The Los Angeles City Council has delayed consideration of new rental protections for wildfire victims.
The plan, proposed by CD 13 Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, would have imposed a one-year freeze on rent increases and evictions for affected residents as well as those who have helped them find shelter. It has support from Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez and Adrin Nazarian.
Traci Park, who represents the decimated Pacific Palisades neighborhood, was among those opposed to the item.
"We can't keep putting the city's problems on the backs of our housing providers who are still suffering from the devastating effects of the rent freezes, to blanket eviction protections without documentation, from the COVID era," Park said.
Park and others urged the council to gather more information before adopting such a proposal.
"What might make sense is a 90-day protection for people who can document a real impact, but we don't even know how many people have actually lost work, or the extent or duration of those losses," Park added.
Critics said the moratorium would make landlords less likely to rent to people who have been displaced by the fires.
Other options remain for wildfire victims in the City of Los Angeles.
“For renters affected by the fires, who can't make rent at the beginning of February, officials from the Los Angeles Housing Department said there is some cushion for renters, as the city adopted a just-clause ordinance two years ago,” CBS News reports. “This prevents landlords from evicting tenants who owe less than the Fair Market Rent.”