SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Legislature quickly passed Assembly Bill 2179 Thursday to give tenants who have applied for rent relief but haven’t received it a longer window of protection. However, it’s causing controversy because of who it leaves out.
AB 2179 extends the eviction moratorium until June 30, 2022. People like Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg are praising the quick actions of the Legislature.
“I’m very glad that the Legislature acted so quickly and that the Lieutenant Governor in this instance signed the bill. Because it’s going to assure that those people who are in the middle of the process of trying to obtain eviction relief and get the resources so that they can pay their back rent that they’ll stay housed,” said Steinberg
The new law extends eviction protections to anyone who has already applied for rent relief. However, State Sen. Scott Weiner voted against it.
“As of last night, March 31 at midnight, the rent relief program shut off for anyone who had not yet applied,” explained Wiener.
It also preempts local eviction restrictions, meaning anyone who has not applied is no longer protected.
“The state, by withdrawing state eviction protections and also banning most cities from adopting local eviction protections, the state is really pulling the rug out from a lot of tenants who are struggling,” Wiener said.
Rodney Davis said he’s lucky because he did apply for rental assistance in time. Still, he said he empathizes with those who didn’t apply.
“I’m concerned for many of those who weren’t able either because they weren’t aware of it or they didn’t have the means or the knowhow or the connections to be able to apply,” said Davis.
He said he can see this being especially true for non-native English speakers.
“It would be best to extend the application process,” Davis said.
It is something Wiener would like to see as well.
“The rent relief program benefits everyone, landlords and renters, particularly small landlords. That’s why I and others wanted to extend the rent relief program for at least a few more months, to give more people an opportunity to apply,” explained Wiener.
