KTLA News: "Rent gouging in Baldwin Hills" (1978)

[Silence]. [Unidentified Man #1] The area that we are focusing in on at this  present time is an area that used to be called Baldwin Hills, which is affectionately called by Blacks- "The Jungle." Uh...rental rates in that area are  exorbitant and they are constantly increasing. We have become very concerned with the rental issue and we have some amendments to the amendments. We are not satisfied at this point with uh.. the current activity in City Hall. The language that they are using is still a little too nebulous and it's vague. It does not come down to the common person  on the streets that can understand. your apartment [Silence]. [Unidentified Man #2] ...your apartment area bordering on the   perimeter of Baldwin Hills is of one of our prime areas. [Unidentified Man #1] We should come forth and make a statement for our area. We live in a disadvantage area. This is the area that we mostly cover are the disadvantaged area and there has existed for some time a benign neglect in this area... ...to explain it to us and you can't explain some of the amendments they have because they've left such wide loopholes. Steve would  you uh... [Steve] Well one case in point that we're very much concerned about that councilman Bob Farrell of the 8th councilman district addresses itself to and that is... to bring low-cost housing or housing in the minority... in the minority areas of our...as far as apartments go, up to code and there are some discrepancies over what is in fact a capital uh... improvement versus a cosmetic improvement and we  think that it should be clarified in "lay" language so people understand. We are very much afraid  that... well, if you're familiar with council person Farrell's initiative or amendment if you will, he  contends that...right...there can be an exception to the proposed rent moratorium on rent if in fact  it's a capital improvement and it can be charged or promulgated over a five-year period. If...  five years is what Joel Wachs' says. Uh...three years is what council person Farrell says. We would like to get a good definition of what is a capital improvement versus a cosmetic improvement. If in fact there is housing that is below code that it should come up to code but that is a cosmetic improvement A capital improvement is something when you add  or to...to something more than what existed. Replacing a roof is a cosmetic improvement and and that all and the landlord already has ability  to write that off under "maintenance" but a capital improvement he gets a greater tax deduction and we  would like to see things of a capital improvement take place but a better definition between  capital and cosmetic. That is one consideration. Unidentified Reporter]. What is that your group is seeking...