Lawmakers on Wednesday pushed for permanent eviction relief for renters struggling through the coronavirus pandemic, even as a state judicial council considered dropping a temporary ban on renter-landlord court hearings.
Bay Area lawmakers proposed a statewide ban on evictions for back rent owed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The measure would give stressed renters up to 15 months after the health emergency has lifted to pay back debts, while allowing landlords to pursue civil claims to recoup lost rent.
Assemblymember David Chiu, D-San Francisco, said the pandemic has put millions of California renters at risk for eviction. Increasing homelessness and stacking families into tighter quarters would compound health risks, he said. Assemblymembers Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, and Rob Bonta, D-Alameda, also endorsed the measure.
“We cannot allow a wave of mass evictions,” Chiu said. “That would have catastrophic, catastrophic consequences for California.”
The proposal comes as the Judicial Council of California Wednesday is expected to decide whether to drop its emergency ban on eviction hearings, and re-open courts to aggrieved landlords. The statewide ban, opposed by powerful landlord groups, could lift as early as Aug. 3.
Members of the judicial council have argued the legislature needs to enact more permanent protections.
But lawmakers have urged the judicial council to hold off on lifting the restrictions. In a letter this week to the council, Chiu and Assemblymember Mark Stone, D-Monterey Bay, said lifting the ban in August would leave renters unprotected for months until a new law can be passed and enacted as late as January.
“We strongly advise that you reconsider this action,” the lawmakers wrote, and encouraged the ban to remain in place through the end of the year.
The pandemic has sent 4.9 million Californians to unemployment lines, hitting service workers and employees of small businesses hard. Enhanced federal unemployment benefits are scheduled to end in July, leaving many renters and landlords concerned over future payments.
In response to the economic upheaval, many Bay Area governments have enacted a patchwork of eviction bans and renter protections. Some of the measures are scheduled to end in coming months. San Jose, Oakland, and San Francisco have all enacted bans.
Napa County is the only Bay Area county that has not passed eviction protections.
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