The City Council moved forward on Tuesday on a proposal to codify and reinstate a COVID-era policy to ensure tenants can keep pets in their rental units without fear of eviction.
Council members voted 14-0, with Councilman Curren Price absent during the vote, in favor of the proposal. The recommendation calls for the City Attorney’s Office to prepare an ordinance amending the city’s pet laws as they pertain to rental units.
Specifically, the law, if approved, would require landlords and building managers to allow any pet residing in a rental dwelling unit until the tenant moves or relocates the animal. Additionally, tenants would be required to inform their landlords about any pets that were obtained during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Daniel Yukelson, CEO of the Greater Apartment Association of Los Angeles, told City News Service that he felt concerned about the implications the law would have on landlords.
He said pets may cause issues for other tenants in the building who may be allergic to them, scare them or perhaps result in a “bad incident.”
Yukelson added, “Especially, when you turn over a unit, there’s often some damage left behind such as stained carpeting or other destruction of property.”
“The City Council’s once again created another burden for rental housing providers,” Yukelson said. “These keep adding up and up. People will want out of the rental business and don’t want to be in Los Angeles.”
The council’s Neighborhoods and Community Enrichment, and Housing and Homelessness committees previously approved the recommendation.
In October, Larry Gross, president of the city’s Board of Animal Services Commissioners, presented the request to the three-panel Neighborhoods and Community Enrichment Committee.
Gross said that, by reinstating the policy, it would prevent a lot of renters from being evicted as a result of their pets. He added that many people surrender their pets because landlords require them to, or because pets may constitute a reason for eviction.
In March 2020, the City Council adopted COVID-related tenant protections that allowed tenants living in “no pets” buildings to either foster or adopt animals. However, the city rescinded those protections when it ended its COVID-19 state of emergency earlier this year.
“A lot of situations for tenants right now, who have brought in animals, are in violation of their rental agreement or their lease because they brought in those pets as emotional support animals during the pandemic,” Gross told the committee.
He noted that some of those animals have lived with their families for close to four years, and to tell them they have to give up their pets is “cruel.”
“It will have tenants having to make a choice of whether or not to give up a family member, move, or go on the streets,” Gross said.
The proposal to reinstate the policy would allow animals living in rental units to stay there. When the animal leaves or the tenants leave, the landlord or property owner can convert the unit back into a “no pets” unit or continue to allow pets.
The proposal would still allow landlords or property owners to file evictions on certain grounds, such as if an animal creates a nuisance or presents a danger to other renters.
“So all of that stays intact, but it basically recognizes that we can’t be going against our policy of trying to deal with the overcrowded conditions (in our shelters),” Gross said.
