California’s eviction protection efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic fall short

Being unable to pay rent should not be a death sentence. And yet, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Californians are wondering how long it will be before they are out on the streets.

Nearly 50% of Californians have lost employment income since March 2020 and 20.7% of California households don’t know if they’ll have enough money on hand to pay their rent or mortgage next month. And Black, Latino and Asian Californians are more likely to be behind in rent payments than white Californians.

Fortunately, our state leadership was set to take up an extension of the statewide eviction moratorium this week — offering renters a respite from the crushing anxiety that they might be pushed out of their homes, endangering their lives in the midst of a deadly pandemic.

Unfortunately, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon were not up to the task.

Instead of giving Californians long-term relief and sustaining renter protections through the end of the pandemic, our state leaders caved to the interests of landlords and realtors and proposed a “compromise” in the form of Assembly Bills 79 and 80.

Big realtors and big landlords have entrenched influence in Sacramento and they spend millions of dollars both electing and lobbying our governor and state legislators — and it pays off. AB 79 and 80 will extend the eviction moratorium through June and offer debt rent relief to California’s lowest income tenants — but only if landlords accept 80% of that debt as full repayment.

If the landlord refuses, for whatever reason, the tenant is on the hook for the entire rent debt and the landlord can take them to court in July. If you’ve been looking for a reason to get your tenant out of a rent controlled unit, the state is giving you a great way to do it.

This Sacramento “compromise” is completely out of step with what California wants.

A new statewide poll, commissioned by Build Affordable Faster CA, found that 69% of California voters support extending the eviction moratorium for one year — or until the pandemic ends — and 63% support tenants paying only “some to no past rent.”

Our economy is not going to recover by June. The pandemic will not be over by June. California’s state court system is projecting a doubling of eviction cases over a typical year, to 240,000.

California needs state leaders who will put the lives of their constituents ahead of the influence of the real estate lobby. A five-month extension of the eviction moratorium is an important first step. Partial debt forgiveness is an important first step. But vulnerable tenants will spend this spring worrying about the next arbitrary expiration date. Many will be forced to negotiate with their landlords and urge them to forgive 20% of the rent debt they owe.

We need to extend the eviction moratorium until this pandemic ends. We need a rent relief program in which all landlords must participate and for which all renters are eligible — regardless of their immigration status.

Should we fail, our homelessness crisis will only worsen, our low-income families will be out of the streets and our exorbitant wealth gap will grow wider.

Let’s pass AB 79 and AB 80 because we have to. And then let’s pass something stronger and longer-lasting, something that prioritizes the needs of vulnerable tenants. Let’s fight for our neighbors and fight for the state we love.