The California State Assembly on Jan. 28 approved Senate Bills 89 and 91, which were signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Jan. 29. The two measures extended Assembly Bill 3088, the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act of 2020, which was set to expire at the end of January. In addition to extending California’s eviction moratorium through June 30, the bill proposed using $2.6 billion in federal relief as rental subsidies. The proposal will pay landlords 80% of unpaid back rent incurred between April 2020 and March 2021 if landlords agree to forgive the remaining 20% in back rent and agree not to pursue evictions.

“I spoke in favor of and voted for two bills that are absolutely necessary to protect vulnerable renters from losing their homes in the middle of an ongoing pandemic,” Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) said. “We are facing a projected 240,000 new evictions if we don’t act immediately to keep people housed. SB 89 and SB 91 together extend the protections we passed in August, which were the nation’s strongest tenant protections.  These protections will keep tenants [who] are facing unprecedented financial hardship in their homes. Both bills will provide realistic and creative solutions, targeting relief to those who need it most while offering support to those providing housing for these communities.”

A U.S. Census Bureau survey found that more than 1.9 million adult Californians living in rental homes reported being behind on their rent. Furthermore, the state’s Judicial Council reported that evictions in the state are projected to double to 240,000 cases. Without legislative intervention, this avalanche of eviction cases could further impact and overwhelm the courts.

“These bills aren’t perfect and will not solve the problem in the long run, but we had to take action now to prevent hundreds of thousands of people from falling into homelessness in the next couple of months,” Bloom added. “For many, this would be a potential death sentence. SB 89 and SB 91 will keep people in their homes and prevent small landlords from going bankrupt while we continue to work on longer-term solutions. I am committed to working with the chair of the Assembly Housing Committee and leadership on these efforts so that come June 30, we will be ready to further protect tenants and support Californians during this difficult time. With the vaccine rolling out, we can be optimistic that we are on the road to recovery. But it is a very long road ahead and now is not the time to lower our guard or pretend we can go back to business as usual.”