LA County Supervisors reject expanding duration and scope of rent debt protection

Esmerelda, who did not give her last name, is a lot like others who are living in fear of being arrested by roaming federal immigration agents. She told her story during an emotional meeting of the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Feb. 10.

“The raids continue and they keep us terrorized. A lot of us are not able to go out to work without fear,” she said.

Story after story emerged, detailing how the immigrant community since raids began in Los Angeles County in June are often not reporting to work for fear of being detained and possibly sent to out-of-state detention centers.

“We live in constant fear. It feels like terrorism,” said Antonio Martinez to the board.

The raids have resulted in a loss of income for families whose breadwinners were detained, which in turn, causes them to fall behind on rent payments. That leads to another real possibility: being evicted from their homes and living on the street.

Chaos, fear, anxiety and economic insecurity from raids by Immigration, Customs and Enforcement and Department of Homeland Security at shopping centers, car washes, bus stops, parks, churches and medical clinics prompted the board to declare a countywide emergency in October.

But on Feb. 10, the Board of Supervisors stopped short of using that sweeping emergency power. They rejected a motion by Third District Supervisor Lindsey Horvath to pause eviction notices until after three months of rent debt, and apply that longer protection across the county, including all 88 cities.

When Horvath introduced her motion, it did not receive a second. After a brief silence, the motion had failed.

“It is extremely disappointing and frustrating,” said Bijan Ghaemi, organizer with a coalition of tenant rights groups called the Community Power Collective. “We are not going to give up. We are going to keep fighting.”

Some who testified maybe saw the writing on the wall — the threat of the county facing litigation from apartment owner groups and property owners.

“You are worried the county will be sued,” said David Albright to the board. “But this is a question of the legitimacy of your government.”

Horvath was not willing to talk about the rejection of her motion by her four fellow board members. Instead she wrote in an emailed response, “I will continue pushing for strong, practical protections that keep families housed and safeguard our most vulnerable residents.”

As a renter, she said she knows how vulnerable tenants are, “especially when their lives and livelihoods are under threat by this federal administration.”

The pushback against extending rent debt protections into all of L.A. County came from property managers, landlords and apartment owner trade groups.

“This will turn landlords into involuntary lenders,” said Amanda Garza, who is with a property management company. She said many tenants already are two to three months behind on rent and adding three months as the legal threshold will stretch out debts even longer. “That level of loss is not sustainable.”

Joseph Ramos, with the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, said passing the motion would “create a greater legal chaos in 88 incorporated cities, conflicting with many local city ordinances.” He also said smaller landlords waiting longer for payment on rental units could drive them out of the housing business.

On Feb. 3, the board approved a motion to extend the rent debt threshold from one month to two months, not three. Also, this ordinance only would apply in county unincorporated areas, leaving out 90% of the county areas. The Rent Brigade, a grassroots group following rental rates and raids, said 92% of ICE and DHS raids occurred in cities, not in county unincorporated areas.

But that two-months protection still needs to be put into an ordinance and faces another Board of Supervisors vote in the near future.

In the meantime, Ghaemi says many renters in incorporated cities are facing eviction. Some landlords are raising rents as a way to force them out, so they can rent the apartment to a new tenant at a much higher rent, he said.

He said more corporate investors are getting into the landlord business. “They are looking for any sort of excuse to get a tenant out. Landlords will impose rent increases. They will use the tenants’ immigration status to keep tenants in fear that way.”

He’s known tenants who self-deport as a result of economic pressures or who face losing their homes. “There are documented cases of people self-deporting, especially because their landlord served them an eviction,” Ghaemi said.

Many stay home and don’t go to work in restaurants. These eateries with a high Latino customer base also are seeing sales go way down, he said. Push cart vendors are also staying home.

Some who work in construction are suddenly seeing work sites shut down by their bosses, for fear of being raided by ICE and losing their employees. Likewise, factories that employ Latino workers in downtown L.A. have cut hours or have shut down temporarily, he said.

Those who risk getting deported and report to work, are getting fewer hours, earning less money, thereby reducing their take-home income needed for rent, food and prescriptions, Ghaemi said.

Kimberly Castro told the board a longer rent debt protection may stop people from self-deporting or becoming homeless. “Is that what the county wants to see? More mothers and children living in their cars?” she asked.

While Ghaemi said having three months of a cushion would have given behind renters more time to catch up, he’s grateful that the two-month rent threshold was approved by the board and should go into an ordinance soon.

“Well, a lot of tenants within the unincorporated county will have this (two-month) protection. That is not insignificant,” he said.

Horvath reminded those who spoke about their plight, that the county on Monday began a second round of its rental relief program for those affected by ICE raids. The window for tenant applications closes March 11 at 4:59 p.m.

This time, tenants themselves can initiate the application, which can prompt awards of up to $15,000 for back rent and for payments owed utilities, such as electric power and water.

But there is a catch: Although the tenant can apply, their application must be accompanied by a second document from the landlord.

“There is rental assistance available right now,” Horvath said. “It is helpful landlords support their tenants in this application process.”

The $44 billion program is countywide, not just for unincorporated residents.