The Los Angeles City Council tentatively approved an ordinance Friday updating regulations governing rent control for apartments built on or before Oct. 1, 1978.

In a 9-2 vote, council members approved a new ordinance establishing a new formula to set annual allowable increases for roughly 650,000 rental units, calculating 90% of the Consumer Price Index. The RSO would establish a 1% floor and a 4% ceiling, and remove additional charges for electricity and gas, as well as for renters with extra dependents such as children.

Council members Traci Park and John Lee voted against the item, while Bob Blumenfield, Adrin Nazarian, Curren Price and Nithya Raman were absent during the vote.

Council members are expected consider the ordinance for a second and final vote next Friday. Following that vote, it will be sent to Mayor Karen Bass for her signature or veto before the RSO change can be enacted.

The change would be lower compared to the current rules that cap RSO units between 3% and 8% for annual rent hikes, with the addition of 1%-2% increases for utilities, totaling what could be a 10% increase for some renters.

Prior to the vote, council members had a heated debated regarding a proposal from Councilman Nazarian, who attempted to clarify the ordinance’s language surrounding dependents.

Landlords were able to surcharge tenants for extra dependents, but the revision to the RSO did not define dependents, as the matter was waived out of the Homeless and Housing Committee.

Nazarian suggested defining dependents under a similar definition used by the Internal Revenue Service, which covers elderly parents, family members with a disability and minors.

However, the IRS definition is specific to U.S. citizens, raising concerns by city officials about individuals with different legal status. Adding to the confusion, the City Attorney’s Office submitted two ordinances for the council’s consideration — one removing the surcharge for dependents and the other without.

The issue regarding dependents will be addressed by the council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee.

A separate proposal providing small landlords with no more than 10 rental units an additional 1% in allowable rent increase under the RSO will be considered by the committee as well.

Council members John Lee and Monica Rodriguez introduced the proposal last month.