April 21, 2020Honorable Members of the City CouncilLos Angeles City Hall200 N. Spring StreetLos Angeles, CA 90012Re: Legal Analysis of Proposed Renter Protections in Council Files 20-0404, 20-0409, 20-0407Dear Honorable Council Members:The undersigned public interest and civil rights law firms write in support of several motions thatwill be considered by the Los Angeles City Council on April 22, 2020, including agenda item number 37(CF 20-0407) relative to a rent freeze; agenda item number 38 (CF 20-0409) relative to clarifying thatunpaid rent is not subject to the unlawful detainer process; and agenda item number 39 (CF 20-0404)relative to prohibiting the termination of a tenancy during the State of Emergency.This current public health crisis is the worst we have seen in a century. More than 40,000 peoplehave died across the country, including over 600 in Los Angeles County, and the toll will continue to risein the coming weeks. 1 Due to the strict but necessary Safe at Home orders, businesses have shut down ordrastically scaled back across the city, causing massive worker layoffs. According to recent estimates,less than half of Los Angeles County residents are still employed. 2 The impact of these layoffs is thatmillions of Angelenos are wondering how they are going to afford rent and put food on the table. And thecrisis is disproportionately affecting Black and Brown communities, reflecting entrenched structural andeconomic inequalities. 3As public interest law firms serving the most vulnerable residents in Los Angeles County, we areseeing firsthand these devastating impacts of COVID-19. As housing lawyers, we are working around theclock to provide direct services and advocacy support in the midst of this terrible confluence of acatastrophic public health disaster and a worsening crisis of housing instability and homelessness. Thesimple fact is that Angelenos are only safer at home if they can stay in their homes. While the Mayor andCity Council adopted important protections over the last several weeks, the current policies still havesubstantial gaps that need to be addressed. Our organizations continue to be inundated with calls fromtenants who are receiving eviction notices, being locked out of their homes, being intimidated or harassed,being asked to sign forms and produce documents with personal information, or are generally confusedabout their rights under the existing patchwork of new laws. Tens of thousands more, who are unable toaccess legal services, are enduring the same conditions.This crisis demands bold actions from our leaders. In reference to the sweeping emergency rulesadopted by the Judicial Council on April 6th, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye wrote: “We are at thispoint truly with no guidance in history, law, or precedent. And to say that there is no playbook is a gross1”Novel Coronavirus in Los Angeles County,” County of Los Angeles Public Health, last updated April 20, 2020,http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/locations.htm.2“Less than half of L.A. County residents still have jobs amid coronavirus crisis,” Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los AngelesTimes April, 17, 2020, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-17/usc-coronavirus-survey.3“’A crisis within a crisis’: Black Americans face higher rates of coronavirus deaths,” Jenny Jarvie and MollyHennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times, April 7, 2020, https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-04-07/acrisis-within-a-crisis-black-americans-face-higher-rates-of-coronavirus-deaths.1