LOS ANGELES – Late Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation to extend California’s statewide eviction moratorium through September 30, 2021 and clear rent debt for low-income Californians that have experienced COVID-19 related financial hardship. The state’s announcement follows last week’s actions by the Biden Administration to extend to 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, 2021. 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.”
Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs Director Rafael Carbajal added, “The local and state Eviction Moratorium extensions are a critical step to ensure tenants continue to be protected against immediate eviction. They also help reduce the financial burden placed on property owners at this challenging time. DCBA is available to help both tenants and property owners understand their rights under the updated moratoria.”
For more information about how Federal, State, and County laws can protect tenants and property owners, call the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs’ Housing and Tenant Protections team at (833) 223-RENT (7368) or visit rent.lacounty.gov.
