Los Angeles City Council on Friday agreed to consider an ordinance that would bar landlords from imposing any rent increase on thousands of rent-controlled apartments for at least four months.

The council in an 8-6 vote asked City Attorney Carmen Trutanich to draft the rent freeze for buildings constructed before 1978 that have six or more units now regulated by the city’s rent control law, which this year would have allowed increases of up to 3 percent.

Opposing the freeze were Jan Perry, Dennis Zine, Paul Koretz, Tom LaBonge, Bernard Parks and Greig Smith voiced concerns about the effect on landlords.

The council exempted rent-controlled buildings with five or fewer units from the freeze after a proposal by Councilwoman Janice Hahn.

Ordinance sponsor Councilman Richard Alarcón said in a press release that he was disappointed by the exemption and would try to change it. Alarcon also will continue to push for a one-year rent freeze for all apartments.

“During these tough economic times, we need to make sure that our most vulnerable residents are not faced with unjust rent increases,” Alarcón said. “This four-month moratorium is a reasonable compromise, allowing us to further study the rationale of having a 3 percent floor and give the council time to consider longer term fixes to ensure fairness in our rent stabilization ordinance.”

Los Angeles has more than 630,000 rent-controlled units and more than 61 percent of residents are renters, according to statistics. One of three renter households pay 50 percent or more of their income towards rent.