Tenants in LA County have been financially caught up in the wildfires of January. You can protect yourself from eviction for the next six months.
The LA County Board of Supervisors considered a proposal Tuesday to temporarily ban landlords from ousting renters who have been hit hard by the fire.
The motion, proposed by supervisor Lindsey Horvas, aims to include not only renters who lost their homes in the fire, but also those whose livelihoods have been affected, such as landscapers, housekeepers and caregivers. Masu. It applies to all of LA County, including areas that were devastated by the Eaton and Palisade fires.
“These workers live throughout Los Angeles County, not just in or near the fire zone,” Horvath said, and the proposal is “narrowly targeted eviction protection,” and blanket rents. He emphasized that it is not a ban.
“Workers need time. Not eternity, but just a little time,” added Horvath, which includes Pacific Pallisad and Malibu, the district.
The supervisor voted between 4 and 0 votes and asked the county attorney to draft a resolution to protect the county-wide tenants who will pay the rent between February 1st and July 31st. A landlord who was struggling with himself financially.
“I feel like someone has to be the voice of a landlord,” said Burger, a district that includes Altadena.
To qualify, tenants will need household income less than 150% or 150% of the median region income. A family of four costs around $147,000.
Renters must also sign a self-visual measure that they have lost at least 10% of their income due to the fire. This may be because their employment locations have been burned out, laid off, or clients have been scattered.
Tenants must pay back rentals due by July 31, 2026, one year after protection expires.
The allegations also direct county staff to consider a fund that allows them to pay their landlords with late rent. The fund starts at $10 million, but supervisors agreed that the number was a bucket reduction compared to the needs, and hoped it would be supplemented by charity.
“That wouldn’t lead us that far,” Rafael Carvajal, director of the county’s consumers and office, confirmed that the fund would be at the forefront.
Workers’ flow on Tuesday said their revenues had been wiped out by the fire. Maria Hernandez, who is playing the landscape with her husband, said she is facing eviction after the house she burns out. Another woman said she lost half of her wages.
Rose Lenehan, tenant organizer for the Advocacy Group La Tenants Union, called the temporary ban “a basic minor first step.”
“Maria lost ten homes. Esther lost $500 a week on work. Jorge lost three homes,” she said. “We need this protection.”
However, the proposal faces severe opposition from many landlords who they also said they were financially devastated by wildfires, and the county has their way through a moratorium on evictions during the Covid-19 pandemic I felt that I had interfered with my livelihood many times.
“Please forgive me when I say this – my owner doesn’t trust you,” said Meg Sullivan, who described himself as a mom and pop landlord.
Sullivan said he has friends who lost their wealth and hundreds of thousands of dollars during the pandemic as tenants are using the eviction ban. When one of her units became available during the pandemic, she and her husband said they decided it was safer to have it available.
“If you pass this, your owner will take the unit from the market exactly when it is desperately needed,” she said.
Many said they don’t trust the county to distribute money immediately, citing a similar fund for landlords created after the delayed pandemic.
“We have to strengthen our time frame,” agreed director Holly Mitchell.
The Los Angeles City Council discussed similar eviction protections for weeks, but the measure was not passed due to concerns that some councillors were too widespread and that small amounts of landlords would be overburdened. did.
Some property owners say they are still trying to recover from local pandemic-era policies that freeze rentals and ban many evictions.
“I’m on the verge of losing my property,” Southla landlord Dexter McClendon told city council members at a recent meeting. “Please, understand, not everyone here is to make money after tenants. We are here to help people, to house people, to help people and to help people and their families. ”
On Tuesday, the council said it had added eviction protections through March following a request from Councillor Eunisses Hernandez, who is fighting for new rules that did not limit eligibility by revenue, unlike the county’s proposal. I voted to postpone the consideration.
If approved by the supervisor, the county eviction moratorium applies to the city of LA.
“I think we can come to a solution, so I want to work with my colleagues to do that,” Hernandez said. “I hope people can hear that and work with us.”
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