Are you preparing for a tenant eviction? Los Angeles County landlords should be aware of wildfire-related eviction moratoriums.
Before they make plans related to eviction, Los Angeles landlords need to keep a few new policies in mind. Due to the recent wildfires in the area, you may be unable to evict tenants over unpaid rent or unauthorized additional tenants/pets. Here, you’ll find an in-depth breakdown of wildfire-related eviction protections in Los Angeles.
How the 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires Led to Eviction Restrictions for Landlords
Between January 7 and 31, 2025, the Los Angeles area was affected by 14 wildfires. These wildfires had a massive impact on Los Angeles and Southern California as a whole, killing at least 29 people and consuming more than 55,000 acres of land. Ultimately, this natural disaster destroyed over 16,000 homes and other structures.
Economic losses from the wildfires are expected to be severe as well. A UCLA Anderson School of Management study found that total fire-related property and capital losses could fall between $76 and $131 billion. Other anticipated financial consequences include a county-level GDP decline of 0.48% in 2025 and $297 million in lost wages for affected businesses and employees.
Why Was the Eviction Moratorium Created?
As a response to the wildfires and their economic effects, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a temporary eviction moratorium in February 2025. Under this moratorium, landlords will be unable to evict qualifying tenants over unpaid rent through July 31, 2025.
The California Apartment Association (CAA) successfully advocated for some modifications to the proposed moratorium. This organization lobbied for a shorter duration for the moratorium and protection for landlords against unfounded hardship claims.
The wildfire moratorium comes a few years after another resolution restricting evictions in Los Angeles County. Between March 4, 2020, and March 31, 2023, the county’s COVID-19 Tenant Protections Resolution gave protections to residential/commercial renters and mobile homeowners impacted by the pandemic.
LA Fires Moratorium Eviction Protections Los Angeles Landlords Must Understand
Normally, California landlords would need to serve three-day notices in response to unpaid rent or take action upon discovering unauthorized tenants. However, Los Angeles landlords cannot currently evict some tenants for these reasons. According to the Los Angeles Housing Department, Los Angeles has two forms of eviction protection related to the wildfires:
How the Moratorium Protects Tenants From Eviction for Non-Payment of Rent
Under Los Angeles County’s wildfire eviction moratorium, eligible tenants are protected from eviction due to unpaid rent between February 1 and July 31, 2025. To qualify for this protection, tenants must have lost actual wages because:
- Their employer/business was destroyed or left uninhabitable by the wildfires
- They experienced wildfire-related layoffs or loss of hours
- They had clients in areas affected by the wildfires
Additionally, tenants seeking eligibility for this protection must:
- Give their landlord a self-certification notice within seven days of the rent due date (for example, giving notice for unpaid February 2025 rent by March 4). Tenants must provide these notices for each month they cannot pay rent.
- Have lost at least 10% of their average monthly household income immediately before January 7, 2025.
- Apply to or enroll in a wildlife relief program and unemployment benefits (or another qualifying income assistance program).
- Have been living in their current residence prior to January 7, 2025.
- Have had a 2024 household income that was no more than 150% of the Area Median Income. For a two-person household, that equates to $117,850.
Under this moratorium, tenants must make late rent payments to their landlords by July 31, 2026.
How the Moratorium Protects Displaced Tenants and Pets From Eviction
In addition to these protections, the Los Angeles City Council approved a separate ordinance applying to residential property in the city. That ordinance, which went into effect on February 24, 2025, introduced eviction protection for unauthorized persons and pets displaced by the wildfires. (On January 21, 2025, a similar resolution was approved for renters providing temporary housing to displaced people/pets in unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County.)
Tenants were required to provide written notification to their landlords by March 25, 2025, to benefit from this form of eviction protection. These notifications needed to include:
- The full names and birth dates of displaced persons
- The types and physical descriptions of displaced pets
- Property addresses for the displaced persons and pets
- An explanation of why the persons/pets have been displaced, including proof
These protections will remain in effect for one year following the ordinance’s approval. Furthermore, rent for units covered by the Rent Stabilization Ordinance cannot be raised due to additional tenants moving in when they were displaced by the wildfires.
What Can Los Angeles Landlords Do?
If you’re a landlord in Los Angeles County, you may be wondering how this situation could affect your financial well-being. Though the county has created a $32 million fire relief fund, its availability to landlords was unclear at the time of the non-payment eviction moratorium’s approval.
Landlords who stand to be affected by that moratorium should understand that:
- The moratorium applies to Los Angeles County as a whole. It overrides local eviction rules in the city of Los Angeles and other parts of the county.
- They cannot apply payments toward past-due rent automatically. However, you can do this if your tenant provides written consent, which could make your collection efforts more difficult.
- They still have the right to challenge claims. If you suspect a tenant’s self-certification is false, you can challenge their claim as fraudulent.
Meanwhile, CAA plans to continue working with Los Angeles County officials to gain rental assistance funding and make repayment processes more streamlined. It is also creating educational materials for landlords, such as a compliance paper on wildfire-related eviction rules in the county.
Consult California Property Law Group on LA Fires Moratorium and Evictions
When they need help with eviction, Los Angeles landlords can turn to California Property Law Group. Though our LA-based team offers legal representation for all sorts of matters related to real estate, we specialize in evictions and other landlord-tenant matters. If you need real estate-related legal representation for any reason, get a free consultation today!
