City to Review Aid for Renters Forced to Move

Nearly 10 years after first approving relocation money for dislodged tenants, the Los Angeles City Council took a step Wednesday toward increasing the amount of financial help landlords must give tenants who are evicted through no fault of their own.

In a unanimous vote, the council directed the Community Development Department and the city attorney’s office to review the current costs of relocating tenants and draft an ordinance to determine how much more they should receive.

Presently, senior citizens, the handicapped and tenants with dependent children are eligible for $2,500 in relocation costs if they lose their homes because of condominium conversions, demolitions, major rehabilitation or if the rental unit is occupied by a landlord or his immediate family. Other evicted tenants are allowed up to $1,000 in financial aid.

In sponsoring the proposal, Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky recommended raising the $2,500 upper limit to $5,000 and increasing the $1,000 ceiling to $2,000. But the council agreed only to leave it to the Community Development Department and the city attorney to suggest new amounts when the ordinance is returned for a vote to the City Council.

The last raises for relocation assistance were approved by the council in 1977. Since that time, the consumer price index has risen 81%, Yaroslavsky said.