Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
Beginning Friday through June 30, 2021, millions of California renters will not have to worry about being evicted after Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation to extend the state's historic moratorium on evictions.
This will protect millions of Californians who struggle every day to make ends meet due to the economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thus, with the passage of SB 91, California leads all states in enacting the strongest tenant protections in the nation.
"Once again, California is leading the way by enacting the nation's strongest eviction protections, which will provide relief to millions of Californians facing financial hardship as a result of COVID-19."
Gavin Newsom, governor of California.
The governor added that this law not only provides needed support for renters, but also provides relief to small homeowners who need assistance paying mortgages, thanks to $2.6 billion in federal stimulus funds.
Last Monday, Newsom, Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon announced an agreement on legislation to extend the eviction moratorium established last year under AB 3088, which was set to expire this Sunday, January 31.
"Today, we took the boldest action in the nation to protect California renters and support family landlords, but we know we have more work to do and that we need to help, hurting people in our communities, understand how to access this critically."
Toni Atkins, President pro Tempore of the Senate.
The signed legislation stops evictions for tenants who declare under penalty of perjury the inability to pay all or part of the rent due to a COVID-19 related reason.
It should be emphasized that tenants are still responsible for paying unpaid amounts to landlords, but those unpaid amounts cannot be the basis for an eviction, even after the moratorium ends.
SB 91 also establishes the State Rental Assistance Program to allocate the $2.6 billion in federal rental assistance that California will receive.
The program will focus on assisting income-qualified tenants who are most at risk for rent arrears. In addition, assistance will also be extended to property owners who agree to waive 20 percent of unpaid rent.
By accepting this exemption, property owners will be eligible for 80 percent in rent rebates for amounts due between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021.
Approximately $150 million of the federal funds will be reserved for tenants in counties with populations of 200,000 or less, and additional funds will be available for counties with populations greater than that number of people.
