The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to continue discussions of a proposed eviction pause and rent freeze in the wake of the Eaton and Palisades fires in a council committee rather than vote to enact it or not.

Councilmembers cited concerns and questions about the process and speed with which the proposal came together, the enforceability of such a move, and the potential impacts on the rental market.

“I’ve been a very strong supporter of tenants’ protections. I’ve backed every effort this council brought forth for a vote to strengthen tenant protections,” Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky said at the council meeting. “I have real concerns about how this proposal has come together.

“There are a lot of unanswered questions about the impact of another eviction moratorium,” she added.

During the meeting, officials proposed five amendments to the original motion, which Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martinez introduced Jan. 14. The motion argued that the crush of new renters on the market was already driving up rents in the entire city.

The council heard more than three hours of public comment at its Wednesday meeting, the vast majority of it from tenant advocates and property owners on the tenant protections issue.

Several members questioned whether the council was ignoring the impacts of the pandemic-era moratorium on the apartment business.

“When we as a city tell developers and property owners that at any moment, the Los Angeles City Council can commandeer your investment, who is going to want to build in this city? Who is going to want to do business here?” Councilmember John Lee said.

The original motion called for the city attorney to draft an ordinance that would have prohibited landlords from evicting fire-impacted renters for nonpayment of rent or in no-fault situations. It also would have paused rent increases for a year, until the end of January 2026.

The council voted 10-3 to send the original motion and all five amendments back to the Housing and Homelessness Committee.