The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to eliminate a rule that allows landlords to evict tenants when they renovate a building.
Under the city’s “just cause” eviction rules, landlords can only evict tenants for certain reasons, one of which is “substantially altering” the property.
Tenant advocates believe the renovation exemption is a loophole that allows owners to evict longtime tenants in order to raise rents. Landlords argue that the proposed new rules could impose unnecessary barriers on owners who want to maintain or improve their properties.
The City Council voted 11-0 to order the Housing Authority and City Attorney to draft an ordinance to amend the cause clause to remove the substantive renovation clause.
“Hundreds of families have been caught up in these types of eviction proceedings, leaving them without the ability to keep their units,” said Councilman Katie Yaroslavsky and motion co-author Bob Blumenfield. . “My policy is to ensure that tenants are able to maintain their leases, continue to pay rent, and continue to live in their apartments.”
Daniel Yukelson, Executive Director of the Apartment Association. “People are spending thousands of dollars on renovations without going through the permitting process just to try to evict people,” said one resident of the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
“Once again, the Los Angeles City Council is trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist,” he added.
Since the California Tenant Protection Act went into effect in 2019, reform evictions have been the subject of ongoing controversy across the state. The law limits rent increases and gives tenants some protection against no-fault evictions, but does not allow for major alterations (“replacement of structural, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical systems that require a permit”). (defined as “or significant alteration”). or reduction of hazardous substances from government agencies.
The motion passed by City Council calls for new rules that would allow tenants to continue paying rent and maintain their tenancy rights during renovations. Similar rules already exist for rent-controlled properties under tenant livability programs, allowing owners making major renovations to , you must submit a plan to protect your tenants.
The motion also asks the city attorney to draft an interim management ordinance to temporarily remove the alteration provisions until a permanent ordinance is finalized, a process that could take several months. . It also wants more data on major renovations and tenant housing plans across the city.
Fred Sutton, senior vice president of local communications for the California Apartment Association, wrote in a letter to the city’s Housing and Homelessness Commission this month that the city’s housing infrastructure is aging, “but… “There is no efficient process to upgrade these properties.” ”
He said the city needs to better understand how the current situation is working before making any changes to the rules.
Lourdes Mata and her daughter Erica Hernandez attended Tuesday’s meeting and urged the city to make changes. Mata has lived in her two-bedroom Echo Park apartment for 35 years, and her landlord is seeking her third eviction under the substantial renovation exemption.
She currently pays about $975 a month and wouldn’t be able to afford a market-rate apartment in her neighborhood if she were evicted. Two-bedroom apartments often rent for more than $3,000, Hernandez said. An eviction would probably force her to leave the community.
“This is an issue for thousands of families across Los Angeles,” said Hernandez, who was by her mother’s side as she fought the eviction attempt. She said she was excited to hear the city passed the motion.
“I have to tell my mom right now,” she said. “Telling her that would give me a lot of peace of mind.
