Seniors at Bayview Landing feel the rent-hike pinch

Like many of its residents, 65-year-old Iris Brazil likes living at Bayview Landing, a rent-controlled affordable housing complex for seniors built on roughly 5 acres at Jamboree Road and Back Bay Drive in Newport Beach.

The rent-controlled, three-year-old complex near Newport Dunes Marina and a 10-acre park with walking trails is quiet and clean, Brazil said, and features a swimming pool and a community center — but Brazil doesn’t know how much longer she’ll be able to live at Bayview. Her rent will jump from $951 to $1,023 next month and her Social Security benefits have not kept pace with the increase.

“I think its sort of unfair,” Brazil said. “We have some very elderly people who live here and it would be traumatic if they had to move — they’re not going to find anything cheaper around here.”

Israel Mata, a representative from the Related Companies, the company that built and manages Bayview Landing, could not be immediately be reached for comment. A staff member at Mata’s office said he was traveling Tuesday.

The increase is the most recent of several hikes for Bayview residents in the past few years, Brazil said — her rent has jumped from $744 to $1,023 from when she moved into the complex in February 2006. Social Security benefits have only risen 2.3% from last year.

The rising cost of living is problem for many seniors in Newport Beach, said Newport Beach Assistant City Manager Sharon Wood.

“I think it’s a concern for seniors everywhere,” Wood said.

Bayview, which offers 120 units of affordable housing for seniors, was financed by state tax credits and a loan from the city, Wood said. The only other rent-controlled housing for seniors in Newport is the 100-unit Seaview Lutheran Plaza in Corona del Mar, which opened in 1982 under a U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development program that doesn’t exist anymore, she said.

Rent at Bayview is based on the median income for Orange County, Wood said.

Twenty-four apartments at Bayview are offered to seniors whose annual income is doesn’t exceed 50% of the median income in Orange County and 95 units are available for seniors whose income doesn’t exceed 60% of the average income.

“When the average income goes up, the rent may be raised,” Wood said.

The median annual income for a household in Orange County is $61,899, and the median income for a family is $75,700, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Rent is especially high in Orange County, compared to the rest of the country, said Brian Sullivan, a spokesman for the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. The standard rent for a two bedroom apartment in the Orange County metro area is $1,595, he said.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.