LOS ANGELES (KNX) — The average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in the city of Los Angeles is going for about $2,924, according to apartmentlist.com — more than double what the same amount of space is going for in other cities across the United States. Struggling to find police recruits willing to pay those prices, the Los Angeles Police Department is turning to landlords to ask for a break.
Along with Police Chief Michel Moore, Commissioner Steve Soboroff has come up with a plan in which the department works with landlords to offer subsidized housing to new recruits for at least two years.
That way, the Los Angeles Business Journal reports, incoming officers can afford to live in one of California’s most expensive cities while they go through six months of training and begin their careers with the LAPD.
“A housing initiative is what we’re forming,” Moore told the Business Journal, explaining that the department would go a step further by also creating a trust-style pot of money for new hires.
“A second part of the plan calls for seeking donations from the business community, individuals, foundations and others. The money would go into a kind of housing trust which would help pay rent for incoming cops.”
According to Quicken Loans, L.A. is the 13th most expensive city in the country to live in, with a population of nearly four million and a cost of living that is 46.8% higher than the national average.
With staffing at an all time low, the LAPD is desperate for new hires. However, the housing cost averages at least one reason behind many turning down opportunities, according to Soboroff.
“There are a million reasons why people want to come to L.A. and there are five or six, maybe, that they don’t,” Soboroff told the Business Journal. “But this hurdle, the cost of housing, is a major shock to people.”
He added that recruits make an average of $71,000 per year, which would mean that a single recruit renting a one-bedroom apartment and paying the average price of $2,924 — would spend about $35,088 (40%) of their salary just to put a roof over their heads.
And that’s before thinking about state and federal taxes, retirement and healthcare contributions, gas prices, food prices and other expenses.
Soboroff’s idea around the subsidized housing is to work with landlords to get rent down to about $1,000 a month per unit, according to the Business Journal. He added that the deal works both ways, as having a police officer on site is beneficial to the overall safety of a community.
He argues that continuing the incentive for two years would give the recruits time to settle into Los Angeles and truly make it their home, rather than just relocate after training.
Work is currently being done to explain the idea to apartment owners, Soboroff said, telling the Business Journal that any interested owners could reach out to him to learn more by emailing N4967@lapd.online.
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