Renters in Southern California face struggles following the deadly wildfires

Both Los Angeles County and the city of Pasadena are taking steps to help renters impacted by the wildfires, from eviction protection to a moratorium on late fees.

In the city of LA alone, it's estimated that close to 1800 units were lost to the Palisades Fire that sparked in January, while the county has an affordable housing shortage of 500,000 units.

Kate Alexandria's apartment above a business in Altadena was destroyed in the Eaton Fire. It was small and nothing fancy, but it was her home, and it was affordable.

"It was $2,000 a month, which is really, really reasonable in Los Angeles," Alexandria said.

In the weeks following the fire, Alexandria struggled to find a place to live within her budget. On top of losing her home, she did not have renters' insurance.

"I've seen rents increased by what would be a $2,000 apartment last month going for $3,200 and that's some of the less egregious things I am seeing," she said.

Alexandria has a chronic illness and is disabled. She was supposed to re-enter the workforce the week after the fires.

"If you don't have a job or the income, it makes housing harder to get and everything more complicated here," Alexandria said.

Alexandria said she's struggled to find housing help.

"I have applied for the Airbnb program, and no luck and I've applied for the LA 211 program, and I have heard nothing," she said. "The fact that there is this push to go back to normal at the same time that me and so many other vulnerable people are houseless and shuffled around is a really jarring juxtaposition there."

Tenants' rights advocate Larry Gross is with the Coalition of Economic Survival, said LA was already having one of the worst housing crises in the nation before the fires erupted. 

"We were seeing people who are displaced, having to pay double or triple their rents, not finding comparable housing in this area," Gross said.

Gross also fears landlords will try to push out long-term renters who pay lower rents to make way for displaced fire victims who have more money to spend.

Renter Brantley Bush didn't lose his Palisades studio apartment, but the fire came dangerously close.

"When I came back in, there was a mountain of ash outside the door and when I opened the door, there was a giant fog inside, which was odd because it was clear outside," Bush said.

Bush said he reached out to his landlord, who told him to clean his apartment himself, but he worries that it isn't safe to do so.

"It's not just ash and what we can see, it's lithium batteries and asbestos that have burned," Bush said.

Garrett Baker's home in Pasadena suffered smoke and ash damage from the Eaton Fire. He shares the home with his wife and two young children but when his landlord sent a crew to remediate the damage, he said they arrived without the proper PPE.

Baker said once he explained to the cleaning crew that it was a health hazard, they left. When a second crew came by, they brought a rag and a bucket of water to clean.

"There was just no way to know the extent of the damage of this possible contamination and so you're wondering if you should just throw everything away," Baker said. "It's such a mind game to not know if your house is safe and the things in your home are safe for yourself and your kids."

Gross said tenants can contact the Housing Department to have an inspector come out and check for code violations and health hazards at buildings that are still standing. There are also laws in place to protect renters from retaliation for speaking up.

"Tenants have protection against unjust evictions, and there are only certain reasons that they can be evicted, for there are price-gouging laws in effect and if they know that the landlord is raising the rent over 10%, they can file complaints with both the county and the Attorney General," Gross said.

Alexandria eventually found a place to live, a sublet in Los Feliz, but she stresses it's a temporary solution for a long-term problem.

"It's not as straightforward, well, can I rebuild on my lot? It's can I find a lot to live on?" she said.

The LA City Council is also considering a package of tenant protections for fire victims, including a prohibition on certain evictions, such as for non-payment of rent.