The County Board of Supervisors has voted unanimously to extend its eviction moratorium until September 30, 2020. The motion does not preclude the Supervisors extending the moratorium beyond September 30. Studies released over the last several months indicate that hundreds of thousands of County households could face eviction because of inability to pay rent caused by lost or reduced income during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The motion also directed the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs to report back in 14 days concerning tenant protections throughout LA County, with the goal of evaluating if the County’s moratorium should serve as the baseline for all County cities and unincorporated areas.
The County’s temporary moratorium, which first went into effect in March, imposes a ban on evictions for all residential and commercial tenants in Los Angeles County impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, author of the motion, said, “More than 90% of renters have continued to pay some or all of their rent during this terribly difficult time. That says a lot about the integrity of our local renters. Unfortunately, the virus has forced us to slow our economic recovery and many people are still out of work or working reduced hours. No one should be threatened with eviction or made homeless by this pandemic, so we must extend these critical protections.”
Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, co-author of the motion said, “Every day, 227 people become homeless while we are only able to place 207 individuals who lack shelter into housing, on average,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis. “Without the County’s intervention during this global pandemic, we could see the number of unhoused individuals in Los Angeles County skyrocket due to evictions. The actions taken today will protect our most vulnerable, rent-burdened households who are already on the brink of homelessness.”
Submitted by Barbara Osborn
