A proposal to further extend eviction protections for tenants across Los Angeles County failed to gain support from the Board of Supervisors Tuesday.
Last week, the board directed its attorneys to draft an ordinance requiring that renters be at least two months behind in fair market rent before landlords in unincorporated areas can begin eviction proceedings. The current county eviction threshold is one month.
Attorneys are expected to bring the ordinance before the board within the next month.
Tenants’ rights organizations, however, urged the board to take more sweeping action by lifting the eviction threshold to three months of unpaid rent and extending it countywide, including tenants living in incorporated cities within the county.
Supervisor Lindsey Horvath agreed and introduced a motion last week to do just that. Her proposal came before the board on Tuesday, but the matter failed when no other board member would offer a second to Horvath’s motion — a procedure required to prompt a vote on the issue.
The failure of the proposal was met with boos from many audience members who had spoken in favor of the item. The crowd eventually broke into chants of “Cowards, cowards, cowards!”
Unable to immediately restore order in the meeting room, the board recessed into closed session to confer with its attorneys on legal matters.
The board’s action last week lifting the eviction threshold to two months in unincorporated areas was in response to what Supervisors Janice Hahn and Hilda Solis said was rising financial pressure placed on tenants in recent months in part due to sweeping federal immigration enforcement efforts that have discouraged some people from going to work, and harmed businesses that have lost customers and workers.
The current fair market rent in the county is considered $2,085 per month for a one-bedroom unit, and $2,601 for two bedrooms.