With over 6-in-10 rental units in LA Koreatown rental housing classified as aging apartments, housing instability among tenants is growing increasingly severe.
While these apartments have long served as vital, affordable housing options for working-class residents due to relatively low rent, rising maintenance costs and potential redevelopment threaten to displace existing tenants.
A recent report released by the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate indicates that 62% of rental housing in the Koreatown and Mid-City areas is classified as ‘Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing’ (NOAH). This represents the highest proportion in Los Angeles County, followed by Hollywood and Studio City at 61%, and Burbank and Glendale at 57%.
NOAH refers to housing units that maintain relatively affordable rents without government subsidies.
The core issue is the steadily increasing cost of maintaining these aging buildings. Combined with soaring material and labor costs, property owners are facing mounting pressure to raise rents or redevelop the properties into more lucrative luxury housing.
Jonathan Park, co-founder of Dream Paradise, noted that older rental buildings face heightened safety risks, yet performing necessary facility upgrades while keeping existing rent levels stable remains extremely difficult.
The overall average age of residential buildings across Los Angeles County stands at 58 years, outpacing the California state average by 11 years and the national average by 16 years. Furthermore, approximately 75% of the county’s estimated 1.08 million multi-family housing units were constructed before the year 2000.
As new housing construction continues to decline, dependence on these aging buildings has only deepened. Jared Shackleford, a professor at USC, pointed out that the significant slowdown in new residential construction has forced a heavier reliance on older structures.
The Los Angeles Times likened this rental housing aging crisis to a ‘time bomb.’ Donovan Rypkema, principal at real estate consulting firm PlaceEconomics, emphasized that preserving affordable rental housing cannot be left solely to the private market and highlighted the urgent need for government intervention.
