Report Highlights Need for CA to Pass AB 854
The Coalition for Economic Survival (CES) and the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project released an update of their Los Angeles Ellis Act eviction map, showing that 27,372 rent stabilized affordable units have been destroyed in the City of Los Angeles from 2001 through the first half of 2021 due to the Ellis Act.
Even with an eviction moratorium in place due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Los Angeles still continues to see hundreds of Ellis Act applications filed by landlords, speculators, and developers. Throughout the course of the pandemic, over 250 applications Ellis Act declarations were filed to evict tenants with the City of Los Angeles.
The Ellis Act continues to displace long-time tenants and destroy California’s affordable housing stock. Although the Ellis Act was originally intended to allow landlords to get out of the rental housing business, it has become one of the greatest impediments to addressing our affordable housing needs. The majority of these evictions are filed by developers who have owned the building for less than a year. It is unacceptable that speculators have corrupted the original intent of the Ellis Act in order to evict long-time tenants and make a profit.
There has never been a better time to take action to stop these evictions and protect some of California’s most vulnerable tenants.
AB 854 reforms the Ellis Act to require a 5 year holding period before landlords can evict their tenants. This legislation aims to stop the speculator eviction cycle and return the Ellis Act back to its original intent: protecting small “mom and pop” landlords. The bill will be returning next session, right as we expect to see a post-moratorium rise in Ellis evictions statewide.
Join our campaign to stop speculator evictions and pass AB 854 by signing up for updates here.
