CALIFORNIA, USA — If California does not extend the current eviction moratorium, everyone will go back to paying rent in full starting July 1, and landlords can send tenants to small claims court on August 1.
Debra Carlton with the California Apartment Association says renters need to send documentation saying that they have been affected by the pandemic and can't pay 25% of their rent. If they do not do that, they could be evicted come the first of July.
Carlton says the only way a tenant would not have to worry about back pay after the moratorium expires would be to apply for the Tenant Relief Act, in which the state would pay 80% and the landlord would forgive 20%.
Cathy Hickman lives in Stockton with her teenage daughter. She lost her job due to the pandemic and now owes $4,000 in back pay of rent. She fears the worst when the eviction moratorium expires on June 30.
“It scares me because now we literally don’t have a legal right, he can literally do an eviction and there’s nothing I can do I would be in the street with me and my teenager,” Hickman said.
Assemblymember David Chiu is the author of the original eviction moratorium bill in California. Chiu says the state will need to extend eviction protections beyond the end of June because very few renters, like Cathy, have been applying for the funding they’re eligible for.
"We need to understand how many tenants owe back rent, or rent this month, to their landlords who are at risk of eviction. We need to know how many tenants are going to be able to take advantage of the state program we have right now for them" Chiu said.
