California eviction ban to be extended through June in deal between Newsom, top Democrats

California renters facing COVID-19 financial hardship will be protected from eviction until July under an extension that Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrats formally announced Monday.

The extension is part of the state’s 2021-2022 budget plan. Normally, the Legislature passes a budget in June, but Newsom has asked lawmakers to move faster on several priorities related to the coronavirus pandemic.

The deal arrives days before the current moratorium was set to expire Feb. 1, and culminates weeks of legislative pressure to extend the ban by several months in order to avoid a wave of evictions throughout California.

Newsom first signed Assembly Bill 3088 in August to establish the Jan. 31 deadline. He has been working with Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, and interest groups on a compromise plan that would lengthen current provisions through June 30.

“COVID-19 continues to devastate communities across our state and too many Californians remain one paycheck away from losing their apartments or homes,” Newsom, Atkins and Rendon wrote in a joint statement. “These families need protection and relief now.”

The law protects tenants as long as they’re paying a total 25% of their rent starting in September 2020, and can prove pandemic-related adversity like job or salary loss. The deal was part of a months-long and contentious negotiations process between landlord groups and renter representatives.

Assemblyman David Chiu, the San Francisco Democrat who wrote AB 3088, announced new legislation in December to extend the moratorium through the end of the year to avoid what he characterized as an “eviction cliff.”

The Judicial Council anticipates 240,000 evictions filings this year, double the amount from 2019-2020, “given the potential universe of 903,000 households at risk.” And the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia noted in an Oct. 2020 report that more than 239,600 California households owe $1.67 billion in rent. Multiple studies show the pandemic has disproportionately impacted low-income households of color that were already rent-burdened before the pandemic.

The new proposal also establishes a rent subsidy program using $2.6 billion in federal aid to help renters and landlords pay down an accruing wall of debt.

The program would pay landlords 80% of any missing rent accrued between April 2020 and March 2021, though they’d have to agree to forgive the remaining 20% and promise not to pursue eviction in order to qualify for the benefits, according to the legislation.

If landlords choose against that first option but their tenants apply for the assistance, then the program would cover up to a quarter of unpaid rent.

The program would also pay 25% of rent directly to landlords for up to three months beginning in March 2021.

In any case, landlords must notify tenants of the available relief before proceeding with evictions. Judges could reduce total damages owed if landlords rejected the program’s offerings and decided instead to take their renters to court.

Funding would be dispersed a variety of ways, including directly to some larger jurisdictions or via state block grants or administrative agencies. The program would prioritize lower-income Californians. At least 90% of the aid would need to be used for housing expenses.

In a statement, Chiu called the latest deal “far from perfect” and urged his legislative colleagues to continue work that will “address gaps and provide relief to additional tenants.”

“The power imbalance between tenants and landlords is troubling as the amount of rental assistance a tenant receives is determined solely by the cooperation of their landlord,” Chiu said. “But, that being said, this bill will extend critical eviction protections through the end of June and distribute $2.6 billion in rental assistance quickly.”

Tenant advocates also expressed guarded praise for the proposal.

“Because we were kept out of the drafting process along with other tenant groups and housing advocates, we are reviewing the bill for the first time and assessing its implications. From what we have seen so far, it does the urgent work to prevent a wave of evictions on Feb. 1. But there is much more work needed to ensure all Californians remain housed during this pandemic and free of debt beyond their control,” said Jamie Katz, staff attorney at Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability.

Monica Vaughan of The Fresno Bee contributed to this report.