LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – A proposal to protect tenants impacted by the recent Eaton and Palisades fires, which included a moratorium on evictions, was delayed at Wednesday’s Los Angeles City Council meeting.
The proposed measures, backed by Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, aim to help renters, many of whom lost their jobs as a result of the wildfires.
“Thousands of workers who commuted to the Palisades to work as housekeepers and other workers are suddenly out of work and now face the looming threat of losing their homes,” Hernandez said at a rally outside City Hall.
Those backing the motion say the proposed program would last a year and that tenants would still be on the hook to pay the back rent next year.
During the lengthy public comments section of Wednesday’s meeting, the council heard arguments from those on either side of the issue.
“We need you guys to pause this rent,” one woman told councilmembers. “Many people are unable to their right now because they don’t have work.”
Some housing providers against the proposal, like Josh Luchs, agreed that people suffering because of the fires should be assisted but feels the motion overreaches in areas like simply have tenants self-attest to their hardship in order to qualify.
“They shouldn’t be allowed to simply say, ‘I was affected,’ and not pay the rent because the landlord still has to pay the mortgage, the water bill and the rising cost of insurance,” Luchs told KTLA’s Lauren Lyster.
In response to questions about having more scrutiny than a simple self-attestation, Soto-Martinez explained to KTLA that the attestation comes under penalty of perjury.
Other council members argued that the motion was too broad and needs more work.
“I can’t support the notion of it right now without the findings and understanding the problem and the solution and making sure that they are balanced,” Councilmember Bob Blumenfield said at the meeting.
The idea of the city helping renters directly with some type of financial relief was also floated during the meeting.
“Unfortunately, the emergency rental assistance program we have has been completely tapped out,” Soto-Martinez said.
In the end, the council voted to send the proposal back to the Housing and Homelessness Committee so more work can be done on the proposal.
