Renters can breathe a sigh of relief.
Gov. Gavin Newsom extended California's eviction moratorium for renters on Monday.
Lawmakers agreed that struggling renters, hit hard by unemployment during the pandemic, needed more time to catch up on rent.
"While our economy has reopened, hundreds of thousands of renters are still hanging on by a thread," said San Francisco Assemblymember David Chiu. "This bill gives us an opportunity to prevent a wave of evictions and an increase in homelessness. Keeping families in their homes and getting rental assistance to struggling tenants and landlords is of the utmost importance."
The eviction bill extends the existing moratorium enacted as a result of the pandemic until Sept. 30. It also includes rental assistance provisions.
The bill protects renters with COVID-related financial hardships, preventing them from being evicted before October first as long as the renter is able to pay 25% of the rent owed between Sept. 1 and Sept. 30.
The state will also be providing rent relief for 100% of rental debt accrued since last April. Previously, landlords received only 80 percent of the rental debt and were required to forgive 20 percent of the debt.
The bill also creates a backstop period between October 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022. During this period, renters eligible for the rent relief program will continue to be protected from evictions through a new court process.
The bill will go into effect immediately.
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