Council Urged to Plug Loophole in Rent Law

Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky urged his colleagues Wednesday to amend a loophole in the city’s rent-control law that could allow landlords to evict tenants who fail to pay water-conservation penalties, saying the ordinance should not be used as an excuse to evict tenants.

Under the mandatory water-conservation program enacted by the City Council in February, homeowners and apartment landlords can be fined up to $150 for failing to cut back on water usage. The law stipulated that landlords of rent-controlled buildings could pass 50% of any imposed fines on to their tenants.

Although no renter has been evicted for not paying the water penalty, at least one landlord attempted to serve papers on a tenant for such a reason, said Legal Aid Foundation attorney Barbara Jones, who helped mediate the issue.