Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to L.A. Eviction Moratorium

“On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to take up an appeal from the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA). The decision effectively leaves in place the city of L.A.’s ongoing eviction protections for renters negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” reports David Wagner.

“Tenant advocates hailed the decision as a victory for local governments that passed policies to protect renters from losing their homes during a deadly and economically perilous pandemic.” Meanwhile, “The group representing local property owners [AAGLA] argued the city’s eviction moratorium illegally meddled with lease contracts signed by landlords and tenants.”

Rent relief efforts throughout the state have attempted to compensate landlords for missed payments during the pandemic, but those efforts have left many landlords hanging. With applications now closed, about half of applicants in L.A. County are still waiting for funding, and some small landlords with delinquent tenants have been completely shut out of the state’s rent relief program.

Wagner notes that “The city’s eviction rules have made it much harder for landlords to remove non-paying tenants, but the policy has not stopped all eviction proceedings from moving forward. In many cases, L.A. tenants unable to pay rent say they’ve instead faced evictions for what they consider exaggerated charges of nuisance.”

While housing advocates feared that the end of pandemic-era eviction moratoriums would lead to an ‘eviction tsunami,’ recent data shows that evictions are actually at low levels, historically speaking. However, with housing costs continuing to rise (despite a predicted crash), the disruptions in jobs and the housing market during the last two years could still have long-term impacts on rent and housing affordability.