Committee approves interim ban on ‘renoviction’ evictions; advocates urge broader protections

The Los Angeles City Housing and Homelessness Committee on a 3-0 vote approved a draft interim control ordinance that would temporarily prohibit residential evictions tied to substantial remodeling of residential real property through June 1, 2025.

Advocates, tenant organizers and attorneys urged committee members to amend the interim ordinance to extend the expiration date until at least December 2025 and to apply the prohibition retroactively to tenants with pending eviction cases. "Please support the ordinance to end rent evictions with amendments to extend the expiration date until at least December and apply it to tenants with ... pending eviction cases," said Laura Gracia of Communities for a Better Environment during public comment.

Why it matters: Tenants and tenant-rights groups told the committee that landlords sometimes use large renovation claims to remove long-term renters and then raise rents, a practice they call "renovictions." Supporters argued that electrification and decarbonization…