Los Angeles City Council holds off on rental protections for those affected by wildfires
The Los Angeles City Council voted to hold off on a rental protection proposal for people affected by the recent wildfires, as refinement of the proposal is sought.
Councilmembers listened to public comment and discussed the proposed package of tenant protections, intended to prevent the eviction of residents impacted by the recent Los Angeles fires.
The proposal tasked the city attorney to draft an ordinance prohibiting certain types of evictions and implement a rent-hike moratorium through Jan. 31, 2026 for all apartments in the city, among other things.
"We can't keep putting the city's problems on the backs of our housing providers who are still suffering from the devastating effects of the rent freezes, to blanket eviction protections without documentation, from the COVID era," Councilmember Traci Park said.
Some council members said the proposal needed more information and clarification and the matter was sent back to the Housing and Homelessness Committee.
Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez was one of the members who introduced the motion, and defended its intent, saying it's not a blanket policy.
"This is a very narrowly tailored policy that is seeking to help people who have had economic hardship, or who have lost their jobs due to the fires," he said.
"This is not an eviction moratorium. This is an eviction defense...this gives the tenant the ability to defend themselves if they are being evicted, and there is a process for that... there is no blanket policy."
Advocating for more review, Park questioned how many people would need rental protection from the effects of the wildfire, for how long, and where they actually live.
Park said, immediately after the fire, working with the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union, her office learned that workers at Gelsons, Vons and Ralphs had already been placed in other stores. For other economically displaced workers like housekeepers and gardeners, Park said her team "has been working with the entire CD11 community to place those individuals in new job opportunities."
She also went on to say a significant source of funding will come through the Economic & Workforce Development Department, which secured $20 million in state funding to help economically displaced workers, and this will include temporary housing assistance.
"What might make senses is a 90-day protection for people who can document a real impact, but we don't even know how many people have actually lost work, or the extent or duration of those losses," Park said.
For renters affected by the fires, who can't make rent at the beginning of February, officials from the Los Angeles Housing Department said there is some cushion for renters, as the city adopted a just-clause ordinance two years ago. This prevents landlords from evicting tenants who owe less than the Fair Market Rent.