There’s a hold on evictions through the end of May if Angelenos can’t make rent due to coronavirus-related income losses. But landlords can start the eviction process in June if their tenants didn’t pay rent in April or May.
Alissa Walker, Urbanism editor at Curbed LA, says some landlords have gotten creative in trying to skirt the temporary protections for renters.
“We’ve seen all these letters from landlords. Some are saying that renters are required to set up a payment plan, which is not true. Some are asking to see copies of the stimulus checks that they’re getting from the federal government, which is absolutely not something they need to share with anyone,” she says.
This issue of struggling to make rent won’t go away soon, and an eviction months or a year later could force people to live on the streets, Walker points out.
“We need to really be thinking about how we can put the whole rental and mortgage program on pause for a little bit … to let people stay home, to not let them be stressed out,” she says.