Virus eviction protections still in effect
Yolo County’s Eviction Prevention Ordinance and Rental Assistance Grant Program are still available to residents of residential and commercial properties struggling to make payments due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Board of Supervisors first passed the ordinance on March 24 after Gov. Gavin Newsom passed Executive Order N- 28- 20, which allowed for counties to put into place a moratorium on evictions. The county extended that ordinance in April, which allows for rental protections to be in place 180 days after the state of emergency, which has been in effect since March, is lifted.
In order to qualify for protection, renters must prove that their income is limited due to COVID19, and request rent deferments up to seven days after rent was due, provided the tenant was knowledgeable about their rights under this ordinance.
The Eviction Protection Ordinance does not absolve renters from paying rent, but postpones evic t ions dur ing the pandemic. Rather, tenants and landlords are responsible for figuring out a repayment plan.
“If no agreement is reached between the owner and tenant, the total of all the delayed payments shall be repaid in six equal payments to be paid in thirty 30 day intervals beginning the day after the expiration of the local emergency,” the April ordinance explained. “An owner may not charge or collect a late fee for rent that is delayed for the reasons stated in this ordinance.”
The county also announced a rental assistance program in October, which offers up to $ 4,000 in rental assistance in Davis and $ 3,000 for other cities and unincorporated areas in Yolo County. Any back rent or utility payments are also available for assistance. Relief monies will be sent directly to landlords or utility companies.
Rental assistance is provided to those who qualify as very- low income, or up to 60% of the area median income and low income, or up to 80% of area median income and have a high rent burden of at least 30%.
For a family of three, 60% of the AMI is $ 49,980 and 80% is $ 66,600. Tenants who receive these grants will still have to pay 10% of their adjusted gross monthly income towards rent. The assistance is meant to help “bridge the gap between what the tenant can afford and the tenant’s actual rent,” according to the press release.
The money will be provided out of the Coronavirus Emergency Rental Assistance Grant Program, issued as part of the county’s CARES Act, an economic relief package passed by the federal government in response to the pandemic. It is available on a firstcome, first- served basis.
This announcement comes as Newsom announced a new threeweek stay- at- home order for regions across California that is triggered once ICU beds hit 15% capacity. The order will close a number of sectors that were allowed to reopen over the last few months and will likely produce additional layoffs and losses of income.
California already has the highest poverty rate in the nation: 17.2% when adjusted to the cost of living. As of 2018, Yolo County’s poverty rate is even higher at 20.1%, according to the U. S. Census Bureau.
Yolo County residents who are interested in applying for assistance can apply at www. ych. ca. gov/ COVID- 19/ 2020. php. Those without interest access can call Yolo County Housing at 6692262 to request an application by mail, or to arrange a time to pick up an application in person.