CORONA WATCH--The thousands of members of the L.A. Tenants Union demand that our elected officials enact an immediate cancellation of rent and mortgage payments for the duration of the crisis.
Only 45% of Los Angeles County residents are still employed. The vast majority of Angelenos are having to choose between food or rent. Without rent cancellation, tenants are vulnerable to the demands of going back to work in an unsafe environment, risking their lives and violating the shelter in place orders. Cancelling rent and mortgages in Los Angeles will send a message across California and the U.S. that this crisis demands a humane response. No one should have to choose between food or rent.
Last week, the City Council voted down several measures that would have provided more housing stability for tenants. Instead, they created a rent relief fund for some tenants (not all) and seeded it with only $1.5 million. That’s less than $1 for every tenant who will need it. They chose profit over food.
If there is no cancellation of rents for tenants and mortgage relief for landlords, when the eviction moratorium is lifted courts will overflow with evictions, tenants will lose their homes, and property owners will lose their properties to larger corporations who will monopolize the housing market. Rent cancellation will provide stability to L.A. residents and the larger economy. Cancel the Rents Now!
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(The Los Angeles Tenants Union is comprised of a diverse group of residents from neighborhoods across the city coming together to build a movement that fights against displacement and social cleansing and demands the human right to housing for all. )
The event will include Spanish speakers and visuals.