Wildfire Eviction Protections

Eviction Protections For Tenants Financially Impacted by 2025 LA County Wildfires

On February 25, 2025, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adopted a “Resolution of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Protecting Qualifying Income Eligible Tenants Directly Financially Impacted by the January 2025 Windstorm and Critical Fire Events.” The resolution prohibits eviction of qualifying income-eligible tenants who are unable to pay rent because they are directly financially impacted by the January 2025 LA County wildfires and who provide timely notice to their landlords. Please read the Frequently Asked Questions below for more details about to whom the protections apply and the steps that must be taken to invoke them.

If you are unable to pay rent due to the wildfires or any other reason, or if you have received an eviction notice or unlawful detainer complaint, please contact Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles at 1-800-399-4529 for legal assistance.

FAQ

What are the basic protections of the LA County Board of Supervisors February 25, 2025 Resolution?

The Board’s February 25, 2025 Resolution provides a limited protection against eviction for non-payment of rent for certain tenants. The Resolution states that a “qualifying tenant” may raise as an affirmative defense to an unlawful detainer action brought between February 1, 2025 and July 31, 2026, that is based on rent that accrued between February 1, 2025 through July 31, 2025, that the tenant experienced direct financial impacts due to the January 2025 LA County wildfires. To raise this defense to eviction, the tenant must:

1. Certify in writing, under penalty of perjury, that they are unable to pay rent due to a “direct financial impact” of the January 2025 Los Angeles County wildfires;

2. Provide the self-certification to their landlord within 7 days of each month the rent is due (or within 7 days of February 25, 2025 for February 2025 rent).

Who qualifies for the protections?

The protections are available only to “qualifying tenants.” A qualifying tenant is a residential tenant or a tenant who rents a mobilehome and who meets all of the following criteria:

1. The tenant must have resided in their unit since before January 7, 2025.

2. The tenant’s 2024 household income must have been equal to or less than 150% of Area Median Income; and

3. The tenant must have begun income replacement efforts, meaning enrolling in or applying for a relief program, applying unemployment benefits or other income assistance programs, or actively seeking employment.

What is a “direct financial impact” of the wildfires?

To qualify for these protections, the qualifying tenant who meets all of the criteria above, must also have experienced “direct financial impact” of the LA County wildfires. There are two criteria that must be met: the impact must be financial as defined by the Resolution, and it must be directly related to the fires as defined by the Resolution.

Under the Resolution, a “financial impact” is the loss of at least 10% of a tenant’s average monthly household income immediately preceding January 7, 2025. A tenant’s average monthly pre-January 7, 2025 household income may be established through pay stubs, payment receipts, letters from employers, or other evidence. Any income that is replaced by unemployment insurance, emergency benefits, or other sources after the wildfires will be considered in calculating the tenant household’s post-January 7, 2025 income.

A “direct” financial impact means that (1) the tenant’s place of employment or business was destroyed or rendered uninhabitable due to the wildfires, and this resulted in an actual loss of wages; (2) the economic impact of the wildfires resulted in the tenant’s employer laying them off or reducing their work hours; or (3) the tenant lost clients who were located in the areas impacted by the wildfires resulting in a loss of income.

How can I certify that I am a qualifying tenant experiencing direct financial impacts of the wildfires?

The LA County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs has prepared a sample blank certification form available here. If you complete this form, you must provide it to your landlord within 7 days of the rent coming due.

Do the protections apply in incorporated cities like Santa Monica?

Yes. The protections apply anywhere in Los Angeles County, including incorporated cities like Santa Monica and unincorporated areas of the County.

Does the Resolution mean that qualifying tenants who experienced direct financial impacts from the wildfires don’t owe rent between February through July 2025?

No, the rent is still owed. The resolution is not a rent forgiveness program. However, a qualifying tenant who provides their landlord the certification described above within 7 days of the rent coming due has until July 31, 2026 to pay back the rent.

Can landlords and tenants agree to pay the rent back on a different schedule?

Yes, landlords and tenants are encouraged to agree to repayment plans that work for them. Nothing prohibits a tenant from making partial payments of rent during the repayment time period. However, any repayment agreement that states that a tenant may be evicted if the tenant fails to comply with the agreement or if the tenant fails to pay rent before July 31, 2026, is invalid and void.

Can a landlord apply an August 2025 or later rent payment to rent that accrued between February 1, 2025 and July 31, 2025?

No. A landlord is prohibited from applying a rent payment to any debt other than the prospective month’s rent, or the month specified by the tenant, unless the tenant agrees in writing to allow the payment to be applied to a different month.

Can a landlord file an unlawful detainer case for non-payment of rent against a tenant even if they receive the tenant’s self-certification of direct financial impact?

Yes. A landlord may file an unlawful detainer case if the tenant’s self-certification is untimely, or if the landlord reasonably believes the self-certification is materially false, incorrect, or fraudulent. The tenant bears the burden of proving that all of the relevant information in the self-certification is accurate, and that it was timely provided to the landlord.

My friend or family member was displaced by the fires and is staying with me. Can my landlord evict me for this?

No. Santa Monica’s Second Revised Proclamation of Existence of a Local Emergency prohibits landlords from endeavoring to evict a tenant, including serving a notice to terminate tenancy or filing or serving an unlawful detainer complaint, based on the presence of unauthorized occupants or pets if the occupant or pet was displaced due to a wildfire evacuation order or air quality condition.

Where can I get more information about programs to help with the rent or lost income?

Visit the Los Angeles County Relief Fund’s website at www.lacounty.gov/relief.