How I’ve managed to keep my rent (relatively) affordable for 14 years in Los Angeles, one of the most expensive housing markets in the US

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I’ve lived in Los Angeles for 14 years and managed to keep my rent affordable by paying no more than one-third of my take-home pay.
One way I did that was by choosing areas that are rent-controlled and relatively more affordable.
I’ve also downsized to save on housing costs, and written a letter to my landlord after I proved myself to be a good tenant, asking for a freeze on my rent.
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It’s no surprise that living in Los Angeles isn’t cheap. In fact, a recent report reveals that Los Angeles is the third most rent-burdened city in the U.S. However, there are ways to keep your rent relatively affordable.

Of the three places I lived on my own in Los Angeles — a studio in West LA (2005 to 2010), a one-bedroom bungalow in West LA (2010 to 2018), and a one-bedroom cabin near Pasadena (2018 to the present) — my rent was never more than one-third of my take-home pay.

Here’s how I was able to keep my housing costs relatively affordable:

Live in less-expensive parts of town

In December 2005, after six months of landing my first "real," full-time job for a small publishing company, I moved into a tiny studio apartment. It resembled a long closet and cost $675 a month. And my one-bedroom bungalow, a couple blocks over, was $895 a month when I moved in the summer of 2010.

I chose Palms partly because it was near my work and close to my boyfriend’s apartment at the time, which was in Santa Monica. But the real kicker was that the housing was far less expensive than in adjacent areas. Palms, while has become more gentrified in recent years, is known to be populated by college students and young families that are just starting out.

Look for rent-stabilized buildings

Both my studio and one-bedroom apartment were under rent stabilization ordinances. In the City of Los Angeles, rent stabilization applies to rental properties that were built on of before October 1, 1978. If that’s the case, the maximum your rent can increase is 3% every 12 months.

Check if your city has rent stabilization ordinances, and if it applies to a particular rental property. That could prevent your landlord from increasing your rent substantially in a given year.

Write a letter to the landlord

When I was in my studio apartment, I wrote a letter to my landlord stating that I received a small raise that barely covered the rising cost of living due to inflation. I pointed out in the four years I lived there, I was a non-rowdy tenant who was never once late on paying her rent. My landlord agreed to a temporary hold on increasing my rent. In the five years I lived there, my rent increased from $675 to $790 a month.

Downsize to a smaller apartment

In the summer of 2018, I received notice that the one-bedroom apartment I had been living in for eight years was sold and I was given four months to relocate.

At the time, I was paying a little under $1,100 for my 500-square-foot apartment. It had been eight years since I entered the housing market in Los Angeles. I found that it would cost me roughly double to rent a similar apartment in the same area. And for the same price of what I was currently paying, I would need to get a roommate.

After frantically searching for a few months, I decided to move a little east. I landed on a tiny cabin in the canyon area just east of Pasadena. While technically in Los Angeles county, I would be moving to the San Gabriel Valley.

The kicker? I would be spending a few hundred dollars more, but would be downsizing from 500 square-feet to a hair over 300-square-feet. However, it came with a small yard. Not only would I be saving on rent, but I wouldn’t need to purchase more furniture, and my utility bills would be less expensive.

To own a home or not

Is homeownership in my cards? That’s a big maybe. I partly chose to move to a smaller place outside of Los Angeles proper so I could save in general, and possibly for a house down the line. The median cost of a home in Los Angeles is $600,000, which is on the higher end of what I can afford.

What’s more, being single and living on variable income as a freelance writer makes it feel more scary to commit to a 30-year mortgage. Talking to fellow self-employed freelancers who bought homes, I know that the process to applying for a mortgage typically requires more paperwork, as lenders want to make sure you have enough income to make your payments.

While I’m not living in the lap of luxury, keeping my housing costs low has afforded me freedom from stress and the ability to put money toward savings. While rent in Los Angeles is more than most places in the US, I’ve found there are ways to keep your housing costs lower than the average. It can take a bit of planning, research, and willingness to make a few trade-offs.

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