Victory Alert: City of Los Angeles Local Emergency Ends on February 1st!
City Rental Housing Providers Able to Collect Current Rent Due on February 1st
At yesterday’s Los Angeles City Council meeting, the City Council voted for the last time to extend the City’s Declaration of Local Emergency through January 31, 2023. Since March 2020 when the City declared a COVID-19 local emergency, the City Council has maintained the emergency through 30-day extensions. Yesterday marks the end of these extensions, as the Council took final action and set a definitive end date to the City’s local emergency.
The significance of the Council’s actions to end the City’s nearly three-yearlong COVID-19 local emergency is that it also establishes a clear end date for the termination of the City’s eviction moratorium and rent increase freeze, as both of the related ordinance’s expiration is tied to the expiration of the local emergency. On February 1st, with the expiration of the City’s local emergency will arrive the end of the City’s eviction moratorium with limited exceptions, and a date certain for the end of the City’s rent increase freeze, which will occur on February 1, 2024.
In conjunction with the vote on the last extension, at the meeting, an amending motion was advanced by Councilmembers Soto-Martinez and Hernandez which sought to keep the local emergency in effect pending the adoption of permanent housing policy changes. The amending motion failed.
During the meeting, City Council President Krekorian, clearly delineated between the emergency declaration and permanent housing policy changes and emphatically stated that there is no longer a state of emergency due to COVID-19. Due to the Association’s unfaltering advocacy efforts multiple attempts to keep the local emergency in effect beyond February 1, 2023 were defeated. With the impending end to the City’s eviction moratorium, rental housing providers will finally be permitted to resume business operations and collect the full current rent due.
As these positive changes begin next month, there are also numerous concerning permanent housing policy proposals that remain pending. We must continue to be vigilant in our joint advocacy efforts to ensure that the voice and concerns of rental housing providers are heard!
This article is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions regarding your property or specific tenancies and the requirements of any local law changes described herein, please consult with an attorney.