COVID Has Catalyzed a Wave of Tenant Organizing That Was Long Overdue
Members of the community attend a rally for tenants rights at Frank Ogawa Plaza in front of City Hall in Oakland, California, on September 26, 2017.
Anda Chu/MediaNews Group/Bay Area News via Getty Images
By
Fifty billion dollars. Thatâs the amount of past-due rent accumulated during the first year of the pandemic, according to some estimates. And with the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionâs (CDC) eviction moratorium now facing trouble in court and set to expire at the end of June, the situation for renters in this country has become even more precarious.
California is aiming for 100% COVID rent relief. Will it actually happen?
FacebookTwitterEmail
$2.6 billion in new rent relief funding was announced Monday by California’s governor.David McNew/AFP via Getty Images
Thousands of Bay Area renters who have fallen behind on payments during the pandemic could soon see that debt reduced, thanks to $2.6 billion in new rent relief funding announced Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
But that’s only if they and their landlords can navigate a confusing patchwork of state and local programs that advocates say are already leading to people falling through the cracks.
With rent relief once again wrapped up in the state’s contentious annual budget process, they expect more clashes over income limits for debt forgiveness, whether to pay the money to landlords or tenants, and how to address closely related issues like eviction protections and forgiveness for other kinds of pandemic-induced debt.
California s eviction moratorium to expire June 30
The state s eviction moratorium will expire June 30, leaving many to paying rent in full come July 1. Author: Monica Coleman (ABC10) Updated: 5:54 PM PDT May 6, 2021
CALIFORNIA, USA If California does not extend the current eviction moratorium, everyone will go back to paying rent in full starting July 1, and landlords can send tenants to small claims court on August 1.
Debra Carlton with the California Apartment Association says renters need to send documentation saying that they have been affected by the pandemic and can t pay 25% of their rent. If they do not do that, they could be evicted come the first of July.
California s eviction moratorium to expire June 30 Monica Coleman
Replay Video UP NEXT
If California does not extend the current eviction moratorium, everyone will go back to paying rent in full starting July 1, and landlords can send tenants to small claims court on August 1.
Debra Carlton with the California Apartment Association says renters need to send documentation saying that they have been affected by the pandemic and can t pay 25% of their rent. If they do not do that, they could be evicted come the first of July.
Carlton says the only way a tenant would not have to worry about back pay after the moratorium expires would be to apply for the Tenant Relief Act, in which the state would pay 80% and the landlord would forgive 20%.
Even though the CDC s moratorium was overturned, California s eviction moratorium is not impacted. Author: Eric Escalante Updated: 6:27 PM PDT May 5, 2021
CALIFORNIA, USA An overturned CDC eviction moratorium raised eyebrows across the country, leaving questions as to just how widespread of an impact it could have.
The national ban was put in place last year by the Trump Administration and extended by the Biden Administration. Some states like California adopted their own moratoriums.
In California, the state eviction moratorium was a law that extended renter protections into June for people devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.
While there are some questions in the air, Asm. David Chiu (D-San Francisco), the author of the original moratorium bill in California, said the ruling won’t be impacting California’s moratorium.