Rents on controlled apartments in Los Angeles can now rise 4%. Blame inflation

As of this week, landlords of Los Angeles rent-controlled buildings can raise rent by 4%, the first time in a decade the annual cap isn't 3%.

The larger increase reflects higher inflation levels and comes as rising rents have been blamed for crimping household budgets and driving people into homelessness. Across Los Angeles and Orange counties, nearly a third of tenants paid more than half their income on housing in 2017, according to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.

"It's another economic wallop," said Larry Gross, executive director for the Coalition for Economic Survival. "Most renters in this area are already paying unaffordable rents."

Rent increases for residents in the city's