Lomita

Landlords and tenants have signed a private contract that is expected to control Lomita mobile home park rents for the next two years.

The voluntary rent control agreement signed last week provides for rent increases equal to the change in the consumer price index, limits increases to one a year and passes on to tenants the cost of government-mandated fees and Internal Revenue Service-approved capital improvements.

The agreement--which is among the first of its kind--was reached after five months of negotiation between landlords and tenants. The Lomita City Council, which urged the two groups to negotiate a private settlement, planned to consider a city-imposed rent control if such an agreement could not be reached.