Mayor Karen Bass and Councilwoman Nithya Raman have released resources for Angelenos to prevent homelessness and stay in their homes ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline for repayment of back rent during the pandemic. Addressing the city’s homelessness crisis, Mayor Bass emphasized the need to prevent people from falling into homelessness in the first place. The city is committed to preventing a wave of evictions and has collaborated with the City Council and the Los Angeles Housing Department to provide resources for those who may be impacted.
Councilwoman Raman highlighted the city’s use of various tools, including renter protections, Measure ULA dollars, and an eviction defense program, to prevent Angelenos from becoming homeless due to back rent. She expressed hope that the upcoming rent debt repayment deadline would push the city to reshape its current system and proactively support vulnerable tenants in the long term.
Under previous tenant protections during the pandemic, tenants have until Aug. 1 to pay any outstanding rent due between March 2020 and September 2021. For rent due between October 2021 and January 31, tenants have until Feb. 2024 to make the payment.
To inform tenants about the new protections and available resources, the mayor’s office and the Los Angeles Housing Department launched public information campaigns targeting high-risk zip codes identified through Stay Housed LA. These campaigns also included newly protected units and single-family homes constructed after 1978. Advertisements about the protections were run on radio, community papers, and social media platforms in multiple languages.
The Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, an independent nonprofit supporting the mayor’s vision for the city, has committed its resources to homelessness prevention. The organization’s “We Are LA” program aims to connect with over 200,000 at-risk Angelenos in the coming weeks. Outreach teams have already engaged nearly 41,000 Angelenos and scheduled case management appointments with over 10,000 individuals.
Measure ULA, also known as the “mansion tax,” imposes a sales tax on properties exceeding $5 million or $10 million. The revenue generated from this tax will be allocated to renter protections, including assistance programs for low-income seniors at risk of homelessness, rental assistance programs, and the construction of affordable housing units.
The initial estimate of annual revenue from Measure ULA ranged from $600 million to $1.1 billion, but it was later revised to $672 million. As of Thursday afternoon, $38 million has been raised from the measure. The spending plan for Measure ULA will be presented to the Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee on Aug. 2 and then to the full Council.
The proposed spending plan includes $18.4 million for a short-term emergency assistance program, $23 million for the city’s Eviction Defense/Prevention program (expanding Stay Housed LA), $5.5 million for a tenant outreach and education program, and $11.2 million for a tenant harassment protection program. The Council has already adopted the Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance to safeguard tenants against harassment by landlords.
For information on tenant rights and a list of resources, individuals can visit stayhousedla.org/tenant-rights.
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