LA Tenants Union hold a caravan protest outside of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's mansion in Hancock Park demanding a rent freeze by LA Tenants Union
By Ernesto Arce | KPFK
Advocates for southland renters continue to demand a rent freeze despite this week’s efforts by the Los Angeles City Council and the LA County Board of Supervisors to assist tenants in the region.
The LA City Council voted today to halt rent increases for protected units for one year to help tenants through the COVID-19 pandemic. But some activists say it’s not enough and southland residents are still facing an uncertain future.
About 624,000 housing units in the city of Los Angeles that are covered by the RSO, Rent Stabilization Ordinance are getting an extra break. The LA City Council voted on a rent increase moratorium for 360 days.
The ordinance initially proposed by Councilmembers David Ryu, Mike Bonin, and Marqueece Harris-Dawson wanted a rent hike freeze on all units but lawyers for the city opined that it wasn’t legal under the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, the state law limiting rent control.
Councilmember John Lee said he was concerned with the plight of landlords saying he didn’t want to disincentivize owners and managers from making improvements to their properties.
Councilmember Gil Cedillo said the temporary ordinance might have unintended consequences on workers like gardeners, janitors, and others. He asked for safeguards to ensure housing complex workers are not furloughed or laid off as a result.
Housing advocates didn’t celebrate the new ordinance.
Elizabeth Blaney with the Los Angeles Tenants Union, Union de Vecinos, said most efforts to alleviate renters' hardship are not very helpful.
"Mayor Garcetti, Governor Newsom, they still have done nothing for tenants," says Blaney. "On their daily reports, they give us a lot of info on how many more cases there are, how many people are dying but they're not talking about how they're going to help tenants stay in their home."
The council also voted in favor of a resolution to call on state lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom to temporarily suspend the Costa-Hawkins law until the end of the pandemic.
The city's orders require people to pay back the rent they owed within 12 months of the end of the pandemic with commercial tenants being given three months. Blaney says debts for working people are accumulating, which will lead to an eventual breaking point.
"Evictions have been postponed but the debt hasn't," Blaney said. "Every month we're accumulating more and more debt. There's no way we're going to be able to pay that back."
The city and county are looking to other examples such as San Jose. The northern California city recently enacted a rent increase freeze on all units, regardless of rent-stabilized status. Rent stabilized units are defined as rental units built-in 1978 or earlier.
The California Judicial Council halted all eviction proceedings in April, but city officials say landlords have continued to initiate them.
Despite the city's temporary ban on no-fault evictions, tenants are still receiving what the original motion described as threatening letters with strong-arm offers for bad deals or new lease terms.
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