To the editor: Staff writer Roger Vincent’s recent article on why developers aren’t building in Los Angeles misses the real issue (“Almost no one is building new apartments in Los Angeles. Here’s why,” Oct. 1). Let’s stop pretending most of our politicians care about solving the housing crisis. They keep doubling down on the very policies that created it: rent control, endless eviction bans, excessive red tape, height restrictions and now the ULA tax that makes projects financially infeasible. Then they act surprised when nothing gets built.
In fact, rent control can actually have negative effects for renters, discouraging developers from building to meet supply and demand. This isn’t a housing crisis, it’s a policy crisis.
The obvious solution is to replace crumbling rent-controlled buildings with taller apartments in multifamily zones. Instead, the City Council clings to “anti-displacement” rhetoric that preserves blight while bulldozing single-family neighborhoods. Rent control plus eviction bans equals permanent decay.
One more factor often overlooked: condominiums. Developers avoid them in California because of 10-year defect liability laws that invite endless lawsuits. That’s why virtually no one builds condos here, further choking ownership opportunities.
Until these failed policies are repealed, Los Angeles will stay stuck in decline.
George Papanikolas, Los Angeles
