The City Council of Los Angeles has adopted an emergency order unanimously, which is designed to stop the “no-fault” eviction of residents of the rental units until the day 1st January when the new State Regulation that provides similar protection comes into effect.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed the AB 1482, which is the 2019 Tenant Protection Law on arbitrary evictions and rent gouging, at the beginning of this month. Nevertheless, the legislation will not come into pass until the start of the new year, raising concerns that property owners will remove tenants or quickly raise rents before the law takes effect.
No-fault eviction is characterized by tenants being evicted when they are not at fault.
Michaelson, the town’s chief assistant lawyer, said eviction protections of a new level could be imposed by the weekend by a Council resolution passed on Tuesday.
The decree was approved Tuesday afternoon by Mayor Eric Garcetti.
“Our community is in a housing calamity and we must use all the resources available to keep residents from moving out and keep rent gouging in check,” said Garcetti. The Ordinance protects the eviction of non-rent controlled tenants of housing built before 2005. “It’s an important step that would prevent evictions until the law comes into force and I’m proud to sign this today.”
According to Rick Coca, Council spokesman Nury Martinez, the companion proposal to stop an increase in rent until next year is still being implemented by the city staff. Coca declared that by the weekend, the test must be available,
“We should make sure that the best programs are in place to enable us to get help for these people as quickly as possible,” Martinez added. Martinez said that she “would set up a rental assistance system allowing citizens to reside in their homes until January 1.”
The Housing & Community Investment Department in the city has reported increased inquiries and calls on sudden eviction notifications, according to Councilman Mitch O’Farrell’s office, which suggests that the property owners were notifying the tenants of no-fault evictions before the new state law could take effect.
The Ellis Act and The Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act of the State set limits on the city to enact protections for the welfare of tenants, according to O’Farrell.
“You have a period of about 75 days before the bill comes into force because there was no emergency provision in state law,” said O’Farrell. “We constantly oppose two laws of the State which harm our capacity to protect tenants.”
People attending the meeting demanded a retroactive move, and others say that no-fault eviction notifications have already been issued.
A woman called Rose Serna claimed she got a sixty-day removal notice as long as the state law stayed pending. She said that by last Thursday she had to leave her flat, but her landlord hesitated until the Council determined whether to impose the warning.
Michaelson, for instance, said the new city code could delay the eviction if a resident is provided with a 60-day expulsion notice with twenty days left.
“This is somewhat an outdated view,” said Michaelson.
Tenants who have been informed of the eviction and already had their date of departure, could not combat it, he added.
“When an eviction is already going on and the renter is evicted, a local policy or state laws seek to expose that and there are ethical concerns regarding the consequences involved, “said Michaelson.
City councilman Gilberto Cedillo says that the city law does not go far enough to protect people retroactively, according to his own experience in dealing with the district landlords.
“I hope the local people would like the state regulation to be improved, to make sure that the occupants are safeguarded. Due to the characteristics of the statute, an issue that has not finally been adjudicated must be protected” he added. City officials state that sixty percent of residents in the town rent houses, most of whom are burdened with rent and pay over thirty percent of housing income.
While about 76% of the Los Angeles family rental units are controlled under the Rent Stabilization Law, which protects tenants from large increases in rentals and unreasonable evictions, on January 1, approximately 138,000 houses under State law will have no similar protection.
“The hundreds or perhaps thousands of people in buildings would be evicted unless we protest against it,” said Paul Koretz, Councilman.
“We could wipe out everything we did, and end up literally with thousands on the street.” John Lee, a Councilman, said that it was his policy not to say to businessmen-like landlords- as to what they could and could not do. He added that times were changing and housing problems should be fixed like natural catastrophes to reduce the people in the streets.
“With demand, but not enough supply, we need to do more in order to raise housing stock, as the basic economics will drive prices down,” Lee said. “We hear too often that corporations are to bear the burden. When a societal problem occurs, it is important to review fees and laws. This law will not be applicable to people residing in infirmary homes, non-profit housing, university dormitory or equally subsidized housing. So we can create more affordable housing. A previous statement from the office of O’Farrell indicated that this ordinance applies to the units installed prior to 2006, but not the units designed before 2005.
Unless voters prolong it, the new State Law shall be valid until 2030.
From a Superintendent to a shelter home- Handyman evicted from Harlem to a homeless shelter.
Carlos Zambrano was terminated from employment as a Harlem handyman after another organization took over the West 116 Street building. He faces eviction after losing his housing case in court on Wednesday.
After losing the eviction case in the housing court Wednesday, the disabled superintendent of the building, who served a residential complex in Harlem for 25 years, is heading to a homeless shelter in the city.
In an apartment building on West 116th Street, Carlos Zambrano, 48, lived with his family, that’s with a wife and a son. Until an LLC purchased the building and the property management changed hands, he was working as a superintendent.
According to lawyer Kendall Wells from the New York Legal Assistance Group, this management company, New Holland Residences, terminated Zambrano and at least 14 other supervisors in other areas. Wells is a lawyer for Zambrano and other supervisors who were terminated.
The Eagle wrote last month that Zambrano was being evicted and those non-unionized superintendents had no protection. Zambrano said he and his family could not afford the amount required for a deposit for a new apartment in early November, so they will become homeless, in November.
“We must go to a shelter when we leave here,” he added. Zambrano continued to fight the holdover trials, even though several lawyers who had been dismissed by New Holland cut their losses and fled. “I hope the judge could do so until after the holiday,” Zambrano said. Another superintendent who was terminated, moved to live in his girlfriend’s apartment and returned his stuff to Trinidad and Tobago, his native country.
Glen Ford was working in West 112th Street building and, “They offered me 21 days to leave so I quit after they terminated me. I was charged 7,000 dollars to send my things abroad.”
The residents of Zambrano’s building and other nearby apartment buildings exchanged demands for the rehiring of terminated employees.
“We will help our local mates, be it a long-term resident or outsider,” the letter begins. “You have made possible the safe integration of various members of the community,” read a letter called, “Injustice on 116th Street.” “We have to respect our neighbors.”
“This stage of the process, we’re still trying to figure out how our staff can be resized, concerning the impact of the New York legislation,” said David Schwartz, who is the co-founder of Sugar Hill Capital Partners, the parent company of New Holland. He said last month, that the company was “not able to talk about staffing policies and procedures. The objective is to maintain a good environment for our employees and see to it that our investors are interested in it.”
Sateesh Nori, the Queens Community Office’s lawyer for the Legal Aid Society, said that unionized superintendents do not have any housing rights if they are working as supers before they are moving into an apartment. They are not in the household court as their cases are seen by the state as “employer-employee” rather than’ landlord-tenant ‘ differences.
Their closure can hit society hard, he said, since the superintendents act as neighborhood ties as well as their nuts and bolts duties.
“Not only in the building do Supers work, but they also belong to the community,” Nori said. “This is a real challenge,” said Councilmember Robert Cornergy, President of the Housing and Building Committee, “depressing” to hear of the pending expulsion of Zambrano.
“It’s disgraceful that anyone who has worked so hard for so many years can be kicked into the corner without protection,” he said.
Cornegy introduced legislation after he had learned about Zambrano and his wife, which would provide building superintendents coverage during termination.
“I implore the city to help in protecting building superintendents, particularly in light of current economic and housing conditions,” he said.