SACRAMENTO REPORT B y R on K ingston
Update and Commentary on Changes to California’s COVID-19 Eviction Moratorium and Federal Rental Assistance Program
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an you imagine waiting for two years or longer to initiate an eviction case based on nonpayment of rent if the rental property owner has attempted to obtain rental assistance to cover the unpaid amount and either: 1. The application for assistance has been denied by the “appropriate” governmental body; or 2. After 20 days pass, there is “no sign” that the tenant is going to cooperate? The court, before ordering an eviction for non-payment of rent to “verify that the landlord attempted to obtain rental assistance for the unpaid amount and that the application was denied due to one of the following: 1. The tenant was not eligible for rental assistance (the tenant earned too much during the period) 2. The government assistance program did not have sufficient funds
3. The tenant did not “cooperate with the landlord’s efforts” 4. The assistance does not apply to tenant households that move-in after September 30, 2021. For the first federal assistance trounce of money, state and local governments must distribute funds on or before September 30, 2022. And for the second federal trounce of money, state and local governments must distribute funds on or before September 30, 2024! No, this is not a typo. So, the legislature must think that the state and local programs may outlast our state of emergency and that rental property owners can wait several years to be paid rent.
Legislative Update: AB 1487 (Gabriel) Tenant Legal Aid
We expect Mr. Gabriel’s bill to be approved by the legislature and sent to the governor for his signature by the end of the state legislative session. The
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September 2021
measure establishes the framework for a grant-based program to provide direct legal aid services, education and outreach to low-income tenant households facing the threat of eviction or imminent displacement from their homes. Existing law is supposed to provide a fast-tracked set of summary judicial proceeding for handling eviction cases. The law also requires until January 1, 2030, statewide just cause to terminate a tenancy that meets specified conditions. State law also provides strong eviction protections due to the enactment of the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act. The state also establishes several defenses to unlawful detainer complaints. While AB 1487 makes a series of findings and declarations about the state’s housing and homelessness crisis (as if property owners caused the crisis), the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on that crisis and the track records of legal aid programs in preventing evictions, the measure does not appear to balance the interests of owners and tenants. The bill establishes the Homelessness Prevention Fund which will be administered by the Legal Services Trust Fund Commission under the State Bar of California and funded upon appropriation by the Legislature. The Homelessness Prevention Funds that will provide full legal assistance to low-income tenants is designed to prevent eviction. To accomplish this mission, a full-scope legal representation will be provided to qualified households facing eviction. To some degree, the Fund will pro-
