A key Los Angeles Metropolis Council committee on Wednesday rejected an effort to freeze rents citywide, however superior a sequence of eviction protections for individuals economically affected by latest fires.
In a 3-1 vote, the Housing and Homelessness Committee authorized a movement that may bar landlords from evicting tenants for quite a lot of causes, together with for nonpayment of hire or if an proprietor needed to maneuver right into a unit. Such evictions could be prohibited just for tenants who had been economically harmed by the fires, and the prohibition would final one 12 months.
The movement heads to the total Metropolis Council, the place it’s unclear it has the votes to go.
A earlier model of the proposal, which included a citywide hire freeze along with the eviction protections, was heard final week at council, however was despatched again to the committee amid fears amongst some council members that each the hire freeze and eviction protections had been too broad.
Because the fires broke out Jan. 7, there have been widespread stories of value gouging, however it’s unclear simply how a lot rental costs as a complete have risen throughout the area.
Housing and catastrophe restoration consultants have mentioned they anticipate hire to extend to some extent, as a result of 1000’s of houses had been destroyed in an already tight market.
Most houses misplaced seem like single-family homes, and due to that some consultants mentioned they anticipate hire to rise most in bigger items adjoining to burn areas, with upward strain on prices diminishing as items change into smaller and farther away from the catastrophe zone.
The council has taken some steps to guard tenants. On Tuesday, it gave momentary approval to a proposal that may ban landlords from evicting tenants for permitting individuals or pets displaced by final month’s fires to reside with them.
On Wednesday, Housing and Homelessness Committee members rejected the hire freeze regardless of pleas from tenants and their advocates on the assembly.
Committee members as an alternative superior the eviction protections. Voting in favor of that proposal had been Councilmembers Adrin Nazarian, Ysabel Jurado and Nithya Raman, the committee chair.
Councilmember Bob Blumenfield voted no and expressed concern the eviction protections had been too sweeping, a sentiment landlords and their representatives shared on the assembly.
As an alternative, Blumenfield mentioned he’d just like the council to discover giving tenants who’re economically affected by the fires a grace interval to pay hire.
