WEST HOLLYWOOD—On Tuesday, January 28, the city of West Hollywood announced that as a result of recent wildfires, it the City Council unanimously approved an Urgent Ordinance during a Special Meeting on January 21. This measure is designed to assist those displaced by the fires by providing them with necessary housing support.
Key provisions of the ordinance include:
- A temporary suspension of the one-year lease requirement for dwelling units, allowing evacuees to secure leases shorter than one year but longer than 30 days.
- Hotels and other lodging facilities are authorized to accommodate evacuees for more than 30 days without establishing a tenancy.
- Waiving business license fees and expediting the processing of home-share license applications to facilitate quicker housing solutions.
There is a declared state of emergency for Los Angeles County due to the fires and California State Code Section 396 prohibits price gouging (defined as increasing the price of a good or service by more than 10 percent, including rent) during a state of emergency. If you have been the victim of price gouging, reach out to the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs at (800) 593-8222 or file an online complaint.
The city of West Hollywood has a decades-long history of working to ensure the rights of renters with strong protections.
“Any instances of price gouging are unacceptable. We stand with the evacuees and are working diligently to ensure their right to safe and affordable housing,” the city of WeHo said in a statement on Facebook.
For more details about visit: www.go.weho.org/4jqPZZD. For resources and ways to help, go to weho.org/wehoresponds.
By Trevor