Rent's Due. Here's What You Need to Know During the Coronavirus

From Sylmar to Sunland, I’ve heard from many residents in our district struggling to make ends meet. For some, it’s about earning the next paycheck to cover groceries, while others are saving every penny earned to pay for rent. This pandemic has uprooted our lives and impacted all of us.

Rent’s Due. Here’s What You Need to Know During the Coronavirus

With the rent due on April 1st, many renters in our community are wondering: do I have to pay rent? The answer is yes, but if you have hardships due to the impacts of the coronavirus, there are resources available to support you and your family. Last week, I joined my colleagues in adopting important measures to provide relief for families and renters struggling during this pandemic. Among the policies we adopted, the Los Angeles City Council voted on a temporary relief package to increase protections to renters, waived late fees for nonpayments, and extended repayment periods to landlords for missed rent during the crisis. In addition, the Mayor recently ordered a halt on rent increases for stabilized units in Los Angeles, an order that impacts over 600 thousand rent-stabilized units across our city. These common-sense decisions will provide temporary relief for many in our community, and I will continue to do everything in my power to help mitigate the ripple effects of this pandemic while balancing the adverse impacts on our local economy.

Rest assured my team and I are here to serve you during this emergency period. Please reach out to my office with any questions that you may have on any of these matters. You may call my Pacoima City Hall Office at 818-485-0600 or Sylmar District Office at 818-756-8409 for any questions on available relief programs, city services and safer at home guidelines currently in effect.

Sincerely,

Relief for Renters in Los Angeles

There are resources and protections available to you from the State, County, and City during this emergency period. If you are able to pay rent, you should continue to do so. Please remember, these protections prevent evictions during this crisis, and give renters more time to recover and repay their backed rents over time. This is not rent cancellation or forgiveness.

I joined my colleagues in taking legislative action to enact a moratorium on evictions and establish a repayment period for renters to repay backed rents to their landlords accrued during the Local Emergency Declaration. Renters can start by visiting the Housing and Community Investment Department (HCID) COVID-19 Eviction Moratorium webpage for FAQs. To read the full Ordinance, click here. Below is a summary of what these policies mean for renters in the City of Los Angeles specifically.

Evictions due to non-payment of rent are prohibited during the Local Emergency Declaration if the tenant is unable to pay due to circumstances related to COVID-19. Evictions are also prohibited based on unauthorized occupants, pets, or nuisances related to COVID-19.
No-Fault Evictions are prohibited during the duration of the Local Emergency Declaration.
Tenants and landlords can set up a repayment plan if you cannot afford to pay rent during the Local Emergency Declaration. Landlords are also required to provide written notice to their tenants about these protections.
The repayment timeline for paying back rent was extended to one year. Renters will have one year from the conclusion of the Local Emergency Period to repay landlords for the reduced or missed rent payments during the crisis.
Late fees and interest are prohibited to accrue during the declared Emergency.
Rental increases at properties subject to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) will be frozen from March 30, 2020, through 60 days after the expiration of the Local Emergency Period. To check if your building is subject to RSO, click here. To read the Mayor’s Order that enacted this freeze, click here.
Tenants or their attorneys can raise the existence of this moratorium as a defense in an Unlawful Detainer action.

Mortgage Relief for Homeowners

You may be eligible for some relief during this emergency if your loan is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. If your mortgage payment is backed by these two institutions, you may qualify for the following mortgage relief options:

Forbearance on payment
Halting of foreclosure and other legal proceedings
Suspension of negative credit reporting for past due payments

In addition to the relief secured by the Federal government, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a major financial relief package. In which he secured support from Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo and nearly 200 state-chartered banks, credit unions. The relief package will allow eligible Californians to request the following relief:

90 Day Grace period for mortgage payments
No Negative Credit Impacts Resulting from Relief
Moratorium on Initiating Foreclosure Sales or Evictions
Relief from Fees and Charge

Click here for details on how to apply for relief. Additionally, to determine if you are eligible for the mortgage relief secured by the State, please contact your financial institution.

2020 US Census: Be Counted

Tomorrow, April 1st is National Census Day, a special day recognizing the importance of the United States Census count that occurs every decade. The census is a big deal. This count determines how billions of dollars in federal funding will get spent on schools, roads, and public safety. For years, Los Angeles has been home to one of the largest hard-to-count populations in the nation, and an undercount can cost the City millions of dollars in public safety and federal funding for city services and beyond. It’s important that you and your family participate in this questionnaire to ensure our communities receive the resources it deserves. For more information see the flyer and visit: 2020census.gov.