The pandemic has had a great impact on public health and the economy. Due to the stay at home order and close to many businesses, several people lost their job in the US. This led to a rise in unemployment claims and also led to housing insecurity for many people due to a lack of income. To decrease the effect of the pandemic on people, the government has taken necessary steps to protect clients, and that includes placing moratoriums on eviction and the prohibition of late rent fees.
Some of the protection tenants got included not being charged a penalty for nonpayment or eviction from March to July. When this period ended, landlords could then give their tenants a 30 days’ notice to vacate the property. Some agencies regulating the Federal Housing Finance Authority as well as the Federal Housing Administration extended the moratoria till the end of 2020. This moratoria on eviction protected tenants who had lost their source of income, might become homeless if they got evicted and those who were putting in their best efforts to come out with partial payments of rents in a timely manner.
However, there has been a statewide moratorium on court eviction hearings, and it is set to end on Friday. Several housing advocates have issued warnings that many California renters might lose their homes at the end if the Governor and lawmakers don’t create more protections for the renters. Community advocates have urged Governor Newsom to issue an order to delay evictions and also enact a bill providing relief for both tenants and landlord while the pandemic lasts.
Community advocates have stated that when evictions begin, it is bound to hit the community of color. Most of the Black and Latino households have lost their jobs because of the pandemic; this was made public by a study by the UC Berkeley Terner Center for Housing Innovations.
Residents who are on the minority are going through economic insecurity while carrying out their jobs in different industries. The colored community have faced the struggle of this pandemic the most but continue to live from one paycheck to the very next, and there are many undocumented families that haven’t received financial aid from the government.
A moratorium on all eviction court hearing was placed by the Judicial Council of California in April, and this placed a hold on the displacement of tenants that haven’t paid rent throughout the pandemic. The council held a meeting in July and announced that they reconsider the meeting soon, but there has been no schedule made for the hearing.
Lawmakers have however concluded that there is a chance of the order being rescinded on Friday which would then allow eviction hearings to proceed in courts around the states. Most Bay Area governments have other renter protections that could help suspend legal actions from being taken against renters. Governor Newsom has announced that he is working on a solution to facilitate the extension of protection for renters.
A bill released by David Chiu, who is an assembly member would prevent the eviction of tenants until 90 days after the pandemic emergency has been removed. The bill inspires landlord to work out payment agreements with their tenants. The bill also allows landlords to sue in civil courts for back rents that have accumulated over the pandemic.
This bill has however received opposition from groups of commercial and residential landlords. This coalition has sent a letter to Chiu stating that the bill does not favor struggling landlords and the bill essential provides renters free accommodation. They stated that the bill does not provide funding for both renters and landlords that would offer solutions to the unpaid rents. They also made apparent that due to the protection, landlords will not be able to hold back foreclosure on their buildings. Counties in the Bay area have however considered extending the moratoria on renter protections.
Reference
Coronavirus: California eviction protections could be dwindling
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/emergency-bans-on-evictions-and-other-tenant-protections-related-to-coronavirus.html
