(Amended by Ord. No. 187,736, Eff. 1/27/23.)
A. Until January 31, 2023, no Owner shall endeavor to evict or evict a residential tenant for non-payment of rent if the tenant is unable to pay rent due to circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic. These circumstances include loss of income due to a COVID-19 related workplace closure, child care expenditures due to school closures, health-care expenses related to being ill with COVID-19 or caring for a member of the tenant’s household or family who is ill with COVID-19, or reasonable expenditures that stem from government-ordered emergency measures.
Rental arrears accumulated between March 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021, under this subsection must be paid by August 1, 2023. Rental arrears accumulated between October 1, 2021, and January 31, 2023, under this subsection must be paid by February 1, 2024. Unless the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act, Code of Civil Procedure Section 1179.01, et seq., applies, an Owner may bring an action to recover possession of residential rental property following the tenant’s default in the payment of rent according to these timeframes.
Nothing in this article eliminates any obligation to pay lawfully charged rent.
B. Until January 31, 2023, no Owner shall endeavor to evict or evict a residential tenant for a no-fault reason, unless the eviction is undertaken to comply with a governmental agency’s order to vacate, order to comply, order to abate, or any other order that necessitates the vacating of residential rental property.
1. Following January 31, 2023, no-fault evictions to install a resident manager may proceed only when an on-site manager is required by law or the terms of a regulatory agreement unless a Declaration of Intent to Evict for Resident Manager occupancy was delivered to the Los Angeles Housing Department before March 4, 2020.
2. An Owner shall provide 60 days’ written notice to any tenant in possession of a rental unit subject to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance on whom the owner previously served written notice terminating the tenancy for a no-fault reason under Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 151.09. The tenant may file an appeal under Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 151.09 G. for relocation assistance based on a change in disability status if applicable.
C. Extension of Protections for Tenants with Unauthorized Pets Necessitated by COVID-19. No Owner shall evict or endeavor to evict a residential tenant based solely on a provision of a rental agreement or lease that prohibits or restricts the presence of unauthorized pets in the rented or leased premises, provided the presence of the unauthorized pet was necessitated by COVID-19 and the owner of the unauthorized pet is in compliance with this Code. A tenant who has not previously notified the Owner of the presence of the unauthorized pet shall confirm the presence of each such pet necessitated by COVID-19 present at the rental unit within 30 days of the effective date of this ordinance. The protections of this section shall not apply in the case of any unauthorized pet whose presence at the rental unit began after January 31, 2023. (Amended by Ord. No. 188,108, Eff. 2/5/24.)
D. No Owner shall charge interest or a late fee on rent not paid under the provisions of this article.
E. Reserved.
F. No Owner shall influence or attempt to influence, through fraud, intimidation or coercion, a residential tenant to transfer or pay to the Owner any sum received by the tenant as part of any governmental relief program.
G. Except as otherwise specified in this article, nothing in this section shall prohibit an Owner from seeking to evict a residential tenant for a lawful purpose and through lawful means.