Knock LA

After being delayed three times in the past three months, the Board of Supervisors will finally vote on a temporary rent freeze for unincorporated LA this Tuesday at 11:00 AM. The temporary rent freeze will prohibit annual rent increases greater than 3% and implement a just cause eviction policy that limits the reasons tenants can be legally evicted. Anyone who supports better tenant protections in LA County can march and rally with tenants and housing activists before the vote on Tuesday morning.

Our county is crisscrossed by invisible lines meant to demarcate where one city ends and another begins. The differences created by these borders are inscribed on our communities, our environment, and our bodies. On one side of the street, tenants might have rent stabilization. On the other, tenants might not. These two tenants are probably part of the same community. Part of similar social circles, go to the same grocery stores, the same parks. But the one who lives without rent control is much more likely to be displaced or evicted and either leave the County in search of affordable housing or slide into houselessness. We all know where they story goes from there — homes are flipped, rent is raised, new people move in who are probably whiter and wealthier, new amenities come in that further increase property values, and the cycle begins anew until speculators move on to the next hip neighborhood. Gentrification is a heartbreaking process that tears apart communities who might have lived in the same place for decades. Passing the temporary rent freeze is one step towards breaking this cycle.

Unincorporated communities cannot be left behind. The temporary rent freeze is just the beginning. When we rally on Tuesday morning we’re sending a message that tenants and activists are united for fair rents across LA County, and we won’t rest until every tenant is adequately protected by their government.