Gov. Gavin Newsom this week signed legislation to extend California’s statewide eviction moratorium through Sept. 30 and clear rent debt for low-income Californians who have experienced COVID-19 related financial hardship.
The state’s announcement follows last week’s actions by the Biden Administration to extend the Federal Eviction Moratorium and the Board of Supervisors to extend Los Angeles County’s Temporary Eviction Moratorium.
California Assembly Bill 832 extends the State’s current eviction moratorium through September 30. The bill ensures that California uses more than $5 billion in federal rental assistance provided by the Biden Administration to help the state’s tenants and small landlords and protect at-risk households from eviction.
The agreement widens rental assistance by enhancing current law. Provisions include increasing reimbursement to 100 percent for both rent that is past due and prospective payments for both tenants and landlords. Additionally, the bill ensures rental assistance dollars stay in California by prioritizing cities and counties with unmet needs and uses the judicial process to verify tenants and landlords have attempted to obtain rental assistance.
“By adopting deliberate, proactive strategies, we have minimized evictions during this once-in-a-century pandemic,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, who authored the County’s motion. “Our responsibility now is to phase out this moratorium in a way that ensures we don’t sacrifice our hard-won success keeping families in their homes, while thoughtfully easing rules on property owners and returning to normal.”
The new legislation may ultimately ease some of the financial burden placed on property owners in wake of the pandemic. Language in the bill is reportedly designed to assist both tenants and property owners in understanding their rights under the updated moratorium.
For more details, call the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs’ Housing and Tenant Protections team at (833) 223-RENT (7368) or visit rent.lacounty.gov.
