Los Angeles City Council tables a proposed wildfire renter protection measure

For the second time, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday, Jan. 29, tabled a vote on a proposed renter protection measure, leaving both renters and landlords in limbo for at least another week.

Citing the need for further review and discussion, the 15-member body sent the proposal to the Housing and Homelessness Committee–-the same move it made when the motion was introduced earlier this month.

The proposal aimed to halt evictions and freeze rent increases for tenants who face financial or medical hardship due to the recent wildfires, and the protections would be in place through January 2026. But the motion was amended on Wednesday to remove the rent increase freeze and the medical hardship clause.

Despite those changes, tensions ran high.

Shortly before the four-hour meeting began about 50 supporters of the motion gathered on the steps of City Hall and waved signs that read “Shame on crisis profiteers” and “LA needs a tenant Bill of Rights,” and chanting for stronger tenant protections.

Once the City Council meeting started, tension grew in the packed council chambers, where more than 100 people–split sharply between tenants and landlords–signed up to speak.

Every time a landlord spoke, members of “We House LA” silently rose to their feet, holding their signs high in a show of solidarity. When a tenant made a great point, their supporters erupted into cheers and applause.

Some tenants shared stories about how the recent fires upended their lives.

Elyanna Lavine, a 16-year-old from Woodland Hills, said her mom underwent surgery on Dec. 20, expecting a four to six month recovery. But two weeks later, the family received an eviction notice from their landlord, giving them three weeks to relocate, she said.

“That day was Jan. 7,” she said. “At the same time, the Palisades fire and the Eaton fire took place, eventually destroying over 10,000 homes. That same day, we responded, explaining how it was impossible for us to relocate within that time. The next day, our landlord responded, granting us until March 1 to relocate, requesting nearly full rent, only a slight deduction for relocation.”

Lavine added, “After only three weeks of recovery, my mom returned to work. She cannot afford to take more time off. Not everyone has the same privilege as I do to use their voice to advocate for themselves, but they do have (the L.A. City Council) to act on their behalf, to help them keep a roof over their heads.”

Landlords pushed back on the proposal, calling it one-sided and arguing that it would place undue burdens on housing providers without offering real solutions for displaced tenants.

“What is evident is that there are predatory price-gouging landlords, and there are also predatory tenants,” said Josh Luchs, who has been operating apartment buildings since 2008.

Luchs argued, “The proposed motions are completely one-sided, and do nothing to protect the people that provide the housing, and will disincentivize housing providers from building and renting their units out, both single-family residences and multi-units alike.”

Luchs also noted that the motion left room for abuse.

He said the motion relied on “self-attestation, which would mean that all somebody has to do is say, ‘I’m affected.’ Not prove it, just say it, and they get free rent,” Luchs said, “further burdening the landlords and putting onus on us, deflecting responsibility that these city leaders have to help their constituents.”

Several council members agreed that the motion needed further discussion.

“It’s unbelievable to me that we continue to address matters of such significance without fully understanding or discussing the long-term implications of our actions,” said Councilmember John Lee, who represents District 12.

A motion by District 3 Councilmember Bob Blumenfield to send the proposal to the Housing Committee was backed by his colleagues 10 to 3.

The motion was introduced on Jan. 14 by Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martinez, when the City Council approved a series of emergency responses to the historically destructive wildfires that erupted in Los Angeles.

The proposed law would freeze all rent increases for rent-stabilized units, until Jan. 31, 2026. It would also protect tenants from eviction if they could show they were struggling financially or medically due to the wildfires.