Tenants demand protections as LA fires exacerbate housing crisis: ‘Huge source of stress’

Renters are not only facing an escalation in rent prices but also pressure to evict apartments from landlords

Wendy Lopez, a single mother of three from Guatemala, received an eviction order the day before wildfires destroyed Pacific Palisades, where she worked as a caregiver for people with disabilities.

The crisis only escalated the eviction process, Lopez said. The landlord for her rent-stabilized Mid City apartment has sent her threatening letters nearly every day. On 1 February, he raised her monthly rent from $1,320 to $1,430, exceeding the 4% legal rent increase limit. Moving is not an option, she said, because rent for similar housing elsewhere has doubled since the fires.