S.J. homeless housing, tenant protections could get a boost

Proposed City Council measures could add 500 modular, prefab homes

In a two-pronged approach, San Jose councilmembers on Monday announced plans to add housing for the homeless and protect vulnerable renters pounded by the coronavirus pandemic.

Mayor Sam Liccardo unveiled a $17 million plan to fast-track as many as 500 modular and prefabricated homes on public and private property for the homeless, leveraging recently relaxed state environmental regulations to build emergency housing.

Councilmembers Magdalena Carrasco and Raul Peralez also proposed a 90-day rent suspension to

Liccardo said the city wants to complete new housing for the homeless “in a matter of weeks, not years,” with some of the funding coming from a planned navigation center.

enhance a patchwork of state and local laws to protect vulnerable tenants unable to make rent because of illness or lost work. The move would not forgive rent responsibilities.

“Our community is reeling,” Carrasco said, noting that thousands of renters are struggling. Without intervention, she said, the city would face “a flood of evictions.”

State and local restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus have led to widespread layoffs and wage cuts. Nearly 2 million Californians have filed for unemployment since March 12.

The San Jose City Council’s moves, expected to be considered as early as Tuesday, put the city at the vanguard of California communities taking bold steps to prevent evictions and address homelessness during the pandemic. Oakland and Los Angeles have imposed strong protections against evictions, and several other Bay Area cities and counties also have passed ordinances.

On Monday, the California

Judicial Council also suspended court actions on evictions and foreclosures.

The California Apartment Association opposed the San Jose rent suspension proposal, and hinted it might yield more strife than relief for tenants. “Unfortunately, two San Jose councilmembers are proposing an unlawful ordinance that penalizes the very people who are providing homes for local residents,” said Joshua Howard, the group’s executive vice president. “That’s unfair.”

Property owners have urged renters hurt financially by the pandemic to negotiate payment plans. Several large landlords have suspended evictions and rent increases during the crisis. Gov. Gavin Newsom last month ordered a

delay in some evictions — a move criticized by tenant groups and housing advocates for not going far enough to prevent a wave of evictions after the emergency lifts.

About 43% of San Jose residents are renters. The median cost for an apartment is about $2,800 a month, among the highest in the country, according to Rent Cafe. City leaders also consider its homeless population — estimated to be 5,000 men and women — as a growing crisis.

Liccardo said the city wants to complete new housing for the homeless “in a matter of weeks, not years,” with some of the funding coming from a planned navigation center. The emergency housing would focus on sheltering the homeless who have tested positive for

COVID-19 and others unable to self-quarantine.

The governor’s order to waive environmental review will allow the city to cut through red tape and build quickly, he said. He cited environmental reviews that delayed the construction of the city’s new tiny home community. The 40-home development opened to formerly homeless residents in February.

The first modular units are expected to go up on a few government properties already identified by city staff, he said. The city will partner with private and nonprofit organizations to build between 400 and 500 units, which could provide permanent shelter for homeless residents for at least a decade.

“It’s an opportunity to get housing in place now,

rather than in a few years,” Liccardo said. “I’m eager to see us build as many units as we can.”

The city’s rent suspension proposal is expected to give breathing room to many low-wage workers already struggling to pay their bills before the pandemic. “A rent pause will protect the families,” Peralez said.

San Jose landlord Dean Hotop said the proposal could make it impossible to collect back rent. Many small landlords are already working with tenants, he said, and a rent suspension could make it difficult for property owners to pay their mortgages.

A city subsidy for tenants would help more parties, he said. “Who in their right mind would want to invest in San Jose rental property in the future, after seeing this?” Hotop wrote in an email. “Tomorrow’s housing shortage just got worse.”

Housing advocates say the city has the power to enforce a rent suspension under emergency conditions. “It is not a rent forgiveness,” said Michael Trujillo, attorney with the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley.

But Trujillo added that the measure would give additional protections to San Jose tenants. Many are being asked by landlords to sign plans to repay past rents within a few months, he said, despite the uncertainty of when jobs and incomes will return.

“It’s really impossible,” he said, “to budget around these circumstances.”