The L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to extend the County’s eviction moratorium by a month to February 28. The motion, proposed by Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Hilda Solis also strengthens and clarifies protections for renters facing intimidation or harassment from landlords.
“We recognize that this could be a real tsunami of evictions if the county did not step up and protect our renters in a responsible way,” said Kuehl. “No one should be threatened with eviction or made homeless by the pandemic.”
A UCLA study last year determined that as many as 449,000 people in L.A. County could face eviction due to the economic slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and tenants' inability to pay rent. Meanwhile, eviction defense lawyers say they’ve seen an uptick in illegal conduct by landlords in L.A. County, including illegal lockouts and frivolous lawsuits.
Attorney Amy Tannenbaum with Public Counsel says while the actions taken by the county are much-needed, they don’t go far enough.
“The current protections that provide long repayment plans or push off eviction are really not doing enough to provide peace of mind to tenants about what’s going to happen when that rent bill eventually comes due.”
The Board also voted Tuesday to make updates to the county’s rent relief program, to ensure available federal rent relief dollars reach struggling renters and landlords in L.A. County.
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