L.A. City Council members propose moratorium on evictions, rent increases amid wildfires
(KTLA) — Los Angeles City Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martínez have introduced a motion to protect working-class residents from threats of eviction and rent increases amid the wildfire crisis in Southern California.
Hernandez and Soto-Martinez represent District 1 and District 13, respectively, which include neighborhoods like Highland Park, Echo Park, Chinatown and Elysian Valley.
The legislation calls for a moratorium on evictions for tenants affected by the fires and a one-year pause on rent hikes through January 2026. Under the motion, any tenant impacted by the recent wildfires couldn’t be evicted, should it pass.
“The wildfires are still burning, and the scale of the devastation is mounting each day,” Hernandez said in a statement. Los Angeles is already in the midst of a housing and homelessness crisis. We cannot allow bad actors to take advantage of this catastrophe by price-gouging working-class tenants. If we don’t take immediate action, we will see a second wave of disaster as rents and evictions skyrocket in a market that is already one of the least affordable in the nation.”
The council members also cited a 2019 MIT study that found eviction rates can nearly double after natural disasters.
Recently, local and state officials warned those considering risking prices on necessities like housing and food.
The motion is expected to be heard in the Housing and Homelessness Committee and then returned to the City Council for a vote in the coming weeks.