On Friday, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a new earthquake retrofitting bill that will require owners of more than 13,000 buildings in Los Angeles to upgrade the structures to be more earthquake ready.
The new ordinance has two types of buildings in its sights: brittle concrete buildings and wood apartment complexes, especially those with a weak first story. According to the LA Times, these types of buildings are responsible for more that 65 deaths in LA's last two major earthquakes.
Seems like a no brainer the LA City Council would approve it, right? Well, Angelenos may not feel that way when they look at the price tag of all of this and who is expected to pitch in to pay.
The expected cost to upgrade a wood apartment complex under the ordinance is between $60,000-$130,000, while tall concrete buildings could be in the millions, according to the LA Times.
Legally, owners of these buildings could hike up rents $75 a month just for the retrofitting (so that could be in addition to normal annual rent increases). However, LA's housing department has suggested a 50-50 split between owners and tenants, with renters paying an extra $38 a month.
We're not sure about you, but we thought the whole benefit of renting an apartment is that the owner is responsible for the building maintenance. In a city where housing is already astronomical—the average apartment in LA is $1,716, according to KPCC—it's particularly difficult on young people. Earlier this year, a study by Zillow showed that median rent for people between 22 and 34 years old was 48.7 percent of the median income. So basically, nearly half your income goes to providing a roof over your head.
However, there's still some hope for renters. The LA City Council has not officially decided how much money renters will be expected to put up for the earthquake upgrade.
Want to know if your building is going to need retrofitting? The LA Times has put together a map of old concrete buildings in LA that will need to be examined. As for wooden apartments, those with carports or garages on the bottom floor are a major category.