The Los Angeles City Council adopted an ordinance on Friday that prevents the eviction of tenants who are waiting to receive emergency rental assistance from the city.
The vote came one day after the deadline to pay rent debt accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than 3,200 residents have been approved for the United to House LA Emergency Tenant Assistance Program, which provides up to six months of unpaid rent for accepted applicants. Only 25% of the $30.4 million allocated for rental assistance has been distributed.
That means a significant number of renters who were promised emergency funds have yet to receive their money. Thousands more are waiting to find out if they have been approved for the program, which has received more than 31,000 applications.
Only those who have been approved will receive protection from eviction.
Councilwoman Eunisses Hernández, who made the motion to draft the ordinance last week, said prevention is essential while fighting homelessness. She wants to stop the process that leads to evictions of homeless people, she said.
“I don't see us getting out of this homelessness crisis unless we, as a city, really make transformative policy decisions to keep people in their homes,” he said.
There are not enough funds to assist all United to House LA applicants; According to data from the Los Angeles Department of Housing, there were $472 million in claims from applicants, almost $454 million more than the total available. Applications closed in October.
It will take approximately 120 days from now for all applications to be processed. All applicants approved on or before May 31 will be protected from eviction, according to the draft ordinance the City Council voted to adopt Friday. Tenants who wait for a response will risk being evicted until their application is approved.
Eviction protection applies only if the sole reason for eviction is nonpayment of rent.
An earlier version of the motion that led to the ordinance would have protected all tenants who applied for emergency funds regardless of the status of their application. Groups representing landlords expressed concern that this would lead to an indefinite delay in rent payments without the option to evict.
“We're grateful that the council narrowed it down to a smaller group of people who have been approved,” said Fred Sutton, senior vice president of local public affairs for the California Apartment Association.
“But there remains a concern that this whole thing was really rushed in a way that is not acceptable,” he said.
The City Council motion that prompted the ordinance was introduced on January 24 and passed on January 26. The ordinance was then drafted and adopted on February 2. Hernandez said it was necessary to act quickly considering Thursday's deadline.
Rent arrears from Oct. 1, 2021, through Jan. 31, 2023, expired Thursday, the same day rent increases were allowed for units that fall under the city's rent stabilization ordinance. Tenants living in rent-stabilized units could see rent increases of up to 4%, or 6% if the landlord pays for gas and electricity.
“Housing is a human right,” said Hernández. “For the February 1 rent deadline to occur on the same day that rent increases occur, it's really sad.”
Amid the challenges renters face, Hernandez said he hopes this ordinance provides the protection needed to keep people off the streets.
“With just a little help, they will stay in their homes,” he said.
