Lawmakers revise proposed housing relief

Last-minute compromise could pause evictions, help small-property owners

Pushing into the final hours of a legislative deadline, Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers on Friday unveiled a revised proposal to curb evictions and aid landlords struggling through the coronavirus pandemic.

The compromise proposal cuts the length of an eviction moratorium and grants more relief to small landlords, and it eventually will replace the patchwork of eviction moratoriums enacted by cities and counties.

The proposal, known as the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act of 2020, comes on the final day legislators can put a bill into print and win passage before the end of the legislative session Monday. The measure seeks to prevent widespread evictions, a possible increase in homelessness and the public health consequences.

Newsom praised the deal Friday afternoon, saying the compromise would help small landlords and the “millions of people who are at risk of eviction.” But advocates for tenants and small-apartment owners immediately criticized the plan.

The compromise bill, AB3088, ends eviction protections Jan. 31 and allows landlords to collect back rent through civil courts. Tenants unable to pay full rent from September to January would be required to make partial payments or lose protections.

It also encourage landlords and tenants to negotiate the debts instead of heading directly to judges with eviction papers.

It requires higher-income renters to prove they have lost wages because of the pandemic and allows landlords to kick out renters causing health and safety violations. Rent missed from March to August because of the pandemic is not forgiven, but those rent bills cannot be used as the reason to remove tenants.

The bill also bans further extensions of the patchwork of eviction moratoriums enacted by cities and counties. It needs approval from two-thirds of the Legislature and the governor’s signature to take effect Tuesday, when a statewide moratorium im

posed by the courts expires.

It replaces AB1436, a proposal by Assemblymember David Chiu, D-San Francisco, that would have delayed evictions for pandemic-related failure to pay rent until April 1, or 90 days after the emergency was over, whichever came first. Housing advocates argued the measure would prevent a flood of eviction cases hitting the courts. Landlords called it the “free rent” bill.

Some tenant groups and small landlords say the new proposal does not provide a long-term fix.

“This deal does not prevent the eviction cliff. Who do you think is going to be evicted first? It’s Black people, the undocumented, Latinx families, the poor and seniors,” said Sasha Graham, the board chair of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment.

A July study by the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley and Working Partnerships USA estimated 43,000 renter households in Santa Clara County were at risk for eviction.

Sam Tepperman-Gelfant, managing attorney of Public Advocates, said the bill provided important, shortterm

protections for some tenants. But the complex system, which would require poor and moderateincome residents to sign monthly statements saying they are unable to pay rent, would be difficult for many to navigate.

Widespread evictions could effect schools and voting and escalate health risks, he said.

“We need to keep the pressure on the governor to extend the eviction moratorium,” he said.

Sid Lakireddy, president of the California Rental Housing Association representing small landlords, said the proposal will not protect mom and pop owners from losing their investments.

“While this is a shortterm solution, the unfortunate reality is the majority of the burden as outlined in this bill will fall onto small rental property owners,” Lakireddy said.

But the California Apartment Association, whose members include some of the largest rental property owners in the state, applauded the bill.

“Our goal has been to provide both help for tenants who are truly affected by COVID-19, as well as compensation for landlords, especially mom and pop owners, at risk of foreclosure after several months without rent payments,” CAA lobbyist Debra Carlton said in a statement.

Landlords have been asking the state to loosen the moratorium and allow hearings on serious disputes. Many complain the moratorium allowed renters not affected by the coronavirus to skip payments.

Katy King bought an investment property in Santa Cruz County before the pandemic struck, and allowed the existing tenant to stay through March 31. The tenant has refused to leave, King said, and has not paid rent.

The tenant, a nurse, has not provided King proof she has lost income from the pandemic.

King is paying $3,000 a month for the mortgage and expenses on the threebedroom home in Lompico. She wants her tenant to move so she can renovate and sell the property. King said she sympathizes with tenants struggling with job losses and knows other landlords providing breaks.

She expects to go to court with eviction papers Wednesday. “They should be hearing the cases that are egregious,” King said. “There is no remedy.”