To sign a 12-month lease for a roughly $2,200 studio, Mendelson said he got a month’s free rent and six months of free parking. At the recently opened 263-unit Hanover Olympic apartments on Olive Street, new residents can get a free month’s rent when they move in. The 6,260 apartments now under construction are 1,000 more than all the new apartments and condos that opened downtown from 2002 to 2009, according to Transwestern. Something is happening downtown that would shock many renters living in an increasingly expensive Los Angeles: Some landlords are letting tenants live for free. Leasing, though, has been robust since move-ins started last month, Wulf said, noting there are fewer new units in the Arts District than other downtown neighborhoods.

Source: Los Angeles Times August 04, 2016 00:00 UTC