LA City Council Approves Relocation Assistance For Tenants

LOS ANGELES - The City Council gave preliminary approval today to an ordinance requiring landlords to pay relocation assistance to tenants in Los Angeles who move out following rent increases of more than 10%.

The ordinance -- which will return to the council next week for a final vote -- is the final part of a package of tenant protections the council is seeking to implement, after it voted to end the local state of emergency due to COVID-19 at the end of January. The ordinance contains an urgency clause, but will not move forward immediately because two council members -- John Lee and Traci Park -- dissented in the 11-2 vote.

Under the city ordinance, if a landlord increases rent by more than 10% or the Consumer Price Index plus 5%, the landlord must pay the tenant three times the fair market rent for relocation assistance, plus $1,411 in moving costs.

According to the city's housing department, fair market rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles is $1,747 and $2,222 for a two-bedroom. The new ordinance would provide relocation assistance for tenants of units that are not already covered by the city's rent-stabilization ordinance or state law -- meaning it would cover an additional 84,000 rental units in Los Angeles that were built after 2008.

The council already voted for ordinances that require universal just-cause for evictions and allow tenants behind on rent to stay in their apartments for a month, unless they owe more than one month's worth of fair market rent. The latter ordinance is set to come before the council on Friday for a second reading before it can be adopted.

-- City News Service