after 1999,” said Godbe’s Brian Murray.
The survey divided the sample population into three regions — south of Pico Boulevard, north of Wilshire Boulevard and Mid-City. North of Wilshire Boulevard is the most popular area, with 42 percent of the sample, followed by Mid-City, at 32 percent, and south of Pico Boulevard, with 26 percent.
Overall, the study found that tenants who moved in following the vacancy decontrol law’s inception had fewer problems with landlords, paid higher rent on average, experienced better maintenance quality and were expected to live at their current residence for a shorter period of time.
Approximately 20 percent of the renters said they have lived in the city between 10 and 15 years, while 15 percent said they have lived in the city for more than 26 years. Just 6 percent of those polled said they lived in Santa Monica for less than two years.
Tenants who moved in before 1999 pay, on average, $860 a month in rent. Those who moved in after 1999 pay an average of $1,405.
The survey also broke down rent by income and found that tenants who made less than $20,000 a year paid an average of $830 a month. But those who made between $40,000 and $60,000 annually paid approximately $200 more a month.
The finding that rent corresponds to level of income confirms the purpose of the Rent Control Law, said Rent Control Board member Jeffrey Sklar.
“It doesn’t look like, from your study, that you could have a lot of wealthy people in cheap apartments,” Sklar said. “It looks like all this criticism we’ve been hearing for the past 25 years might be people’s opinions without anything behind it.”
Income versus rent was also broken down by move-in date — tenants who made less than $20,000 a year and moved in before 1999 paid, on average, $723 a month. Tenants in the same income bracket who moved in after 1999 paid approximately $300 more a month The majority of renters who moved in before 1999 are 50 years of age and older.
Tenants who moved in after 1999 were more likely to say they have a good relationship with their landlords over maintenance issues as opposed to those who moved into the unit before vacancy decontrol. The newer tenants said they also found their apartments in better condition when they moved in. For example, 78 percent of renters who moved in after 1999 said their apartment was freshly painted. Around 56 percent of tenants who moved in before 1999 said the same thing.
While the majority of renters said they have never contacted the Rent Control Board before, those who moved in before 1999 were more likely to have contacted the board.
The board plans to discuss the survey in depth during its next meeting. The survey will also be posted on the city’s web site.
“What we want to do is to create a health-ier community for landlords and tenants,” Sklar said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 30, 2006. Read the original PDF.