Los Angeles renters could face eviction as back rent payment deadline nears

FILE – Robert Mason, a 56-year-old homeless man, warms up a piece of doughnut over a bonfire he set to keep himself warm on Skid Row in Los Angeles, on Feb. 14, 2023. The number of homeless residents counted in Los Angeles County spiked again, increasing by 9% since last year in the latest marker of how deep the crisis is of people sleeping in cars, encampments or shelters in California.

by: Sarah Fortinsky, The Hill

Posted: Jul 31, 2023 / 01:38 PM PDT

Updated: Jul 31, 2023 / 01:46 PM PDT

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Los Angeles renters soon could face eviction if they don’t pay back the rent they owe from early in the pandemic.

Los Angeles put in place COVID-19 policies that protected many tenants from eviction if they were not able to make rent. But those protections have now expired, and Tuesday marks the deadline for tenants to pay back any rent owed from March 2020 through September 2021.

Government officials and tenant advocates have been raising concerns about the looming deadline as the city faces another economic crisis with historic strikes of SAG-AFTRA and the WGA.

“I am very worried about the deadline,” LA Mayor Karen Bass (D) said in an interview with LAist. “I’m concerned that we’re going to have another spike in homelessness.”

“As the August 1 deadline of certain tenant protections are coming to expire, my office is working with our partners on the City Council and [Los Angeles Housing Department] to prepare resources for Angelenos that may be impacted in the City of Los Angeles,” Bass wrote Saturday on X — formerly known as Twitter — along with a graphic illustrating key dates and resources for residents to know.

LAist reported that eviction filings are on the rise in Los Angeles County and are likely to grow further, according to landlord advocates, who oppose many of the renter protections in place, saying they pose a financial hardship for them.

Bass has been working to tackle the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles and recently renewed the homelessness emergency declaration for the city. Recent numbers, however, show homelessness is still on the rise.

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority conducted an annual point-in-time count released Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reported, that showed a 9 percent increase in homelessness in Los Angeles County and a 10 percent increase in homelessness in the city of Los Angeles.

The 2023 count of the county estimated 75,518 people do not have permanent housing, including those living in a tent, car, van, RV, or makeshift shelter. In 2022, the number was 69,144.

The Los Angeles Times reported that, since the 2015 estimation, homeless has increased by 70 percent in the county and by 80 percent in the city.