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The Los Angeles City Council is approaching permanent protection of tenants from “renovations.”
On July 1, the city council voted unanimously to amend the rules that allowed landlords to have the ability to drive tenants out to take on substantial modifications or renovations of their property.
Under the current “justified cause” ordinance, it includes substantial modifications that allow landlords to eliminate tenants.
The approved amendment prevents the landlord from using substantive modifications as a legal reason to drive out tenants unless ordered by the agency.
Agency orders come when local government agencies, including the Los Angeles Housing Division, Los Angeles Buildings and Safety, the Los Angeles County Health Department, or the Los Angeles Fire Department, give landlords an order to empty or mitigate units based on their need to address housing code violations.
What is “renovation”?
Tenant Rights Groups say some landlords use renovations as an excuse to drive tenants out only to charge high rents to whole new tenants after renovations. This is called “renovation.”
“To make that clear, what we’re doing today is that we’re refusing to renovate, but we’re creating a clear pathway to renovations that will be useful for both tenants and landlords,” said Bob Blumenfield, advocate for proposed policies for the district, including Canoga Park, Receda, Tarzana and Woodland Hills.
Is this a permanent solution to the problem?
The decision comes four months after the council votes in favor of a provisional ordinance with the same goal. Prevents landlords from using “just-worthy reasons” to drive out tenants when implementing remodeling.
Temporary protections will only last until August 1st, as the city has been investigating permanent laws for several months.
In addition to the amendments, the city has directed the Los Angeles Housing Department and city counsels to create relocation rules between modifications and amended penalties for violators of the proposed ordinance.
“We want to have a clear route for legitimate renovations, not renovations,” Blumenfield said.
What will the landlord need during a substantial remodel?
90 days later, the Los Angeles Housing Authority will submit a proposal to the city council to consider what is needed for the landlord if the tenant must be relocated during a renovation.
The proposal provides the following rules:
A way in which the landlord pays the tenant a mutually agreed amount for the relocation. A way in which a landlord can provide equivalent or better housing to tenants evacuated during the renovation period. In this scenario, the landlord must pay all relocation fees and rent for the temporary home. Tenants are a way to continue paying landlords’ monthly rent payments before necessary relocation. Payments cover the time the tenant lives in the temporary housing during the relocation period. How tenants return to their original units and increase the new rent to no longer exceed the 10% allowed under state law.
What about penalties for landlords using renovations to drive tenants out?
The proposal also includes updated penalties for violators of three times the compensation damages, including mental or mental distress, reasonable attorney fees, and a civil penalty of up to $10,000, with a civil penalty of up to $10,000, according to the city’s report. If your tenant is over 65 years of age or is disabled, additional penalties can be added for each violation.
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