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Angelenos urge faster housing, criticize REAP enforcement after fires
Summary
Public speakers at the Jan. 5 council meeting urged immediate housing for fire-affected residents, criticized Rent Escrow Account Program enforcement as inconsistent, and asked the city to freeze rent increases and speed temporary housing deployment.
Multiple public commenters during the Jan. 5 Los Angeles City Council meeting urged faster housing after recent fires, criticized enforcement and outcomes of the Rent Escrow Account Program (REAP), and called on the city to freeze rent increases and deploy rapid housing options.
Alex Macklin, representing ACT LA, urged the council to act on tenant protections and criticized the prevalence of landlords among council members. “When I think LA will do the right thing, some tenant rights issues come up and I remember why we lead the country in homelessness,” Macklin said during public comment.
Susan Price, speaking for the Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN), framed the situation as an urgent housing crisis following recent blazes and asked the city to partner with modular housing providers such as Holos Communities to build multiunit housing “in months.” Miracle McKinney, a neighborhood council member and Keep LA House Coalition participant, described repeated failures in REAP hearings at her complex: she said hundreds of photos and evidence of leaks and mold she submitted were not considered and that landlords were allowed to present receipts that closed hearings without remedy.
Speakers urged a citywide response to prevent more displacement, freeze rent increases (some speakers noted February 1 rent increases were imminent), and ensure REAP enforcement results in real repairs rather than paperwork. Much of the discussion came as the council processed multiple REAP items on the consent calendar (items 9–19 and others); the transcript shows Item 13 was continued to Feb. 4. These comments were part of the public-comment record and did not include formal council action or a council response in the provided excerpt.
Because these statements came from public comment, they reflect speakers’ views and reports about landlord conduct and program outcomes; the council’s formal responses or enforcement actions are not recorded in the transcript excerpt.
