City supports eviction protection bill
MONTEREY >> Perhaps in a show of compromise among elected officials, Monterey City Council members unanimously approved a letter of support for an Assembly bill that would extend an eviction moratorium out to the end of the year. But with one caveat.
AB15, which was introduced last month by Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, essentially extends the duration of the eviction moratorium passed in March 2020 out to Dec. 31 of this year. The original moratorium was set to expire at the end of this month.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has come out publicly in support of the bill.
Tuesday the council by a 5-0 vote approved sending a letter to the Assembly in support of the bill, which is heading to committee without a hearing date set yet. But the letter will add a sentence urging the Assembly committee to reword it so it would only be in place for six months instead of through Dec. 31.
Councilman Ed Smith objected to the Dec. 31 timeline, saying AB15 — called the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act of 2021 — is too long of an extension with rapidly evolving unknowns such as the effect vaccinations will have on allowing people to return to work and thereby not needing COVID-19 rental protections, Smith said.
“I do think we need rental relief and tenants need to be guarded,” he said. “In concept, I’m there, but I think this is just too far of an extension.”
Councilman Dan Albert agreed, saying he’s more concerned with what happens in the next few months. If the vaccines come completely online and there is a significant drop in the number of cases, Albert questioned the need to extend the moratorium out as far as Dec. 31.
Councilman Alan Haffa suggested a compromise whereby the city’s letter would include language supporting just a six-month extension instead.
“I think supporting (AB15) makes sense, but I am also cognizant that a year is a long time and a lot of things can change in a year,” Haffa said.
Smith told his colleagues that on the landlord side of the equation, he is “hearing from folks who are having a hard time dealing with their mortgages because they have non-paying occupied (rental units).
“There’s a lot of pain and suffering on all parts,” he said.
Esther Malkin, who serves on the board of the Housing Resource Center of Monterey County, called in to tell the council that if renters must prove that their inability to pay rent is COVID-19 related, then landlords should have to prove that they are in financial distress.
“They should have to prove they are having this hardship if they want to push forward on an eviction and put people out on the street,” Malkin said.
AB15 was taken up by the Committee on Housing and Community Development last week, but no hearing date has been determined. If adopted by the Assembly, it would need to be done before the moratorium expires on Jan. 31, with enough lead time to allow the state Senate to take up the legislation before heading to Newsom’s desk.