An End to the Eviction Moratorium

By ANTHONY MARGULEAS | Special to the Palisadian-Post

The emergency restrictions set forth by COVID three years ago will no longer be policy as of February 1, 2023. Los Angeles City Council voted to end the restrictions that shielded many affected by the COVID crisis.

One of the longest-held emergency restrictions in the nation, the idea was to ensure Angelenos were protected as the virus ran rampant. Once again, landlords will now be able to evict those who are unable to pay their rent, regardless of reasoning.

Two years ago, the city put evictions on pause in an effort to keep many Angelenos off the streets. The city paid over $1.5 billion in rental assistance to keep people in their homes, while also not causing hardship on landlords.

The emergency restrictions are extremely controversial, as many landlords are still owed hundreds of thousands of dollars that they may never see. Many landlords fought the order, trying to explain that it wasn’t fair for them to house people rent-free, while they still had to pay their own bills.

Many landlords have been going years without payment, and although the rent is not waived, landlords are not expecting to have the large sums due paid any time soon.

City Council voted unanimously to approve an end to the moratorium, while also adding new changes to the rental community. These additional changes include increases in rent-controlled apartments as of February 2024. Landlords will also be able to evict those who have pets that aren’t approved and/or residents that aren’t written in the lease.

These new regulations come as a small glimmer of hope for the landlord community. Though they won’t be receiving their full amount of missing funds, some of these new rules will enable them to gain back their missing finances in other ways.

The Los Angeles City Council has stated in its plan that all renters have until August 2023 to repay their accrued debt prior to being evicted. However, they must continue to pay their rent on time between January 2023 and the August deadline. Should they continue not to pay their monthly rent on time, they can, and will, be evicted.

Anthony Marguleas is the founder of Amalfi Estates, and has sold close to $2 billion in properties and was selected by the Wall Street Journal as one of the top 40 agents in the country out of one million agents. If you are thinking of buying a home or selling your own, contact Marguleas at 310-293-9280 or anthony@amalfiestates.com.