On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors issued an executive order which expands an existing temporary rent freeze and moratorium on evictions in parts of Los Angeles County in response to the coronavirus/COVID-19 health emergency.

The new order expands the temporary eviction moratorium to cover all residential and commercial tenants in Los Angeles County, except those who live or conduct business in cities that have already enacted their own eviction moratoria.

The moratorium includes a ban on evictions for:

• Nonpayment of rent, if the tenant can show they have been financially impacted by the health emergency
• No Fault reasons, such as owner/relative move-in or Ellis Act evictions
• Violations due to additional occupants, pets or nuisance related to COVID-19

The expanded temporary rent freeze now prohibits owners of mobilehome parks in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County from increasing the space rent for their tenants during the moratorium period.

These actions, which are retroactive from March 4 to May 31, 2020, unless extended, are the latest in a series of protections the Board has enacted to protect renters in Los Angeles County, many of whom have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA), at the directive of the Board of Supervisors, will work to educate renters and property owners of these new rules.

“Renters in Los Angeles County have faced extraordinary financial difficulties due to the COVID-19 health emergency. Many tenants simply cannot pay their rent on time and desperately need the additional protections the Board of Supervisors have issued today in order to remain housed,” said Joseph M. Nicchitta, Director of DCBA. “Our department knows landlords are struggling, too. We are expanding our L.A. County Disaster Help Center services by providing foreclosure protection to assist mom-and-pop landlords in L.A. County.”

A partial list of today’s actions includes:

• Renters will have 12 months after the moratorium ends to pay any back rent (Previously six months)
• Landlords may not impose any new passthroughs or charge interest or late fees for unpaid rent during the moratorium period
• Landlords may not attempt to collect interest and late fees incurred during the moratorium period after the Executive Order is terminated for renters covered by the Rent Stabilization Ordinance and the Mobilehome Rent Stabilization Ordinance
• Payment plans that allow landlords to accept partial payments from tenants during the moratorium are encouraged
• Tenants may provide self-certification of their inability to pay rent, and landlords must accept this as sufficient notice
• Landlords may not harass or intimidate tenants who choose to exercise their protections under this moratorium

For more details about the Board’s recent actions and other landlord-tenant issues, please contact the L.A. County Disaster Help Center. Call (833) 238-4450; email rent@dcba.lacounty.gov; or visit lacountyhelpcenter.org.

The Disaster Help Center also provides expanded foreclosure protection assistance for landlords with 15 or fewer units. If you are a property owner facing financial difficulty, contact the Help Center to learn about available resources for your situation.

Since 1976, the County of Los Angeles Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) has served consumers, businesses, and communities through education, advocacy, and complaint resolution. We work every day to educate consumers and small business owners about their rights and responsibilities, mediate disputes, investigate consumer fraud complaints, and enforce Los Angeles County’s minimum wage and rent stabilization ordinances. For more information, visit dcba.lacounty.gov.