In a unanimous 14-0 vote on Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council approved an emergency ban on “unjust,” no-fault evictions to stop landlords from evicting some of their tenants.
No-fault evictions are evictions that are outside the resident’s control, such as when a landlord decides to end their lease or not renew it.
This comes on the heels of the approval to enact statewide rent control earlier this month. These new rental law will take place in January 2020.
In a statement on his website, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the emergency measure seeks to protect his residents before Assembly Bill 1482 takes place.
“Our city is experiencing a housing crisis, and we should be using every available tool to keep people in their homes, and runaway rents in check,” Garcetti said in the statement. “This ordinance is an important measure that will prevent evictions before the new state law takes effect, and I am proud to be able to sign it into law today.”
California and Oregon are the first states nationwide to enact rent control. In March, Oregon approved a law placing an annual limit on rent increases of 7% plus inflation.
Efforts to increase affordable housing have long been talked about in California, which battled over a statewide rent control measure for several years.
In the November 2018 election, California voters shot down a previous rent control initiative, Proposition 10, by 61.7%. That proposal would have capped annual rent increases to prevent unjust evictions.
