L.A. moves to prohibit landlords from evicting tenants in order to remodel units
The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday voted in support of eliminating a rule that allows renters to be evicted when landlords remodel their buildings.
Under the city’s “just cause” eviction rules, landlords can evict tenants only for specific reasons, one of which is to “substantially remodel” their properties.
Tenant advocates see the remodel exemption as a loophole that lets owners evict longtime tenants in order to raise rents. Landlords say the proposed new rules could put unnecessary barriers on owners who want to maintain and improve their properties.
The council voted 11 to 0 to order the Housing Department and city attorney to draft recommendations for an ordinance amending just cause rules to remove the substantial remodel clause.
“Hundreds of families are caught in this type of eviction process, with no ability to keep their units,” said Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who co-authored the motion with Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky. “My policy will ensure that a tenant has the ability to maintain tenancy, keep paying rent, and stay in their apartments.”
Daniel Yukelson, executive director of the Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles, said “people don’t go through the permitting process and spend thousands of dollars on a remodel just to try and evict people.”
“Once again the L.A. city council is trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist,” he added.
Remodel evictions have been contentious across the state since California’s Tenant Protection Act of 2019 became law. That law limits rent increases and gives renters some protections against no-fault evictions but allows tenants to be evicted for substantial remodels, which are defined as “the replacement or substantial modification of any structural, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical system that requires a permit from a governmental agency” or the abatement of hazardous materials.
Small and large real estate investors are buying older apartments to renovate and significantly raise the rent. Other models are available that enable nonprofits and others to renovate properties and keep them affordable, but their expansion is hampered by lack of public subsidy and other issues.
The motion approved by the City Council asks for new rules that would let tenants keep paying rent and maintain their tenancy while remodels take place. Similar rules already exist for rent-controlled properties under the Tenant Habitability Program, which requires owners doing significant renovations to submit plans to protect tenants while they remain in their unit or are temporarily relocated to other housing.
The motion also asks the city attorney to draft an interim control ordinance to temporarily remove the remodel clause while the permanent ordinance is finalized — a process that can take months. It also asks for further data on substantial remodels and Tenant Habitability Plans across the city.
Under state law, landlords can evict tenants if they are planning a “substantial remodel” of a unit. Long Beach housing advocate Maria Lopez saw it as a loophole in tenant protection law.
In a letter to the city’s housing and homelessness committee this month, Fred Sutton, senior vice president for local public affairs for the California Apartment Assn., said that housing infrastructure in the city is aging “yet there is no efficient process for upgrading these properties.”
He said the city needs to better understand how things work now before moving to change the rules.
Lourdes Mata and her daughter Erika Hernandez were at the meeting Tuesday to push the city to make the changes. Mata has lived in her two-bedroom Echo Park apartment for 35 years and her landlord is trying for the third time to evict her under the substantial remodel exemption.
She pays about $975 per month now and if she were evicted would not be able to afford a market rate apartment in her neighborhood, where two bedroom apartments often rent for more than $3,000, Hernandez said. An eviction probably would force her to leave the community.
“This is an issue for thousands of families across L.A.,” said Hernandez, who has been by her mother’s side as she fights the eviction attempts. After hearing that the city had passed the motion, she said she was thrilled.
“I’m going to have to tell my mom right now,” she said. “It’s going to give me a lot of peace to tell her that.
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