The Next Disaster under COVID-19: Mass Evictions and Homelessness in Los Angeles

With the current rule halting evictions set to be lifted on August 14, 2020 (at the time of this event), about 365,000 renter households in Los Angeles County are in imminent danger of eviction and homelessness according to a recent study from the UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy. Please check out our virtual public forum from July 27, 2020, with housing justice researchers and community organizers to discuss the tenants’ rights crisis and what can be done to mitigate the damage to Angelenos through enforceable rights and robust protections.

SPEAKERS

• Gary Blasi, Professor Emeritus, UCLA School of Law
• Ananya Roy, UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy
  • https://challengeinequality.luskin.ucla.edu/
  • @challengeineq (FB, Twitter)
• Paul Ong, UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge at UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
  • https://knowledge.luskin.ucla.edu/
  • @knowledgeLuskin (Twitter)
  • CenterforNeighborhoodKnowledge (FB)
• Jane Nguyen, Ktown for All
  • https://ktownforall.org/
  • @ktownforall (FB, Twitter, IG, Twitch)
• Leonardo Vilchis & Elizabeth Blaney, Union de Vecinos
  • http://www.uniondevecinos.org/
  • @uniondevecinos (FB, Twitter, IG)
• Jason Li & Alejandro Gutierrez Cortez, Chinatown Community for Equitable Development
  • http://www.ccedla.org/
  • @ccedla (FB, Twitter, IG)

MODERATOR

• Karen Umemoto, UCLA Asian American Studies Center
  • http://aasc.ucla.edu
  • @uclaaasc (FB, Twitter, IG)

The event featured research findings from these reports:

• UD Day: Impending Evictions and Homelessness in Los Angeles
  This report projects a surge in evictions and homelessness that will follow the lifting of COVID-19 emergency orders.
• Hotel California: Housing the Crisis
  This report lays out a comprehensive framework for the conversion of hospitality properties into housing through the large-scale public acquisition of tourist hotels and motels.
• Systemic Racial Inequality and the COVID-19 Renter Crisis (Forthcoming Brief)
  Results and findings presented in the webinar are preliminary.

MEDIA COVERAGE

• ABC 7: LA could see wave of evictions if more protections not offered, UCLA study says
  The working poor who have lost their jobs are at risk of losing their homes too, according to studies by UCLA justice researchers.
• FOX 11: UCLA holds virtual forum to discuss the ‘need to cancel rent’
  According to the UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy, about 365,000 renter households in Los Angeles County will be in ‘imminent danger of eviction and homelessness’ once the eviction moratorium is lifted on September 30. Other studies suggest more than 400,000 households will be impacted.