Los Angeles Ad Hoc Committee to Discuss End to LA City’s Moratoriums on Eviction and Rent Increases

Let the Ad Hoc Committee Know That These Emergency Measures Must End Now! Ensure the Voice of Responsible Rental Housing Providers is Heard!!

On Wednesday, September 28^th at 1:00P.M., the City of Los Angeles’s Ad Hoc Committee on COVID-19 Recovery and Neighborhood Investment will be discussing the recently released Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) report and related recommendations regarding the end of the City’s eviction moratorium and rent increase freeze and consideration of proposals to impose additional permanent rent regulations including expansion of the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) “just cause” eviction requirements to non-RSO units, Agenda Item 1/ Council File 21-0042-S3.

To review the full details of the Los Angeles Housing Department’s report and presentation, please click on the buttons below:

REPORT             PRESENTATION

What You Need to Know:

• While LAHD are recommending that the eviction moratorium end on December 31,2022, they are recommending that the rent increase freeze which applies to all RSO units, remain in effect for another year, meaning no rent increases will be permitted until January 1, 2024!
• The LAHD report also recommends the drafting of an ordinance to expand the City’s “just cause” eviction requirements to non-RSO Units. Moreover, other permanent housing policies are being contemplated that would place additional stringent regulations on the rental housing industry.

Let the Ad Hoc Committee Know That:

• Small business rental housing providers are already reeling from over two years of challenging rent collections, ban on rent increases, and enormous increases in building and operational costs which continue to rise during this hyperinflationary period. Simultaneously, over the last two years, City rates and fees including for the Systematic Code Enforcement Program (SCEP), RecycLA, and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power have also significantly increased.
• Continuation of these moratoriums will force small business rental housing providers to remove their buildings from the rental market. Buildings are already being removed from the rental market or sold to developers or corporate property owners who will turn the City’s naturally occurring affordable housing into condominiums or luxury rental units. The already scarce affordable rental housing will be gone, a situation that harms everyone.
• Only rental housing providers remain subject to these expansive COVID measures – no other businesses have been subjected to prohibitions that freeze prices, limit legal remedies for pursuing revenue collections or impede contractual agreements.
• These emergency measures were imposed during an unprecedented emergency and put in place to address tremendous public health and safety concerns. Over the past two plus years, we have gained a better understanding of COVID-19, with a vaccine and a booster now readily available, schools have re-opened, business sectors are back to normal operations, and individuals are working and/or have new employment opportunities, and there has been mass attendance at large scale events such as this year’s Superbowl. All of these changes reflect the vast difference in our lives today as compared to over two years ago when the pandemic began, and these emergency actions were taken.
• Nearly all of other jurisdictions across the Country have lifted similar moratoriums.
• Despite the significant strides made both in our understanding of the virus and the economy, the City’s emergency policies remain unchanged from those that were instituted at the very beginning of this pandemic.
• It is long overdue for the City to seek an equitable path forward and bring an end to the moratoriums. The rent increase freeze must end with the eviction moratorium this year!
• NOW is the time for the Rental Housing Industry, like all other businesses, to be allowed to resume normal business operations.
• These moratoriums were intended as temporary emergency measures in response to an unprecedented event and must not be used as the impetus to hastily advance permanent housing policies without thoughtful deliberation.

Below is a sample letter you may use as an example to send a letter to the City of Los Angeles’s Ad Hoc Committee. Please make sure to modify the letter to best explain your own personal experiences and hardships these past two-plus years, and the impacts you have suffered under the City’s eviction moratorium and rent increase freeze.

Councilmembers Office Contact Information:

Click the button below to email your written letter to ALL Los Angeles City's Ad Hoc Committee members:

This email button works best for users using Microsoft Office Outlook, but should be functional for all email services. If you experience any issues with the email delivery due to "invalid email addresses", please try replacing the semicolons in between each email address to commas OR try sending the emails individually to each member as all email addresses provided have been checked and cleared for their validity. 

How to Listen to the Meeting:

The audio for this meeting is broadcast live on the internet at https://clerk.lacity.org/calendar. The live audio can also be heard at: (213) 621-CITY (Metro), (818) 904-9450 (Valley), (310) 471-CITY (Westside) and (310) 547-CITY (San Pedro Area). If the live audio is unavailable via one of these channels, members of the public should try one of the other channels.

How to Provide Public Comment:

Members of the public who would like to offer public comment on the items listed on the agenda should call 1 669 254 5252 and use Meeting ID No. 161 855 4858 and then press #. Press # again when prompted for participant ID. Once admitted into the meeting, press *9 to request to speak. State that you would like to speak on Agenda Item 1 and General Public Comment.

How to Submit Written Comments

Written comments can be submitted at LACouncilComment.com for Council File 21-0042-S3.