Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
With California's moratorium on evictions about to expire, some 240,000 homes or two million people across the state are at risk of losing their homes, so a group of legislators is seeking to prevent this catastrophe at least until the end of this year.
AB-15, introduced in December by San Francisco Democratic Assemblyman David Chiu, would prohibit landlords from evicting tenants who have been economically harmed by the pandemic until December 31, 2021.
This project expands and improves on AB-3088, an agreement also proposed by Chiu, approved by the state legislature and signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on August 31, 2020, which left some gaps on the issue of evictions, and whose deadline is January 31.
Thus, the AB-15 proposal would prohibit landlords from evicting tenants economically harmed by the pandemic until December 31, 2021, and they would have until that date to pay 25 percent of the back rent they have accumulated.
"The possibility that tens of thousands of people will be forced to leave their homes would increase the likelihood that COVID-19 will spread and have devastating health consequences. We cannot allow that to be the fate of California," Chiu said.
For her part, Debra Carlton, a lobbyist for the California Association of Apartments, said that with such a measure the owners will not be able to survive this year, so a more dynamic proposal or the guarantee that they will receive financial aid is needed.
It should be noted that California tenants owe about $1.7 billion in rent arrears, according to a Federal Reserve Bank estimate, and this amount could grow significantly in the coming months.
If the current moratorium expires at the end of January, tenants who can pay 25 percent of the rent due since September will be able to stay in their apartment.
Chiu also introduced a second bill, AB-16, which would provide unspecified rent relief for those facing debt from complying with AB-15, if it is enacted into law.
AB-16 would require tenants to pay 25% of their rent due between September 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021, to avoid eviction, and any remaining amount owed to the landlord would become a civil debt.
