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 policies could increase such risk unless the loophole is closed and protections are extended to people already facing eviction proceedings.

What the committee heard: More than two dozen speakers urged broader protections. An attorney from Inner City Law Center described representing a building’s tenants facing eviction under the substantial-remodel theory and asked the committee to "strike the exemption for landlords who've already served notices." Multiple speakers, including members of the Los Angeles Tenants Union and the Mohawk Street Tenants Association, asked that the interim control ordinance be amended to protect tenants with pending court cases.

Industry perspective: David Geishan of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles said the moratorium would "endanger the health and safety of renters as it will prohibit needed major system repairs and or removal of hazardous materials for 4 months" and predicted it could push small owners to sell to developers.

Staff data and committee discussion: Housing staff told the committee that, since the city's just-cause changes in January 2023, 98 units have been filed under the substantial-renovation category (about two years’ worth of filings) and that in January–February 2025 housing had records for two properties. The staff presentation noted that about 70% of those filings were single-family homes. Committee members discussed adapting the existing tenant-habitability plan (THP) approach used in rent-stabilized units to provide options for temporary or permanent relocation and noted the city currently has roughly 651,000 RSO units and a small enforcement team (the staff described three code inspectors assigned to the THP work stream). Housing staff estimated a minimum of 60 days to produce a proposed permanent policy.

Committee action and next steps: The committee approved the interim control ordinance by roll call (Councilmember Raman: yes; Councilmember Blumenfield: aye; Councilmember Nazarian: aye; Councilmembers Barrado and Price absent). Committee members asked staff to complete a report outlining a permanent policy, including approaches to verify the necessity of proposed work, potential penalties for fraudulent use of renovation claims, and administrative staffing needs. Council members said they would seek to schedule the full policy proposal for committee and council consideration in a timely fashion.

Context and limitations: The interim control ordinance is a temporary measure; several speakers and members urged that the ordinance be extended beyond the June 2025 sunset and that protections explicitly cover tenants with pending eviction cases. Housing staff and the city attorney noted the current draft does not apply to unfiled cases and that an affirmative defense would be available for tenants where filings were not made as required.

The committee asked for a staff report and pledged to move toward a permanent ordinance that would preserve tenant tenancy where feasible and add enforcement tools to deter misuse of substantial-remodel claims.