Los Angeles County Will Restart Evictions on October 31 After a Seven Month Moritorium
At the beginning of this year, the Coronavirus pandemic put thousands of L.A. County residents out of work. With no steady income, many were left at risk of homelessness, with some eventually losing their homes.
On March 4, L.A. County officials issued a moratorium on all evictions, to be set in place until Oct. 31. With this ban on evictions, landlords were not allowed to evict tenants who were unable to pay their rent due to COVID-19, charge late fees, or interest on late or unpaid rent. Tenants would also have up to 12 months to repay overdue rent.
L.A. County alone has nearly 300,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with at least 1,000 additional new cases recorded on a daily basis. Nearly eight months into the pandemic, many workers have yet to return to work or have seen a significant reduction in hours. With the ban on evictions being lifted at the end of the month, many L.A. County residents will have an even more heightened risk of homelessness.
Jennifer Cruz, a full-time employee and college student studying criminal justice at El Camino College, says to have worked less than 15 hours a week for nearly two months. This caused complications and nearly led her to have to choose between school and work. This has been the case for many independent students like Jennifer who have bills and tuition to pay.
"I almost gave up school, things got really hard, I was so stressed out and I was scared that I was going to end up on the streets, but as the first person in my family to go to college, I wanted to set a good example for my younger siblings," Cruz said. She explained how she wanted her siblings to see that even when situations get hard, giving up wouldn't have gotten her anything.
L.A. County resident Ezequiel Garcia has been out of work since the pandemic struck, and feared losing his home due to a lack of income. These anxieties became reality on Oct. 5, when Garcia officially lost his home after being evicted. Garcia barely has money for groceries and basic hygienic products, and fears his unhoused status will affect him gravely. He has no family in L.A. County, and says he called many organizations and offices that offer assistance to those at risk of being evicted, yet received no assistance.
"I don't know how I'm going to make it, I feel failed by the system, but all I can do for now is hope for the best," Garcia said.
Back in June, The L.A. Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) released their "2020 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count." This included data as of January, before the pandemic even began. At that point, over 66,000 people were reported on the streets of L.A. on any given night -- a 13% increase from last year. The report also emphasized systemic racism in homelessness, as Black people make up 8% of the County’s population but a staggering 34% of the unhoused population.
The organization has since launched its Homeless COVID-19 Recovery Plan. The initiative was inspired, in part, by the likelihood of post-moratorium evictions, and aims to keep unhoused residents off the streets and therefore at less risk of contracting the virus.
The census count for unhoused residents in L.A. County started in September; any increase in homelessness as a result of COVID-19 will come to the surface once those numbers are tallied.
