City Council Committee Advances Protections For Fire-Affected Renters, But Not Rent Freeze
The Housing and Homelessness Committee Wednesday approved a motion that would prohibit landlords from evicting tenants who are facing economic hardship as a result of the LA fires for reasons including nonpayment of rent.
If passed by the full council, landlords would be barred from evicting these tenants for a year, the Los Angeles Times reported. But it is unclear if the measure has enough votes to pass in the full council. The eviction measure and a rent freeze proposal were sent to the housing committee after a council meeting in which some council members expressed either outright opposition or deep skepticism about how they would actually work.
The committee rejected a motion to freeze rents.
Efforts to protect renters in the wake of the massive fires that hit the Los Angeles basin in early January were put forth as reports of rent gouging emerged across the city.
The loss of a chunk of the city's housing units is expected to cause demand and rents to rise, worsening affordability. The rental market in the city already suffered from a dearth of units at rents that are within financial reach for many renters.
Council members gave initial approval Tuesday to a measure that would bar landlords from evicting tenants who took in additional people or pets who lost homes in the fires, the LA Times reported.
