LOS ANGELES — In the wake of an unprecedented crisis that has left countless Angelenos struggling to recover, Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martínez introduced a motion today aimed at protecting working-class residents from the looming threats of eviction and skyrocketing rent increases, preventing secondary devastation as the city begins to rebuild. The legislation calls for a moratorium on evictions for tenants affected by the fires, as well as a pause on rent hikes for one year. It is expected to be heard in the Housing and Homelessness Committee and then return to the City Council for a vote in the coming weeks.
"The wildfires are still burning and the scale of the devastation is mounting with each day," said Councilmember Hernandez. "Los Angeles is already in the midst of a housing and homelessness crisis–we cannot allow bad actors to take advantage of this catastrophe by price-gouging working class tenants. If we don't take immediate action, we will see a second wave of disaster as rents and evictions skyrocket in a market that is already one of the least affordable in the nation."
“It’s an unfortunate reality that people will try to use this crisis to raise rents, evict low-income tenants, and take advantage of this horrific situation in pursuit of profit,” said Councilmember Soto-Martínez. “We need to prevent as much of the secondary devastation as possible by urgently instituting an eviction moratorium and pause on rent hikes.”
Preventing Evictions and Pausing Rent Increases
Their motion calls for immediate steps to safeguard against rising rent and a looming wave of evictions by halting rent increases for all residential units through January 2026 and preventing eviction for any tenant who has experienced economic or medical hardship as a result of the recent fires.
Before this tragedy, the housing market was already unaffordable for working-class Angelenos, with over 250,000 residents spending more than 90% of their income on rent, and an average of more than 7,000 evictions each month.
A 2019 MIT Study found that eviction rates nearly doubled after severe natural disasters, underscoring the urgent need to prevent catastrophic secondary effects of the fire on the housing and homelessness crises.
In their motion, Councilmembers Hernandez and Soto-Martínez pointed to predatory housing practices in the wake of similar disasters—including the devastating fires in Hawaii and Paradise, California—where rental prices skyrocketed in the aftermath of disaster. Similar patterns have already begun to emerge in Los Angeles, where rental prices have jumped on Zillow between 15% and 64% just in the last week. Without intervention, data from past disasters indicates rents in Los Angeles could see a long-term increase of up to 12%.
Strengthening Oversight and Action Against Price Gouging
The motion requires City departments to begin producing monthly reports on efforts to fight price-gouging in the rental housing market for the duration of the emergency order and the following six months.
These reports will monitor the tally of complaints filed, the response times for these issues, and the enforcement actions taken. The councilmembers further directed departments to produce a geographic analysis of complaints and responses to identify trends and areas that need immediate attention. This ensures the City can swiftly respond to and address tenant complaints, keeping vulnerable residents protected throughout the recovery process.
Read the motion here.