Angelenos affected by the wildfires that devastated the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods may feel some relief after last week’s Los Angeles County Supervisors Meeting.
District Three Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath introduced the Keeping Wildfire Impacted Workers Housed motion at the board meeting on February 18. Once implemented, it will provide limited eviction protections for working residents and small business owners financially burdened by the January wildfires. The provision was passed by the board 4-0 and will be enacted countywide, including in unincorporated areas.
“Tonight, our workers impacted by the fires don’t have to worry about losing their homes because of a disaster beyond their control,” Horvath wrote in a statement. “This is about standing up for our working families, our communities and our shared commitment to a just and equitable recovery.”
Horvath said that the motion was intended to temporarily lighten economic burdens the fires inflicted on L.A. County residents.
“Workers need time, not forever, just a little time to get back on their feet, to look for a new job, to access government or philanthropic relief programs,” Horvath’s statement read. “Many people will be able to self-resolve and be able to quickly resume their rent payment, but rent is due now.”
Under the new policy, affected tenants in L.A. County can avoid eviction if they demonstrate financial hardship from the disaster and are actively seeking relief through wildfire assistance programs or unemployment benefits. They must notify their landlords within seven days of the rent due date and attest to their economic burden. Tenants have until July 2026 to repay rental debt incurred between February 1, 2025 and July 31, 2025. Landlords cannot charge late fees or penalties but can question claims they believe to be fraudulent.
To support tenants and landlords, the motion will also redirect $10 million from the county’s $50 billion budget in rental assistance funds, which will be distributed to landlords on behalf of tenants.
“I respect all the tenant organizers who fought for those protections, and we also know such protections don’t even begin to address the issue at hand,” said Ali Pearl, a current professor at USC who lost her home in the Altadena fire.
As a past renter and tenant organizer, Pearl’s main concern is how one of the largest reasons for homelessness in Los Angeles County is economic hardship and evictions. According to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, 54% of people experiencing homelessness in L.A. stated economic hardship as the reason.
To Pearl, this solution will only get people affected so far.
“Until we stop thinking of tenants as a source of income or profit, and until we stop thinking of housing as an investment opportunity, we will always be fighting for sufficient eviction protections,” she said.