LA City Council votes against eviction protection for wildfire victims

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles City Council voted down a bill on Friday that would have protected victims of the recent California wildfires from eviction. 

There was intense debate on Friday ahead of the vote, with advocates saying the motion included "vital for our city," while others argued it was "an overreach of policy."

What we know:

The motion would have prohibited certain evictions for renters who could show that the fires caused them to take an economic hit, or lost their jobs.

The vote was 6-5 against, with several council members, including Adrin Nazarian, Imelda Padilla and Tim McOsker absent for the vote. Curren Price also did not vote, recusing himself because he is a landlord. 

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Council members Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martinez introduced a motion last month to protect renters from evictions. Originally, the pair called for a one-year moratorium on rent increases and for renters to be protected for even more types of evictions. 

Weeks of debate cut the motion down to the version the Council voted on Friday.

Why you should care:

The Palisades and Eaton Fire have destroyed thousands of structures across Los Angeles, in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena, leaving residents without places to live. Many businesses were also destroyed in the fire, with many others losing their livelihoods. 

The thousands of displaced residents have placed a strain on the rental market, with so many looking for a place to live at the same time.

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Rental prices across the city have reportedly surged, and California Attorney General Rob Bonta has already filed several lawsuits against relators for alleged price gouging.

What they're saying:

Despite the major changes to the motion by the Council's vote on Friday, Council member Eunisses Hernandez argued that "It is a completely different motion, but still with protections that are incredibly vital for our city."

She also tried to amend the motion to include ways to expedite the policy, which the Council voted down 8-3.

"This is just a small Band-Aid to help folks stay in their housing so that more people don't fall into this `eviction to homelessness' pipeline," Hernandez said.

The other side:

Landlords and other council members pushed back against the motion, with some critics calling it "an overreach of policy."

While many pushed back about the breadth of the proposal, Hernandez tried to stress that the policy was not a "blanket, wide eviction moratorium."

Councilman John Lee argued that the policy would come with unintended consequences, and said he thought it would worsen the city's housing crisis. Councilman Bob Blumenfeld raised concerns about how, specifically, renters would prove economic distress from the fires.

Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez argued that the city had already implemented other protections for renters impacted by the fires, and raised concerns for mom-and-pop landlords, who've also been negatively affected by the fires.

Big picture view:

Earlier in the week, the City Council approved an ordinance that prohibits landlords from evicting tenants who've housed people and pets who were displaced by the fires. Landlords also aren't allowed to raise someone's rent solely because they've taken in people or pets who aren't on the rental agreement.

Both Los Angeles County, and Gov. Gavin Newsom have issued similar policies. The County's policy will stay in effect until May 31, 2026, while the governor's directive expires in just three weeks, on March 8.