XPost: alt.politics.elections, sac.politics, alt.politics.democrats
XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
From: marxists@nytimes.com

At the beginning of the year, it looked like Jeremy Miller and
his 9-year-old daughter were finally going to have a home of
their own. They’d been homeless and relying on family, shelters
and motels for housing. But he’d found stable work in the Kern
County oil fields and had enough money for an $875-a-month, two-
bedroom rental in Bakersfield.

They moved into the apartment in March, and Miller lost his job
within days. The pandemic caused a worldwide drop in demand for
oil, triggering mass layoffs in the oil patch. Miller tried to
find other work through a temp agency, but there were few jobs.
Plus his daughter’s school closed down, making it even harder to
take work.

He couldn’t pay the rent. He started to get calls from the
apartment managers and letters taped to his door telling him he
was late on rent. In April, he got a notice threatening eviction
if he didn’t pay.

“I was anxiety-ridden about paying the rent,” Miller said. “My
daughter was asking, ‘Daddy, what’s an eviction? Are we going to
be homeless?’”

Miller is still waiting for his unemployment benefits to arrive
and he’s now months behind on his rent. He and his daughter have
remained housed thanks to an order from the Judicial Council
that halted evictions during the pandemic. But that order could
expire as soon as Aug. 14. Once the eviction moratorium ends,
tenants may have just days to pay back the rent they missed. If
they can’t, they could be evicted.

Meanwhile, the economy is in tatters. More than 30 million U.S.
workers are receiving unemployment insurance benefits. But the
extra $600-a-week benefit that kept many Americans current on
their rent ended last week, and it may not be revived. Eviction
moratoriums are also expiring, including a national one that
covered about 30% of rentals. As the downturn continues and
safety nets weaken, we could see a tidal wave of evictions and
foreclosures and a jump in homelessness even as the pandemic
rages on.

California leaders need to act quickly to avoid greater
suffering and economic devastation.

First, Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers cannot allow the
statewide eviction moratorium to expire without having strong
tenant protections in place. The Judicial Council considered
ending its moratorium in June but delayed the decision in order
to give Newsom and the Legislature time to come up with an
alternative measure. But that hasn’t happened yet.

There are two major tenant relief bills pending. Assembly Bill
1436 would extend the eviction moratorium until 90 days after
the COVID-19 emergency ends, then give tenants 12 additional
months to make any missed payments before their landlord could
sue for the unpaid rent. And even then, the landlord could not
evict a tenant for unpaid rent accumulated during the COVID
emergency.

The idea is to ensure that renters who lost income during the
pandemic and got behind on their rent don’t end up on the
street. Low-income households were already struggling to pay the
rent in California's pricey cities, and those workers have been
hardest hit by the pandemic job losses. Some experts warn that
the state could see a 20% increase in homelessness. Extreme
times call for extreme tenant protections.

But AB 1436 could have devastating effects on landlords,
particularly mom-and-pop operators who rely on their rentals for
income and retirement. In California, about half of rentals are
in properties with five units or less. If two tenants in a small
complex can’t pay the rent, that’s a serious financial hit. AB
1436 now requires mortgage companies to let landlords delay
payments for six months to a year, depending on the size of the
property. That helps, but landlords still have to cover property
taxes, insurance and maintenance.

Newsom and lawmakers have to pair a long-term eviction
moratorium with landlord assistance. One proposal is Senate Bill
1410, which would give landlords tax credits if they agree to
forgive missed rent payments from tenants who had COVID-related
financial hardship. Landlords could sell the tax credits for
cash immediately. Tenants would have to repay their rent debt to
the state starting in 2024.

The challenge? SB 1410 could cost $10 billion over the life of
the program. California may have little choice but to spend its
limited dollars. Advocates and lawmakers had hoped the federal
government would bail out tenants and landlords, but while
congressional Republicans and President Trump have said they
want to extend the federal eviction moratorium, there's little
support for providing financial aid.

There’s no time to lose. California cannot let the eviction
moratorium expire without a plan to prevent a larger
catastrophe. Coronavirus infections and deaths continue to
increase, and Californians still need to stay home for their own
safety and the health of their community.

“Tenants are really scared now,” said Laura Matter of Greater
Bakersfield Legal Assistance. She’s been advising Jeremy Miller
on his eviction concern. “They have no certainty. They say, ‘I
am four months behind on rent. What’s going to happen when the
order expires?’ I have to say I don’t know.”

https://news.yahoo.com/editorial-california-faces-eviction- catastrophe-100028433.html

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