The Brief

Tenants in the city of Los Angeles could soon face eviction over unpaid rent from early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

So far, the city of L.A.’s COVID-19 regulations have given renters protections from eviction over pandemic debts. But rent was never canceled — only delayed. And landlords have long complained about financial hardships stemming from unpaid rent.

Now, tenants have until Tuesday, Aug. 1 to pay landlords all of the rent they missed between March 1, 2020 and Sept. 30, 2021. If they don’t pay those debts in full, they could face eviction.

“I am very worried about the deadline,” L.A. Mayor Karen Bass told LAist. “I'm concerned that we're going to have another spike in homelessness.”

In the interview with LAist, Bass deferred questions on actions the city will take to help renters before the deadline to the head of the city council’s housing committee, and the CEO of the Mayor’s Fund, a nonprofit aligned with the Bass administration’s housing goals.

The city has put funding toward programs that provide legal aid and limited rental assistance for tenants facing eviction. And the Mayor’s Fund is pledging to step up ongoing homelessness prevention efforts. But other funding through the city’s new “mansion tax” will not be available to tenants by the Tuesday deadline.

Eviction filings have already been rising across L.A. County for many months. And landlord advocates say more are coming after the pandemic rent debt protections go away.

“We're doing tons [of eviction cases] now, but there will be many new evictions that we have in the pipe to start on Aug. 2,” said prominent L.A.-area eviction attorney Dennis Block.

Block said the city’s COVID-19 restrictions have unfairly prevented many of his clients from taking action over debts that in many cases stretch back more than three years.

“When does it stop?” Block said. “And why is it the landlord's responsibility to be financially responsible for someone else's debt?”

Tenant advocates worry thousands of L.A. households — including those who applied to the state’s COVID-19 rent relief program but got caught in bureaucratic limbo and have yet to receive aid — could soon end up struggling to defend themselves in eviction court.

“There are still a lot of people, especially in the L.A. area, who are waiting on the government relief to pay off the debt to their landlords,” said Legal Aid Foundation of L.A. staff attorney Jonathan Jager. “They're not going to get the check before next week.”

For many renters, 'trying to rebuild is not easy'

Many tenants who struggled to pay rent in earlier phases of the pandemic are in the clear, because they applied for and received rent relief funding from the state. California’s $5.2 billion program to cover pandemic rent debts up to April 2022 delivered almost $1.4 billion to tenants just within the city of L.A.

But other L.A. renters are still shouldering debts that in some cases run into the tens of thousands of dollars. According to recent U.S. Census Bureau survey data, about 339,000 households in the L.A. metro area have rent debt totaling close to $1.3 billion.

“The economic impacts definitely aren't over,” said Cesar Alvarez, a camera operator for documentary film and TV projects who has about $18,000 due on Tuesday. “We're still crawling out of holes. Trying to rebuild is not easy.”

Alvarez remembers the day in March 2020 when all his work suddenly disappeared.

“Everything dried up, all within less than 24 hours,” he said. “My phone wouldn't stop ringing. Emails were coming and talking about all projects being canceled until further notice.”

Cesar Alvarez stands outside his Highland Park bungalow. If he’s evicted over COVID-19 rent debt, he said, “There's no way I could afford Highland Park again.”

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After his income vanished, Alvarez informed the landlord of the Highland Park bungalow — where he has lived for the past seven years — that he would need to use the city’s protections allowing tenants to defer rent because of pandemic hardship.

He went to apply for rent relief, but by then work was picking up again, and he said the state’s website suggested he wasn’t eligible for assistance under the program’s income limits.

Alvarez is now back to regular work and paying his full rent. He adds a couple hundred extra dollars each month to chip away at his debt. But he said for tenants in his situation, repaying all of their past-due rent in one lump sum is impossible. He worries about what comes next.

“It's going to lead to a wave of massive evictions,” Alvarez predicted. “It's going to lead to a wave of massive homelessness. If you think it's bad now just give it three more months.”

Second repayment deadline is coming next year

The city’s rules give tenants with more recent pandemic rent debt additional time to pay back their landlords. Unpaid rents from Oct. 1, 2021 through Jan. 31, 2023 must be paid by Feb. 1, 2024. Other parts of L.A. County have different COVID-19 repayment rules.

For tenants still struggling to pay off rental debt, limited rental assistance is available to some living in the city through the city-funded StayHousedLA.org program.

In addition, the nonprofit Mayor’s Fund For Los Angeles recently launched a $6.5 million homelessness prevention effort called “We Are L.A.” that aims to give thousands of vulnerable tenants legal assistance and get them signed up for health care, food and other public aid programs.

Mayors Fund leaders said the program does not directly pay down COVID-19 rent debt, but it has already connected more than 10,000 tenants with caseworkers who know how to buy renters more time in legal proceedings to find solutions.

“It's another way that, at very low cost and very efficiently, the whole outreach and case management process can help avoid evictions,” said Conway Collis, chief executive officer of the Mayor’s Fund.

But other funding that could be used to clear tenants’ remaining COVID-19 debts won’t be available by the Tuesday deadline.

The city’s housing department expects to help about 3,000 households with about $20 million in emergency rental assistance during the first year of funding from Measure ULA, the voter-approved tax on property sales valued at $5 million or more. That funding could cover up to six months of back rent for eligible tenants. But the portal to apply for that funding will not be online before Tuesday’s repayment deadline.

Existing ULA tax revenue has been lower than expected. Supporters of the ballot initiative originally projected it would raise up to $1.1 billion per year. But wealthy homeowners scrambled to sell their properties before the tax took effect on April 1, and only about $38 million in revenue has been raised so far. The measure also faces legal challenges that could put funding in jeopardy.

City lawmakers are restricted under state law from pushing back the Tuesday repayment deadline. But tenant advocates say city leaders could have done more to deliver rent relief ahead of time in order to stop evictions over pandemic debt.

“They had years of time to do something like set up a local rental assistance program to help tenants pay off these debts that were not covered by the state rental assistance program, or to look at other potential ways of mitigating the harm of having all of this due on the same day,” said Jager with the Legal Aid Foundation.

Tenants rally to call for relief

Tenants like Julia Orozco fear they could soon slip into homelessness. As a street vendor, Orozco saw her income evaporate during the pandemic. She isn’t earning enough to cover the approximately $5,000 in debt coming due on Tuesday.

Orozco attended a rally this week outside the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown L.A. She and other tenants called on L.A. leaders to stop the rising number of eviction filings across the city.

Speaking in Spanish, Orozco said, “It affects me a lot because my daughter asks me every day if we are going to sleep at home or if we are going to sleep on the street.”

Julia Orozco brought her daughter to a rally where tenants called on city leaders to address evictions over COVID-19 rent debt.

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Councilmember Nithya Raman, chair of the L.A. city council’s housing committee, said she has been working with the mayor’s office and the city’s housing department to coordinate efforts around the looming deadline. She said new renter protections passed by the council earlier this year, as well as the city’s existing Eviction Defense Program, could help many tenants.

"My hope is that the impending Aug. 1 rent debt repayment deadline actually pushes us to reshape and transform our current system into one that proactively supports vulnerable tenants to stay housed, not just at this moment but over the long term,” Raman said in a written statement.

But local landlords say their patience is wearing thin.

“Renters should have known this day was coming,” said Daniel Yukelson, executive director of The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles. “If a renter has not made at least some attempts to pay down some of this rental debt these past three years, there’s a strong likelihood that they're not going to be able to make a lump sum payment when the due date comes.”

Yukelson said most landlords in the city are not hopeful about recovering unpaid debts. As for eviction, he said going to court for many landlords is a last resort. He said in some cases, tenants who followed all of the city’s requirements for notifying landlords about COVID-19 hardships each month may not be subject to eviction, only debt collection.

What to do if you're at risk of eviction

The mayor’s office, in conjunction with Raman’s office, released a list of resources available to tenants on Thursday. They recommended tenants at risk of eviction reach out to the city’s housing department through appointment-only public counters or by calling 866-557-7368. They also encouraged tenants to contact their local councilmembers and sign up for tenant rights workshops put on by StayHousedLA.org.

California is almost done counting ballots — but the key word is almost. Election officials are now moving onto the ballot “curing” phase and are sending notices to voters for verification.

If you received a letter in the mail, it doesn't automatically mean your ballot has been rejected, contrary to misinformation circulating online. Ballot curing is a normal part of California’s vote-verification process and a safeguard to make sure you actually cast your mail-in vote.

Here’s what you should know about how it works and steps to take to make sure your ballot gets counted.

What is ballot curing?

If your ballot needs to be cured, that means the mail-in envelope has been flagged for a signature issue. That could be because it looks off (that is, it doesn’t match what’s on your state record) or it’s missing entirely.

Your county registrar will send you a letter that asks for your signature to attest that you returned the ballot and that it’s your name on the envelope. (The mismatched signature and unsigned envelope letters can be separate in some counties — but L.A. County combines it.) You’ll also have to provide your address. These steps are required under state election code.

You can reply to that notice via phone, email, mail, fax or in person. If you’ve received a letter in Orange County, follow the steps here. For L.A. County, follow the steps in your letter. Here's an example of what the combined letters look like for both counties:

The privacy of your vote is protected during this process. The state election code requires the ballot return envelope to stay sealed until the registrar can verify the voter’s signature. LAist has also confirmed this with the L.A. County registrar’s communications manager Mike Sanchez and Aimara Freeman, a spokesperson for Orange County's registrar.

Why do I need to do it?

Your registrar is giving you an opportunity to fix a discrepancy, which helps ensure only registered voters cast ballots.

It’s important to cure your ballot by the deadline because your vote won’t count without it. The registrar must receive it no later than 5 p.m. June 24.

L.A. and Orange counties have about 24,000 ballots to cure as of Wednesday, according to the California Secretary of State.

A very small portion of ballots gets rejected each election statewide. The Secretary of State reports that 0.93% of ballots — or 122,480 votes — were not counted in the 2024 general election, for example, mostly because signature issues weren’t resolved.

How are signatures verified and flagged?

Signatures are compared to the ones in your voter registration record. Because of California’s Motor Voter program, that could come from the DMV. If you’re curious what your local registrar has, you can ask to review the signatures in your file.

We cover in detail how the verification process works here, but this is the gist:

• In L.A. County, a device compares your signatures first. If it’s mismatched or missing, a human then reviews it.
• In Orange County, humans do the comparison and review.

Three election officials have to agree that a ballot signature is “significantly” different from the one on record for it to be pulled, according to state code. To verify your signature, officials consider spelling, signature slant, letter characteristics and possible explanations for discrepancies — for example, trembling hands or rushed writing.

The ballot gets pulled for curing when officials challenge it — that is, they determine it needs extra verification. State law requires notices for this to be sent by first-class mail by the next business day after a challenge.

Second notices may also arrive by phone or email. You can choose a preferred secondary method through the Secretary of State’s “Where’s My Ballot?” tracking service.

As a reminder, Tuesday was the last day for ballots to arrive by mail, as long as it was postmarked by Election Day. So if you haven’t been notified that your ballot’s been counted yet, you should check on it.

Here’s where to do that for L.A. County. Orange County has a similar tool that you can find here.

The Los Angeles Conservancy — which works to preserve L.A. County's historic places — isn’t letting up on its longtime mission of celebrating downtown’s rich history and driving people to the area, particularly the historic theatres.

From the Mary Poppins Sing-a-Long, noir style thrillers like LA Confidential, and all-time classics like North by Northwest, the organization is screening classic films through its Last Remaining Seats program starting this weekend through through June.

The distinct style of LA’s Broadway Theater District

The Broadway Theater District, which is officially recognized in the National Register of Historic Places, was developed between 1894 and 1931 as a flood of new residents arrived in the city.

One of the most notable buildings, the Los Angeles Theatre, has been preserved in its original French Baroque-style structures.

Sarah Lann, director of education at the Los Angeles Conservancy, joined AirTalk, LAist’s daily news program, and said visitors entering the Los Angeles Theatre are met with a “jaw-dropping” 50-foot ceiling when they first walk in.

“There are crystal chandeliers, and  there's silk damask on the walls,” Lann said. “ It was literally meant to remind folks of the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles.”

The grand staircase at the historic Los Angeles Theatre is the centerpiece of French Baroque architecture.

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Los Angeles Conservancy

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The ladies' powder room in the Los Angeles Theatre, modeled after the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles

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Los Angeles Conservancy

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The interior of the Los Angeles theatre is five stories, decorated with massive columns and accented with urns, angels and vines.

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Los Angeles Conservancy

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The Broadway district represents several styles distinct to the period — including California Churrigueresque, Art Deco and Beaux-Arts.

Theaters today

While no Broadway District theaters remain in daily use, the Orpheum and the Million Dollar Theater both host screenings, and other theaters have been refurbished into retail spaces.

A number of movies have been shot in buildings on Broadway, including Blade Runner, The Neon Demon, and The Prestige.

The Orpheum during the 2024 Last Remaining Seats season.

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Last Remaining Seats

It all began in the 1980s as an education program to draw attention to the overlooked and underused theaters in the Broadway district, but it soon became the L.A. Conservancy’s mission to bring people back downtown.

“ Downtown was really something of a no-go zone for many people in the '80s," Lann said. “Folks who were around then talk about it literally being dark…no open businesses once the sun went down.”

The Los Angeles Conservancy started the Last Remaining Seats program in 1987. Now, almost 40 years later, Lann said the program continues its work to keep downtown theaters alive and well, celebrating the “incredible legacy of movie palaces that is so unique to L.A.”

You can get tickets to this year’s selection of Last Remaining Seats screenings at https://www.laconservancy.org/.

Members of the campaign behind Measure ER claimed victory Wednesday, saying the half-percent sales tax in Los Angeles County would help keep hospitals and clinics from collapsing under federal cuts to Medi-Cal.

Although votes are still being counted, by Tuesday evening, Measure ER had won the support of 50.59% of L.A. County voters, the majority it needs to pass.

The sales tax increase is expected to raise about $1 billion a year to fund the region's safety net healthcare system, which faces cuts from the Trump administration's One Big Beautiful Bill.

“We saved the healthcare safety net in Los Angeles County,” said Jim Mangia, president and CEO of St. John's Community Health, at a news conference Wednesday. “We won, but it was close.”

Measure ER will raise L.A. County’s sales tax temporarily from 9.75% to 10.25%. The county would start collecting the 0.5% sales tax Oct. 1. It will will sunset in 2031.

Cuts and changes under the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" signed into law last year will cost the county's health departments about $800 million annually, while stripping hundreds of thousands of health coverage, according to Los Angeles County projections.

Accountability

The Board of Supervisors voted in February to put Measure ER before voters. L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who introduced it, vowed Wednesday to ensure the revenue it generates is spent as promised.

“For me, today is not a celebration, but more so a declaration of our commitment to be accountable to the public, whether you voted for or against Measure ER,” Mitchell said at the news conference.

It’s a general tax, not a special tax. That means the revenue will go into the county’s general fund and is not legally earmarked for healthcare.

However, county supervisors approved a spending plan for the Measure ER revenue. It allocates 45% to fund care at nonprofit clinics for uninsured low-income residents, 22% to keep county hospitals and clinics running and smaller shares to the Department of Public Health and Planned Parenthood clinics.

The measure also establishes a nine-member oversight advisory committee to recommend, review and report publicly how the money is used.

Kathryn Barger was the lone county supervisor to vote against sending Measure ER to voters, citing cost-of-living concerns. In a statement Wednesday, Barger said her responsibility moving forward is ensuring Measure ER follows through on its promises to voters.

“Taxpayers deserve to know how these funds are being spent, whether promised outcomes are being achieved,” Barger said. “I will be a strong advocate for rigorous oversight and fiscal responsibility every step of the way.”

Affordability concerns

On Election Day, Measure ER had been trailing with about 47% of the vote, but the sales tax shifted into the leading position as votes were counted in the coming days.

“I know how important this victory has been, and it has been a nail-biter,” said county Supervisor Hilda Solis.

The main backer of the ER campaign was St. John’s Community Health, a nonprofit that operates a large network of health clinics in Southern California. The campaign, Restore Healthcare for Angelenos, raised about $9.7 million and had the backing of community clinics and healthcare workers’ union SEIU 721.

The No on ER campaign committee, led by the L.A. County Taxpayers Association, raised less than $10,000, according to L.A. County campaign finance filings.

Aidan Chao, chairman of the taxpayers group, said the close race shows rising tax fatigue among L.A. County voters.

“This is by no means a resounding endorsement of measure ER from Angelenos,” Chao told LAist Monday. “We are disappointed that special interests spent $9.7 million — vastly outspending us — to pass a tax that will hurt working-class Angelenos the most.”

Measure ER’s supporters say the tax increase is warranted, to prevent the collapse of the local healthcare system.

“We found ourselves in a situation where we had to ask an already over-taxed community, in the midst of runaway inflation and affordability crisis, to tax themselves yet again,” Mangia said. “ We would not allow healthcare to be ripped away from the people who need it the most.”

He said the current threats to L.A.'s healthcare system aren't just the federal cuts. California moved to freeze new Medi-Cal enrollment for undocumented adults starting in 2026 and add premiums in 2027.

“This was a crisis created by both the feds and the state,” Mangia said. “ Measure ER was a grueling and expensive campaign, but we're not tired yet. This is just the beginning.”