Los Angeles County
Last week, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to end the county tenant protections on December 31st! Thanks to all of you who responded to the call to action and helped influence a very close vote.
City of Los Angeles
The L.A. Housing Department issued a report recommending that the L.A. City Council end the eviction moratorium at the end of the year. The L.A. City Council Housing Committee reviewed the recommendations and voted, but there was a 2-2 tie, which means that no progress was made. Therefore, the full City Council will vote sometime before the end of this month to determine the end date for the city moratorium.
Take Action Tuesday
Today is “Take-Action” Tuesday, and now is the perfect time to leave a public comment with the city clerk and ask the Councilmembers – before they vote on how and when to end the moratorium (including the rent freeze). Click here for instructions on leaving a public comment. Click here for a sample letter to send.
The Pandemic is Officially Over
There is no pandemic-related medical purpose for an eviction moratorium. President Biden, WHO, and CDC have all announced that the pandemic is officially over. Their opinions trump the LAHD’s recommendation to end the moratorium at the end of the year – they should end the moratorium immediately! It has been 929 days of denying due process of law, denying basic rights of property ownership, denying any pay increases for housing providers, and denying the fact that today, very few tenants can support a COVID hardship claim.
Rent Freeze
And …there is no pandemic-related medical purpose for a rent freeze either. A blanket rent freeze is a shotgun approach that doesn’t recognize the difference in income levels or needs. If politicians are concerned for tenants who will not be able to keep up with rent increases, then they should create a county voucher system to cover a portion of the rent for QUALIFIED families or individuals.
The Golden Rule
If the L.A. City Councilmembers want a rent freeze, then they should have a retroactive freeze on any of their own salary increases along with it! IF they ended the eviction moratorium today (929 days) and kept the rent freeze for an extra year (365 days), councilmembers would need to receive no pay increases for over 3.5 years! Wouldn’t it be nice if they had to retroactively cough up all wage increases from the last 3.5 years!
Act Now!
Urge your representatives to vote to end the moratorium and the rent freeze. The pandemic is over; as voiced by our President. Please view the sample letter and use it if you’d like. Copy and paste the email list below or use your own list of representatives.
Much appreciated,
Jeff Faller, President
Apartment Owners Association of California (AOA)
Council District 1 -Gilbert A. Cedillo
Council District 2 – Paul Krekorian
Council District 3 – Paul Blumenfield
Council District 4 -Nithya Raman
Council District 5 -Paul Koretz
Council District 6 – Nury Martinez
Council District 7 – Monica Rodriguez
Council District 8 – Marqueece Harris-Dawson
Council District 9 – Curren D. Price, Jr.
Council District 10 – Herb Wesson
Council District 11 – Mike Bonin
Council District 12 – John Lee
Council District 13 – Mitch O’Farrell
Council District 14 – Kevin de Leon
Council District 15 – Joe Buscaino