SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The state’s eviction moratorium is set to end on Friday, but there’s a bill being fast-tracked in the legislature that would extend the protections until June 30 for those who have applied for rent relief but haven’t gotten it yet.
There was a small protest at the steps of the Capitol Wednesday by a group that said the bill does not go far enough.
“As a mom having to look her kids in the eyes and tell them, 'Hey, we're sleeping on the streets tonight,' literally is probably the worst feeling a mom could feel,” said Ilene Toney, a Sacramento mother who knows the struggle of being evicted.
Toney said it took her a year to find housing after that because of the eviction notice on her record.
“I know what it's like to go through the system, so I help as many people as I can that come to my doorstep,” she said.
She volunteers with the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment. The group held the event on the steps of the Capitol Wednesday, calling for the state to extend the eviction moratorium.
Event organizer Jovana Fajardo said It’s more than just finances that make it hard to get help.
“A lot of the low-income families don't have computers...,” Fajardo said.
Assembly Bill 2179 is swiftly moving through the process this week. It would extend the protections until June for all those who already applied for rent relief that are still waiting for their checks. It's a lengthy line.
“A lot of people haven't applied, or they've been denied or they're in limbo,” Fajardo said.
The rent relief website for Sacramento is telling landlords that their tenants with eviction notices will be prioritized to get the money.
“They're telling you that there isn't that much money, they're not sure everyone's gonna get funding and there's a waitlist," she said, "But if you start the eviction, you'll get more urgency.”
Fajardo's issue doesn’t stop there.
Like Senator Scott Wiener and Phil Ting who are opposing the bill, ACCE says if passed, it will override some local protections put in place.
“We want to at least allow our local municipalities to take care of what they're seeing on the ground, the people who are sleeping on the streets, and address it locally," Alliance of California for Community Empowerment (ACCE) spokesperson Luis Fernando Anguiano Quiroz said.
The bill will be heard on the Senate floor Thursday.
People have until Thursday night to apply for rent relief in order to avoid being evicted if the bill passes.
However, the California Rental Housing Association president said on Friday that landlords can’t keep forfeiting rent and that enough is enough.
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