LA City Council rejects proposal to aid tenants impacted by wildfires
By JOSE HERRERA
After an intense debate, the Los Angeles City Council rejected a proposal on Friday, Feb. 14, intended to provide eviction defense for residents who were impacted economically or lost their livelihoods in the January wildfires.
With members split 6-5, the City Council was unable to move forward the proposal, which would have prohibited certain evictions for non-payment of rent and no-fault evictions for tenants who could show proof of economic hardships as a result of the fire emergencies.
Council members Adrin Nazarian, Imelda Padilla and Tim McOsker were absent during the vote. Councilmember Curren Price recused himself, as he is a landlord.
A month ago, progressive council members Hugo Soto-Martinez and Eunisses Hernandez introduced an emergency motion seeking to provide tenant protections for residents financially impacted by the fires. They originally called for a rent-hike moratorium for one year and a more detailed list of evictions that landlords would have been prohibited from filing.
Following pushback from their colleagues and landlords, the item underwent a robust process to refine the proposal, which critics initially deemed “an overreach of policy.”
“This motion has been cut and amended and whittled down,” Hernandez said. “It is a completely different motion but still with protections that are incredibly vital for our city.”
Hernandez introduced further amendments with the intention of expediting the policy. She also argued the proposal would not be invoking a “blanket, wide eviction moratorium,” which many landlords previously criticized and feared would hurt them.
“This is just a small Band-Aid to help folks stay in their housing so that more people don’t fall into this ‘eviction to homelessness’ pipeline,” Hernandez said.
Council members shot down her amendment in a 8-3 vote.
Councilmember John Lee said he could not support the proposal because of the “unintended consequences.” He argued such policies would ultimately worsen the city’s housing crisis.
Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who recognized the proposal was very close to something he could support but not quite there, had concerns about the verification process — questioning how exactly a tenant could show economic distress related to the wildfires.
Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Pacific Palisades, called for money from Measure ULA to be used for emergency rental assistance. Her amendment failed in a 7-5 vote.
Measure ULA, a 2022 voter approved 4% tax on property sales more than $5 million and a 5.5% tax on property sales more than $10 million, generates revenue for various housing and homelessness programs such as rental assistance for seniors and people with disabilities, housing production, information campaigns, and anti-tenant harassment, among other things.
According to city Housing Department officials, they established an expenditure plan of $167 million in ULA funds for fiscal year 2024-25.
Housing staff recognized there was leeway with allocating some ULA funds to support tenants financially impacted by the fires, but much of the money will be spent on categories outlined in the measure. Not doing so could lead to potential legal issues for the city.
Several council members argued there was not enough data to support the need for the proposed tenant protections.
Housing officials said they did not have any figures at hand, but they estimated that evictions were on pace compared to 2024, with about 1,500 each month.
Soto-Martinez warned that was not the case. According to figures compiled by his office, the councilman said evictions increased to 2,400 so far between the start of the fires to early this week.
“We’re talking about real people,” said Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, who supported the proposal.
Jurado, a tenant rights attorney, emphasized that even if the policy was approved, landlords would still be able to proceed with eviction proceedings.
“It’s on the tenant to affirmatively defend,” she added.
Councilmember Monica Rodriguez said the city has implemented several protections for tenants impacted by the fires. She raised concerns for mom-and-pop landlords who could face foreclosure of their properties.
“Instituting policies like this doesn’t aid us in our ability to create a hospitable environment to build more housing in the city, and that is a fact,” Rodriguez said.
Earlier this week, the City Council approved an ordinance temporarily prohibiting landlords from evicting tenants who have taken in unauthorized occupants or pets displaced by the January wildfires.
Under the ordinance, landlords will also be prohibited from raising rent solely on the basis of their tenants having unauthorized occupants or pets.
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors implemented a similar policy for the unincorporated areas impacted by fires, which will be in effect until May 31, 2026.
Gov. Gavin Newsom previously issued an order prohibiting evictions of tenants who sheltered displaced individuals due to wildfires, though it did not include pets. His directive is set to expire March 8.