[UPDATED] Pasadena Passes Eviction Moratorium; Alhambra, South Pasadena and Baldwin Park Next?

Pasadena City Council meeting on Nov. 4, 2019 (Photo- Sean McMorris)

Just after midnight on November 5, The Pasadena City Council unanimously passed a temporary no-fault eviction moratorium. The moratorium will expire on January 1 when the state Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482) takes full effect.

By Sean McMorris

The City Council action was necessitated by the fact that “no-fault” evictions are legal in California until January 1, which has prompted some landlords to mass evict tenants before AB 1482’s anti-rent-gouging and just cause eviction laws go into effect (see AB 1482 Frequently Asked Questions). Curiously, AB 1482 has a clause that rolls back rent increases in excess of that permitted in the law, using March 15, 2019 as the baseline, but there is no such protection for the “just cause” eviction portion of the new law. Thus, California cities have been scrambling to address the roughly three-month gap in the law that leaves tenants unprotected from no-fault evictions (i.e. evictions based not on the actions of the renter).

Los Angeles

Los Angeles was the first major city to enact a stop-gap no-fault eviction moratorium on October 22. L.A.’s law grants protection to tenants who have been issued a 30 or 60-day notice of eviction but are still residing at the premises or challenging the case in court.

Pasadena

The Pasadena City Council ultimately decided to adopt similar language in its ordinance after public speakers pointed out that a retroactive date of October 5, 2019, as proposed in the City Attorney’s draft of the ordinance, would exclude too many evicted tenants from protection.

Multiple local organizations, including GPAHG, L.A. Voice, Pasadena Tenants Union, and others, held a press conference in front of City Hall before members of the public filed in to a standing room only Council chamber. A first reading of The Tenant Protection Temporary Adoption Ordinance occurred around 10:00 PM on November 4 after dozens of people spoke in support of the ordinance, including Pasadena tenants who had recently received eviction notices. No members of the public spoke out against the ordinance. A second “emergency” city council meeting was held at 12:01 AM on November 5 at which time a second reading of the ordinance occurred.  The ordinance will become effective upon publication on November 7.

Milpitas, Bell Gardens, Daly City, Santa Cruz, Redwood City, and Pomona

In addition to L.A. and Pasadena, the California cities of Milpitas, Bell Gardens, Daly City, Santa Cruz, Redwood City, and Pomona also have adopted temporary no-fault eviction moratoriums. The cities of Alhambra, South Pasadena, and Baldwin Park could pass similar ordinances soon.

> Watch video of the Pasadena City Council meeting.

Alhambra City Council emergency meeting at 10 am on Nov. 5, 2019 (Photo – Sean McMorris)

Alhambra City Council votes to agendize Eviction Moratorium for Nov. 12

Less than 10 hours after the Pasadena City Council voted to approve a temporary eviction moratorium, the City of Alhambra held an emergency City Council meeting to consider doing the same.

Dozens of community members attended despite the 10:00 am meeting time. About 30 members of the public spoke, including Alhambra residents recently evicted from their homes. Three members from the West San Gabriel Valley Association of Realtors spoke against a moratorium. Two landlords asked for details about AB 1482 and what a temporary moratorium would entail. The vast majority of people in attendance supported a moratorium, including some landlords and at least one realtor. Representatives from the Pasadena Tenants Union, the United Way, Housing is a Human Right, the Housing Rights Center, L.A. Voice, and the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles also spoke in support of a temporary moratorium on no-fault evictions.

Many of those who spoke encouraged the Alhambra City Council to expeditiously draft and adopt an ordinance that would retroactively affect as many recently evicted tenants as possible. Some residents said their entire complexes had been evicted. Other residents said that their rents had been increased by hundreds and even thousands of dollars within the last 6 months.

After some back and forth between Mayor Adele Andrade-Stadler, who called the emergency meeting, and Councilman Jeff Maloney about the scope and urgency of the measure, the City Council voted 4-0 to have staff bring back a draft ordinance to the regularly scheduled November 12 City Council meeting. At that meeting, the City Council can vote to adopt the ordinance on an emergency basis, which would allow the measure to go into effect immediately.

> Listen to audio of the emergency Alhambra City Council meeting.

South Pasadena and Baldwin Park poised to pass Eviction Moratoriums on Nov. 6

South Pasadena is holding a special City Council meeting on November 6 to consider the adoption of an “Urgency Ordinance Requiring ‘Just Cause’ for Termination of Tenancies” until January 1, 2020. City Staff is recommending that the City Council pass the ordinance.

Also on November 6, Baldwin Park will consider adopting an urgency ordinance that will temporarily freeze rents and prevent no-fault evictions retroactive to October 1, 2019 and continuing to January 1, 2020. City staff is recommending adoption of the ordinance.

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UPDATE

South Pasadena Passed a temporary no-fault eviction moratorium on Nov. 6. (see video here).

Baldwin Park passed a temporary no-fault eviction moratorium on Nov. 6. Per the Baldwin Park City Clerk’s office: Ordinance 1444 was approved at last night’s City Council meeting to regulate rent increases and evictions within the City of Baldwin Park during a 180 day time frame.

[This article has been updated to include news from South Pasadena and Baldwin Park, Nov. 7, 2:05 pm]