TIME IS RUNNING OUT
Newsom, lawmakers trying to reach an agreement by Jan. 31 to extend eviction moratorium
Negotiations surrounding an extension of the state’s eviction moratorium are approaching the do-or-die point with little more than a week left to find a solution for renters and landlords alike.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers are trying to reach an agreement by Jan. 31, when the current eviction ban expires. Without an extension, throngs of vulnerable renters could be thrown out of their homes during a pandemic and likely further exacerbate the state’s homeless crisis.
“Californians are staring down a very dark eviction cliff if we don’t extend the eviction moratorium,” said Assemblyman David Chiu, who proposed legislation to extend the moratorium until the end of the year.
At stake are between 240,000 and 700,000 California households at risk of eviction for failing to pay rent. The lower estimate comes from a recent collaboration between the Legislative Analyst’s Office and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, while the higher estimate came from research earlier in the pandemic from the University of California, Berkeley.
Those involved in negotiations expressed optimism that a deal will get done, and said it’s likely a bit of brinksmanship will push the negotiations to the last day. Earlier this month, Newsom pledged to get a deal done, calling it “foundational.”
So far, tenant groups feel sidelined by the negotiations, landlord groups worry about their clients being left holding the bill and legislators have different ideas over how long to push the moratorium deadline, according to multiple people involved in or briefed on the negotiations.
The most agreed-upon date for an end to the moratorium is June 30, although landlord advocacy groups are pushing for lifting the moratorium on April 1 for those who have not paid any rent during the pandemic. The governor has not publicly committed to the length of an extension.
Time is running short. Due to procedural requirements, a bill needs to be in print for 72 hours before lawmakers can cast a vote, meaning lawmakers have even less time to strike a deal. Practically, it means negotiators have this weekend to sort out some of the stickiest elements of the moratorium. For one, the California Apartment Association, which represents landlords, is hoping to secure additional state rental assistance for moderate-income tenants, as well as an earlier end of the eviction moratorium for people who have made no rental payments during the pandemic.
“Our demands are, we continue the consistent statewide standard,” said Debra Carlton, the apartment association’s chief lobbyist. “Don’t create new standards that continue to encourage tenants not pay a portion of the rent. We continue to hear from landlords who have tenants who haven’t lost their jobs but who refuse to pay their rent.”
The association also wants to raise the burden of proof for people who claim to be affected financially by the pandemic. “Right now, you just check a box,” Carlton said.
Carlton said half of the state’s landlords are small mom-and-pop outfits not eligible for federal Paycheck Protection Program loans.
“We’ve got to get money to landlords,” she said. “We worry they are on the brink of foreclosure.”
“Our demands are, we continue the consistent statewide standard.
Don’t create new standards that continue to encourage tenants not pay a portion of the rent. We continue to hear from landlords who have tenants who haven’t lost their jobs but who refuse to pay their rent.”
— Debra Carlton, the apartment association’s chief lobbyist
Chiu’s proposal for a year’s extension has little chance of passage, according to people involved in or briefed on the negotiations, because as urgency legislation, it would require a two-thirds vote. Instead, the deal is far likelier to pass as a budget trailer bill, which would require a simple majority for passage.