California CRE News In Your Inbox.
Sign up for Connect emails to stay informed with CRE stories that are 150 words or less.
California Officials Say More Work to Do Beyond Eviction Moratorium
An agreement has been reached to extend the California eviction moratorium through June 30, 2021. Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon issued a joint statement on the extension, saying it protects tenants and small landlords from losing housing “as the nation continues to confront the pandemic”.
On the heels of the extension, Newsom signed a bill that will use $2.6 billion in federal funds to pay landlords up to 80% of rent owed by qualifying tenants with COVID-19 financial hardships. The legislation, SB 91, won overwhelming bipartisan approval last week in both houses of the legislature.
SB 91 will use federal funds to pay up to 80 percent of a tenant’s back rent accumulated between April 1 of last year and March 31, 2021. A landlord who accepts the money will have to forgive the remaining unpaid rent for that period. If the landlord refuses this arrangement, the maximum subsidy drops to 25 percent. Additional federal dollars may be available to help cover unpaid rent through June of this year.
SB 91 replaces California’s COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act of 2020 or AB 3088, which expired yesterday.
“These critically needed federal funds, targeted to the most at-risk households with unpaid back rent, will help tenants stay afloat during and after this pandemic. Income-qualified tenants and their landlords can choose to receive direct rental assistance in exchange for forgiving prior rental debt,” the statement indicates.
State elected officials say the eviction moratorium and deployment of funds to the most at-risk are among the state’s top priorities. But they acknowledge that California has more work to do to tackle the structural housing cost crisis.
For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Lisa Brown
- ◦Economy
