City Council

(13) 25-0006-S16 CONTINUED CONSIDERATION OF HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS COMMITTEE REPORT and AMENDING MOTION 13A (HUTT – HARRIS- DAWSON) relative to drafting ordinances that prohibit certain types of evictions as outlined in the Motion for tenants who attest to having experienced economic hardship related to the January 2025 fires; suspends Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) Section 151.06(G); and related matters. Recommendations for Council action, as initiated by Motion (Hernandez – Soto-Martinez – Nazarian): 1. NOTE and FILE Amending Motion (Hernandez – Soto-Martinez) dated January 14, 2025, and the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) report dated January 17, 2025, attached to Council file No. 25-0006-S16, inasmuch as no further Council action is required at this time. 2. REQUEST the City Attorney, in coordination with the LAHD, to prepare and present an ordinance, with an urgency clause, that prohibits the following types of evictions to the extent allowed by State and Federal laws, from February 1, 2025 through January 31, 2026, if a declaration with proof of loss of income due to the 2025 fires is provided: a. For tenants who attest to having experienced economic hardship related to the January 2025 fires: i. Evictions for non-payment of rent ii. No-fault evictions other than a government order to vacate b. For tenants who have accommodated in their rental units additional displaced or economically impacted occupants that attest to having experienced economic hardship related to the January 2025 fires: i. No-fault evictions other than a government order to vacate 3. REQUEST the City Attorney, in conjunction with the LAHD, to prepare and present an ordinance, with an urgency clause, that suspends LAMC Section 151.06(G), which allows rent increases for additional occupants, through January 31, 2026. 4. REQUEST the City Attorney, with support from the Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA), and in coordination with the Mayor's Office, to produce monthly reports on the City's response to complaints of price gouging in the rental housing market for the duration of the local emergency order declared in response to the January 2025 fires and for six months after, and that such monthly reports include but are not limited to: a. A count of the complaints received by the City. b. The average response times between receipt of a complaint and the investigations and any enforcement by the City. c. A categorization and count of the City's responses to complaints, including enforcement actions. d. A geographic breakdown of the complaints and of City enforcement actions. e. Any recommendations for improving enforcement and increasing deterrence of illegal rent gouging. 5. REQUEST the City Attorney, with the assistance of the LAHD, to include in the ordinance a comprehensive list of documents that are eligible to be used for the declaration of proof of loss of income due to the 2025 fires. 6. INSTRUCT the LAHD, with the assistance of the Office of Finance, to report to Council within 30 days with a formula to define mom and pop landlords based on gross receipts taxes paid to the City. (Recommendation approved by Council on February 14, 2025) 7. INSTRUCT the LAHD to develop a rental assistance program for mom and pop landlords for non-payment of rent based on the definition described in the above recomemdation and as evidenced by the attestation process. (Recommendation approved by Council on February 14, 2025) 8. REQUEST the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to report to Council with recommendations to enable access to Problem Solving Funds (such as security deposit) for people experiencing and/or imminent risk of homelessness due to the 2025 fire storms. 9. REQUEST the City Attorney and the LAHD to report to Council on whether the following Motion, introduced, but not approved during the Housing and Homelessness Committee meeting on February 5, 2025, or other means, would help address issues related to evictions, in comparison to the underlying eviction affirmative defense/moratorium, to compare and contrast impacts: “Request the City Attorney, to prepare and present an ordinance, with an urgency clause, in furtherance of the public interest to avoid forfeiture, limit displacement and homelessness, that prohibits the following evictions, to the extent allowed by State and Federal laws, if a declaration with proof of loss of income due to the 2025 fires is provided, from February 1, 2025 to January 31, 2026 where tenants owe less than three months’ rent. This protection returns to the standard one month on January 1, 2026.” 10. REQUIRE the LAHD to cap declaration processing for tenants at 10,000 individuals with the authorization to return to Council for approval to increase the number, and INSTRUCT the LAHD to report to Council on March 1, 2025, and on a monthly basis, with an estimate of people who applied and qualified. [Recommendation No. 1 from Amending Motion 13A (Hutt – Harris-Dawson)] 11. REQUEST the City Attorney’s Office to make clear in the ordinance that these protections only apply to those individuals who meet the requirements under the declaration of proof of loss and were in their units prior to January 1, 2025. [Recommendation No. 2 from Amending Motion 13A (Hutt – Harris-Dawson)] 12. REQUEST the City Attorney’s Office to provide in the ordinance that any information submitted for the City for the purposes of declaration, or documents signed as part of this process, included an under penalty of perjury clause. [Recommendation No. 3 from Amending Motion 13A (Hutt – Harris-Dawson)] Fiscal Impact Statement: Neither the City Administrative Officer nor the CLA has completed a financial analysis of this report.