The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to prevent landlords from evicting tenants who took in a pet at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, even if their leases prohibited it.
The 13-0 vote, with council members Heather Hutt and Katy Yaroslavsky absent, will sign into law a tenant protection that was introduced during the pandemic shutdown but was scheduled to expire at the end of January. Supporters say the ordinance will prevent further worsening of the homeless crisis, as well as minimize overcrowding at animal shelters.
However, tenants who have unauthorized pets must notify the landlord within one month. The ordinance does not apply to pets that began living in the rental unit after January 31, 2023.
The issue was raised in February 2023 in a report from the city's Department of Animal Services, which said tenants would be forced to decide between remaining boarded or giving up their pets.
Now, tenants will not have to surrender their pets to shelters, which are currently “bursting to the rafters,” according to Larry Gross, chairman of the Board of Animal Services Commissioners.
“It will keep families together, because many of these pets were brought in three or four years ago and are part of people's families,” said Gross, who is also executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival. “It's a tremendous victory for the pets, for the tenants, and it was the most humane thing the city could have done.”
Before the vote, Councilwoman Eunisses Hernández also spoke in favor of the ordinance, stating that the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown had a broad “social, economic and health impact on our communities.”
“Many people lost loved ones and were dealing with the isolation of quarantine, which led many to make new additions to their families,” Hernandez said. “These pets have helped people get through difficult times and tenants should not be evicted from their homes because of pets.”
Audience members at the meeting also expressed concern about possible evictions and the mental health of tenants who were housing pets to improve their mental health.
“The animals are the only thing that keeps them going,” said an Animal Services volunteer.
Many homeowners also supported the ordinance. In a Dec. 5 letter to the City Council, the California Apartment Association, which represents landlords and other landlords, wrote that it supported Animal Services' “report and the city's goal to resolve this unique situation.”
The organization asked the City Council to include the provision that requires tenants to inform their housing provider of the presence of an animal.
“It is important for the property owner to be aware of the animals and general activity in the community,” the letter said.
Nearly a week after the homeowners association's request, the City Council voted 14-0 to appoint the city attorney. Hydee Feldstein Soto drafted the text of the ordinance, which will go into effect immediately.
