TO: HONOR ABLE MAYOR FROM: Jacky Morales-Ferrand
AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT: SEE BELOW DATE: March 17, 2022
Approved Date
3/18/2022
SUBJECT: REPORT ON STATUS OF CALIFORNIA’S COVID-19 RECOVERY ACT, THE STATE’S COVID-19 RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, AND
IMPLEMENTATION OF LOCAL EVICTION DIVERSION AND
SETTLEMENT PROGRAM
RECOMMENDATION
(a) Accept the staff report on the status of California’s COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act, the State’s COVID-19 rental assistance program, and the Housing Department’s efforts to prevent at-risk households from eviction by providing rental assistance in the City of San José.
(b) Direct the City Manager to implement an Eviction Diversion and Settlement Program in partnership with the County of Santa Clara’s Office of Supportive Housing, Sacred Heart Community Services and the Superior Court of Santa Clara County.
OUTCOME
Staff will implement a targeted Eviction Diversion and Settlement program using the City of San José’s (City) existing U.S. Treasury Emergency Rental Assistance Round One (ERA1) funds.
This program prioritizes our most vulnerable residents hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic by focusing efforts on households who are being evicted (unlawful detainer lawsuit has been initiated), working with court mediators on a settlement between the landlord and tenant and quickly paying back owed rent. The program will target households who can pay April rent but are being evicted for back-owed rent and have a complete application pending with the state’s rental assistance program. Additionally, the Housing Department will continue its efforts providing legal assistance, outreach and education.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Vulnerable San José households continue seeking rental assistance funds, though most wait months for the relief to be paid out. Only a third of the over 15,000 rent relief applications COUNCIL AGENDA: 03/22/2022
FILE: 22-369
ITEM: 8.2
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 17, 2022
Subject: Report on Status of California’s COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act
submitted to the state program have been approved and paid out. The overwhelming majority of applicant households (85%) earn at or below 50% of the local Area Median Income (AMI)1.
Since the beginning of the year, 78% of residents seeking help at the Eviction Prevention Help Centers (EHC) asked for assistance checking the status of their application and understanding messages from the state program case managers.
In June 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 832 into law, extending the state’s Eviction Moratorium through September 30, 2021. Then, beginning October 1, 2021, AB 832’s COVID-19 Recovery Period began, ending the 25% rent obligation that was previously established, and setting in place new, more limited protections for tenants.
On March 31, 2022, these limited protections are set to expire. This memorandum discusses key requirements and protections under the COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act for both landlords and tenants.
Beginning April 1, 2022, landlords may evict a household for nonpayment of rent, even if the household has a pending rental assistance application with the state. Additionally, on March 31, 2022, the state’s emergency rental assistance program stops taking new applications. With these two important milestones approaching, the Housing Department’s EHC, in partnership with the County of Santa Clara’s Office of Supportive Housing (County), will pivot and focus on four primary strategies outlined in this memorandum; 1) Eviction Diversion and Settlement, 2) County support and intervention, 3) Legal assistance and support; and 4) Eviction prevention help centers and outreach. The first strategy, Eviction Diversion and Settlement, is a new approach. The program uses existing EHC and County staff, Superior Court and non-profit legal service providers to quickly pay landlords and tenants back owed rent in order to prevent an eviction for qualified households who are awaiting payment from the state. The Eviction Diversion and Settlement program uses existing funding (such as U.S. Treasury funds) and existing agreements with the County to review and process rental payments. The EHC coordinates with the state program to “withdraw” applications once tenant and landlord reach settlement and the local program pays the back rent due. The second strategy, County support and intervention, the County will work with the state providing targeted outreach to households with incomplete applications to complete their application. Strategies three and four, legal assistance and support and eviction prevention help centers and outreach, are not new approaches but the focus will shift with protections ending and the state rental assistance program closing.
Local jurisdictions are pre-empted from enacting new legislation protecting tenants for COVID- 19 rental debt. Prior to the adoption of AB 832, on June 22, 2021, the City Council enacted a residential Eviction Moratorium (through August 31, 2021); however, the AB 832 enaction pre- empted the City’s local ordinance. This report discusses how AB 832 prevents any city or county from adopting an ordinance, resolution, regulation, or administrative action that is in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to protect tenants from eviction until April 1, 2022.
Finally, a recent survey conducted by the EHC de
monstrates there is an ongoing need for rental
assistance in San José, and that most households the EHC assists are concerned about the
1 50% of Area Median Income (Very Low Income) in Santa Clara County for a household of four is $82,850. http://www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-funding/income-limits/state-and-federal-income-limits.shtml
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 17, 2022
Subject: Report on Status of California’s COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act
stability of their housing and the threat of eviction. The EHCs are funded with one-time American Rescue Plan Act funds, and the program will eventually end, so it will be important to boost local homelessness prevention efforts, so the local system can increase capacity to help vulnerable households.
BACKGROUND
The COVID-19 health crisis and resulting economic downturn demanded that governmental bodies at federal, state, and local levels respond to protect and support populations at risk of eviction. The federal government responded by allocating $46.55 billion for rent and utility payments as well as housing stability support for low-income households earning less than 80% 2 of the local AMI. The City adopted its own policies to ensure the needs of its most vulnerable tenants were met, including partnering with the County, Destination: Home, Sacred Heart, and nonprofit partners to implement a local rental assistance program and opening two EHCs.
Additionally, the Housing Department and its partners scaled outreach efforts related to rental assistance resources, placing special emphasis on those who are extremely low-income, do not have traditional rental or lease agreements, and those who are at high risk of displacement and homelessness. This assistance was offered in multiple languages, including Spanish and Vietnamese.
On June 28, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 832 3, enacting and
extending numerous protections against eviction for tenants who have been unable to pay rent debt that accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic. AB 832 includes additional requirements of local rental assistance programs and contains provisions that help streamline rental assistance payments to tenants and property owners. The bill further ensures rental assistance dollars are given to cities and counties with unmet needs and uses the judicial process to guarantee tenants and property owners have attempted to obtain rental assistance. A summary of AB 832 protections is in Attachment A.
Eviction Protections Ending March 31 and Preemption
The statewide Eviction Moratorium ended on September 30, 2021. AB 832 added additional pr
otections through March 31, 2022 for tenants still experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic related financial impacts. These protections created procedural conditions (described in Attachment A) on landlords prior to a court issuing summons in unlawful detainer actions. An unlawful detainer is the lawsuit a landlord files with the Court after a tenant fails to correct an action after being issued a three-day demand from the landlord. The unlawful detainer is the second step in the eviction process and is filed with both the City and the Court. The protections for tenants with unpaid rent between March 2020 and September 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic related financial impacts will remain in place.
2 80% Area Median Income (Low Income) in Santa Clara County for a household of four is $117,750 3 AB832: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB832
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 17, 2022
Subject: Report on Status of California’s COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act
Protection Periods
AB 832 lays out three periods during the period of March 1, 2020 to March 31, 2022 and each have different characteristics of protection. First, the period of March 1, 2020 through August 30, 2020 is defined as the “protected time period”. A tenant with unpaid rent from this first period can never be evicted based on that unpaid rent, so long as they signed and submitted a Declaration of COVID-19 Related Financial Distress to their landlord
4. The second period,
September 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021, is called the “transition time period” and has the same protection from eviction with one additional requirement. In addition to tenants having signed and submitted a Declaration of COVID-19 Related Financial Distress to their landlord, they had to pay at least 25% of the total rent due between September 1, 2020 and September 30, 2021 to ensure protection. The last period, October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022, is called the “recovery period” and tenants with unpaid rent during this time only have the procedural protections related to applying for rent relief that are discussed above. The limited procedural protections for recovery period rent debt expire March 31, 2022. Tenants cannot apply for rental assistance for April 2022 and on through the state program. After April 1, only tenants with approved rent relief applications for recovery period rent debt can seek relief from an unlawful detainer action based on nonpayment.
Figure 1: Three Periods of AB 832
Preemption
AB 832, like its predecessors AB 3088 and Senate Bill (SB) 91, continues broad sweeping limits on local eviction protections related to the COVID-19 pandemic. First, AB 832 prohibits local jurisdictions from regulating evictions that are based on rent debt accumulating between March 1, 2020 through March 31, 2022. AB 832 states that any ordinance, resolution, regulation, or administrative action, however delineated, adopted by a city, county, or city and county in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to protect tenants from eviction that occurs between August 19, 2020 and March 31, 2022, shall have no effect before April 1, 2022. In addition,
4 Landlords were required to provide a blank Declaration form to tenants with unpaid rent along with other noticing requirements.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 17, 2022
Subject: Report on Status of California’s COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act
cities may not amend their existing just cause eviction ordinances to apply to rental payments that came due between March 1, 2020, and March 31, 2022. Finally, because the legislature found that AB 832 addresses a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair, the law applies to all cities, including charter cities. Thus, while state law protections are still ongoing, local jurisdictions are unable to enact new laws to protect tenants from eviction related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Financial Rental Assistance Provided to Landlords and Tenants
O
n February 9, 2021, the City Council approved the Administration’s proposed hybrid strategy for deploying $30.38 million in federal ERA1 funds that the City of San José received directly from the U.S. Department of Treasury through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. In a second phase of rental assistance, Emergency Rental Assistance Round Two (ERA2) funding of $36.28 million
5 was allocated to the City and subsequently returned to the Department of Housing and Community Development for the City’s participation in the state rental assistance program, as approved by City Council on October 5, 2021.6 Funds allocated to the County are also available to assist San José residents. Tables 1 to 3 below summarize the ERA1 and ERA2 allocations for the state, City and County.
Table 1: Direct ERA1 Allocations
Allocated to: ERA1 Direct
City of San José $30,380,000
County of Santa Clara $27,100,000
Total: $57,480,000
Table 2: Allocations Administered through State COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program
Allocated to: ERA1 State
Reservation
ERA2 State
Reservation
ERA2 Direct
and High-Needs
Total
City of San José $33,100,000 $24,590,000 $36,277,888 $93,967,888 County of Santa Clara $29,360,000 $21,810,000 $30,062,002 $81,232,002 Total* $62,460,000 $46,400,000 $66,339,890 $175,199,890
Table 3: Total ERA1 and ERA2 Funds Allocated to City and County Allocated to: Total ERA1 + ERA2 Funds
City of San José $124,347,888
County of Santa Clara $108,332,002
Total: $232,679,890
5 $1.09 million of the allocation was accepted by the City from the Department of Housing and Community Development as a grant to fund the City’s administrative and program outreach costs. 6 Staff report October 5, 2021:
https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/77821/637689311589630000
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 17, 2022
Subject: Report on Status of California’s COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act
Local Program
To administer ERA1 direct allocation funds, the City partnered with the County, and the Homelessness Prevention System program co-led by Sacred Heart Community Service and Destination: Home. This local program, known as the Santa Clara County Homelessness Prevention System COVID-19 Response, is comprised of a network of 46 trusted community and grassroots partners to provide homelessness prevention services including rental assistance, utility assistance, outreach and case management. The local program soft-launched on May 1, 2021, publicly launched on May 19, and closed for new applications on September 7. The program is in the process of winding down and closing. As of February 18, the local program had paid 2,769 San José households a total of $29.5 million. There is approximately $11 million remaining in ERA1 funds directly allocated to the City and County that are contractually obligated with the County and Sacred Heart. Staff is in discussions with the U.S. Department of Treasury to retain these funds to use for the proposed Eviction Diversion and Settlement Program (described later in this memorandum).
State Program
For the state program, as of March 6, 2022, 15,227 San José households had completed applications requesting approximately $225 million in rental assistance. 7 The state has paid
5,136 San José households a total of $67 million in assistance. Countywide, including San José, 23,299 households had completed applications requesting approximately $330 million 8, with
$97.6 million distributed to 7,872 households.9,10 The average assistance paid to San José households is $12,403. Prior to early January 2022, an average of 150 City applications were approved per week. Though the state made improvements to the processing of applications, since early January, about 200-250 applications from city residents get approved each week, with approximately $2-$2.5 million paid to landlords weekly.
U.S. Treasury Allocations & SB 115
In November 2021, the U.S. Department of Treasury began the process of reallocating unused ERA1 funds. These unused federal funds are being recaptured and reallocated about every two months to grantees like California that have a continued demand for resources. As part of this reallocation process, California requested $1.9 billion in additional funding. In early January,
7 Conversations with the state indicate that the actual total amount requested is likely about 40% lower due to duplicate applications and matching up of Landlord-initiated and Tenant-initiated applications. This suggests an actual amount closer to $135 million.
8 Same comment as above. Actual amount likely closer to $198 million. 9 CA COVID-19 Rent Relief Program dashboard: https://housing.ca.gov/covid_rr/dashboard.html . 10 The state is in the process reallocating ERA funds to direct unused funding to California cities with the highest need, like San José. The first round of ERA funds was allocated based on a population formula rather than according to geographic areas with the highest need. The data collected since the pandemic has helped to identify areas in high need of rental support. As the identified need from some California metro areas is exceeding the funds allocated to California, the state is working with the Department of the Treasury to access more funding so as to not leave some of the nation’s highest need and most vulnerable renters without support.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 17, 2022
Subject: Report on Status of California’s COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act
California received $62 million in additional funding11 from Round 1 of the ERA1 reallocation.
On March 15, 2022, the state announced it had received an additional $136 million from the U.S.
Treasury. The reallocation process for unused ERA2 funds will not begin until April 2022.
Legislative members are urging the U.S. Treasury to expedite the ERA2 reallocation process and prioritize reallocating towards communities with the highest needs. 12 On February 10, 2022, Governor Newsom signed into law SB 115, the Budget Act of 2021. 13 This bill authorizes funds from the state’s General Fund to provide a temporary cash flow loan to the State Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) providing immediate cash to the program to maximize rental relief. This would allow the state ERAP to continue funding approved applications while the state is awaiting further reallocated ERA1 and ERA2 monies from the Treasury Department that could cover any deficit resulting from oversubscription of federal ERA funds. This state funding will only be available to fund ERAP rental assistance applications received on and before March 31, 2022.
ANALYSIS
In light of the preemption provisions of AB 832, and growing concern over whether the state can process and pay 7,22014 applications for emergency rental assistance in a timely manner, the Housing Department recommendation focus efforts on a establishing the Eviction Diversion and Settlement Program and continued legal assistance and outreach. Unlawful detainer submissions to the Rent Stabilization Program have increased significantly since the Eviction Moratorium ended and data provided by the Court indicates the number of unlawful detainer filings is increasing towards pre-pandemic numbers15. Therefore, it’s important the Housing Department’s Eviction Diversion and Settlement program focus efforts on supporting individuals who are in the court process.
S
low Processing of Applications by State Rent Relief Program
The state COVID-19 Rent Relief Program dashboard provides statistics about the overall progress of the program. However, the dashboard information does not distinguish what months’ applicants are requesting relief for, making it difficult to assess how many households could be at risk. To help staff understand the extent of the issue, the Housing Department requested data from the state that detailed applications that requested rent during the recovery
11 https://www.hcd.ca.gov/about/newsroom/docs/treasuryallocationrelease.pdf 12 https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-r eleases?id=1AD5F92B-58B0-4AEA-A769- 846EDAABF6E1
13 https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB115 14 This is the number of applications not yet approved or paid that include recovery period rent as of March 1, 2022.
Like the rent relief request amounts above, the actual number of pending applications is likely about 40% lower due to duplicate applications and matching up of Landlord-initiated and Tenant-initiated applications. 15 Basic unlawful detainer statistics provided by the Court for 2020 through March 2022 show ~200 residential unlawful detainer filings for each January and February 2020. Between September 2020 and September 2021, there were approximately 80 a month and in November and December 2021, there were 125 and 126, respectively. So far for 2022 there have been 268.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 17, 2022
Subject: Report on Status of California’s COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act
time period (October 2021 – March 2022). These applicant households would be losing protection from eviction on April 1 if their applications are not finalized and approved by the state. The data provided from the state, shows that, as of March 1, 2022 there are total of 9,028 active rent relief applications from city residents that include rent for October 2021 and on.
Table 4 below shows a breakdown of how many applications have been approved or paid and how many are in process. The state has informed staff that about 30-40% applications are duplicates or include landlord-initiated and tenant-initiated applications that have not yet been matched up. Thus, the total number of households with applications in process is likely closer to 4,500.
Table 4: San José Applications Requesting Rent for Months Between October 2021 & March 2022 (not reflective of all applications)
Application Status Number of Applications % Of Applications Application Submitted 4,180 46.30%
Application Under Review16 3,040 33.67%
Application Approved or Paid 1,808 20.03%
Grand Total 9028 100.00%
Further analysis of the application data provided by the state paints a stark picture for some of the city’s lowest income residents. Of the 9,028 active applications, more than 4 in 5 households (87.48%) are at or below 50% of the local Area Median Income for Santa Clara County. More than 66% are at or below 30% of the AMI
17 - Figure 2 below details the distribution of income
levels by local AMI brackets.
Figure 2. AMI Distribution of Household Applicants in Table 1
16 There are several stages of review and those stages are consolidated into one number here. 17 30% Area Median Income (Extremely Low Income) in Santa Clara County for a household of four is $49,700
66.17%
21.31%
5.59%
6.19% 0.74%
AMI of CSJ Households with Active Cases
30.00% AMI
50.00% AMI
60.00% AMI
80.00% AMI
Over
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 17, 2022
Subject: Report on Status of California’s COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act
With the rate of approval by the state program of only 220-250 applications a week, at best 1,000 households may receive an approval notice before April 1. Assuming the true number of applications that include recovery period rent amounts is approximately 4,500, the best-case scenario is 3,500 households at risk of eviction.
Preemption
The preemption provisions of AB 832 make it difficult to address the issue through legislation as most local jurisdictions cannot enact protections concerning COVID-19 rental debt (accrued between March 2020 and March 31, 2022). A handful of jurisdictions, like Los Angeles County and Alameda County, were not preempted because they enacted or extended their moratoria before August 19, 2020. Thus, those jurisdictions were not barred from extending their protections concerning COVID-19 rental debt. San José is in a similar situation to the City and County of San Francisco. San Francisco’s eviction moratorium was preempted by AB 832 and predecessor legislation. San Francisco is also looking to fund the rental debt of tenants with pending application whose landlords have taken steps to evict as a tool to prevent eviction and speed up payment to landlords.
Four Priority Strategies
With existing resources and staff, the Housing Department will work to prevent evictions and get landlords access to rent relief funds faster with three priority strategies. First, the Housing Department will build on the existing collaborative efforts with the County, non-profit partners and the Court and implement an Eviction Diversion and Settlement Program to address pending unlawful detainer nonpayment cases on day-of court. Second, the EHCs will continue to offer access to legal services and continue to follow up with households who receive three-day notices collected through the Rent Stabilization Program submissions. Third, the EHC will continue to outreach and engage with the rental community to evaluate what is impacting vulnerable households and connect residents to resources that will help families reach the goal of housing stability.
Strategy One: Eviction Diversion and Settlement Program
In coordination with the County, Sacred Heart and Destination: Home, the City intends to implement a program using the remaining ERA1 funds, to stop an eviction for nonpayment of rent by quickly paying back owed rent. The program would work as follows:
• To be eligible, a tenant must (a) have an unlawful detainer action filed against them for nonpayment for rent due between October 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022, (b) have a completed pending rent assistance application that includes rent between October 2021 and March 2022, and (c) be able to pay April 2022 rent OR who cannot pay April 2022 rent but need additional time to find another home.
• Landlords would have to agree to dismiss the unlawful detainer action in exchange for receiving payment of the application amount within 2 weeks.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 17, 2022
Subject: Report on Status of California’s COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act
• Both landlord and tenant would take steps to withdraw the pending application with the state, to avoid any duplication of federal funds.
• T enants and landlords would work with the day of court mediators and/or landlord and tenant attorneys to enter a stipulated settlement agreement that would be presented and approved by the judge assigned to the unlawful detainer calendar.
This intervention would be approached three ways:
1. During the unlawful detainer Court calendar when cases are heard.
2. Through a potential weekly workshop held at the Court for unlawful detainer litigants (described under strategy three below).
3. Through coordination with landlord attorneys who have filed or plan to file nonpayment actions on behalf of their clients.
The Court typically has 8-15 residential unlawful detainer actions a week on its docket Wednesday and Thursday mornings, and not all matters on the calendar are based on nonpayment of rent. The City’s rental assistance navigator would work with court mediators, attorneys, and parties to assess eligibility for this program and the funding of the pending rent application would be incorporated into the mediated settlement agreement. Staff would build on its presence in Court and work with Court bench officers and staff, court mediators and tenant and landlord attorneys, to ensure effectiveness program.
In addition to day-of court cases, the eviction diversion grant initiative proposed by the Court (described below), if awarded, could include establishing a weekly workshop for unlawful detainer litigants. The City’s Eviction Diversion and Settlement Program would be part of this collaborative workshop and potentially help settle cases before they are scheduled for trial.
The third channel for intervention is outreach to landlords who have filed unlawful detainers and tenants who contact or visit the EHC who have been served with an unlawful detainer. The Housing Department is coordinating with landlord attorneys to identify the unlawful detainer actions that the attorneys have filed or will file where this program may be suitable for resolving the underlying issues. Housing Department staff has so far engaged with two landlord attorneys who have large caseloads of pending nonpayment unlawful detainer actions and would like to work with this program. This will allow staff to contact tenants to ensure their applications are complete. Staff will notify the state of the impending eviction which will expedite the review and approval process. This will increase the chance that the application will be approved prior to the court action taking place.
It is estimated that ten cases a week would be eligible for this program through day-of court efforts, a weekly workshop, and other outreach with unlawful detainer litigants. With the average rental assistance paid out being $12,300, approximately $123,000 of unspent ERA1 funds could be paid out weekly. The City has approximately $3.5 million of unspent ERA1 funds available for this program and the County has approximately $6.5 million of unspent funds. Of the City and County unspent ERA1 funds, potentially $10 million would be available to stabilize
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 17, 2022
Subject: Report on Status of California’s COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act
at risk San José families and compensate their landlords18. This could prevent close to 900 evictions and sustain the Eviction Diversion and Settlement Program into the first quarter of 2022-2023, since U.S. Treasury funds for ERA1 must be fully expended by September 30, 2022.
The Housing Department has contacted U.S. Treasury for guidance on use of ERA1 funds for this program.
The EHC staff will turn its efforts to what they were originally trained for, reviewing and processing rent relief applications. When the EHCs were originally launched in August 2021, along with assisting residents with applying for either the local program or the state program, staff was to transition to also reviewing and processing local program applications. The EHCs were part of Santa Clara County Homelessness Prevention System COVID-19 Response community network and intended to connect residents with homelessness prevention services including rental assistance, utility assistance and case management. With no new state program applications being accepted after March 31, a small portion of staff will continue to assist residents with state applications that are still in process and a group of staff will be trained and deployed to implement the Eviction Diversion and Settlement Program. Their duties will include being at Court during the unlawful detainer calendars and potential weekly workshop, assisting parties with downloading their completed state application, reviewing, processing, and approving the applications as part of our program and helping the parties coordinate with the state to withdraw their pending rent application. Existing funding from the American Rescue Plan Fund is sufficient to staff this program through 2021-2022, with residual funding anticipated to be rebudgeted as part of the regular budget process to continue support for the EHC into 2022-2023.
Strategy Two: C ounty Support and Intervention
The County is working on a partnership with the state to obtain the names of tenants that have incomplete applications. The state will contact the tenant three times to make a request for additional information. Typically, if the tenant does not respond after the third attempt, the application is closed out. The state has agreed to provide the names and contact information to the County who will then have a team of social workers who will attempt to contact the tenants and secure the additional information.
Strategy Three: Legal Assistance and Support
Since the end of the state’s stronger eviction protections on September 30, 2021, there has been an increase in unlawful detainer filings. Staff continues to receive, process, and track notices of termination received since March 18, 2020. Table 5 summarizes preliminary data on termination notices related to nonpayment of rent and unlawful detainers:
18 Since COVID-19 rent relief programs launched in March 2021, approximately 60% of the rental assistance need in Santa Clara County has been for San José households.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 17, 2022
Subject: Report on Status of California’s COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act
Table 5: Preliminary Data Housing Department Received Regarding Nonpayment of Rent Notices and Unlawful Detainers Based in Whole or Part on Nonpayment of Rent
Mar 2020 –
Aug 2020
During Period of
City’s Eviction
Moratorium
Sept 2020 –
Sept 2021
During Period of
State’s Eviction
Moratorium
Oct 2021 –
Feb 2022
During Period of
State’s Eviction
Moratorium
Oct 2019 – Feb
2020
For Comparison
to Pre-Pandemic
Activity
Nonpayment
of Rent
Notices
2,030
5,142
5,264 3,108
Total
Unlawful
Detainers
11 168 125 335
Housing staff obtained basic unlawful detainer statistics from Santa Clara County Superior Court for 2020 through early March 2022. In January and February of 2020 there were ~200 residential unlawful detainer filings filed per month in the county. In contrast, between September 2020 and September 2021, there were approximately 80 filings a month. The number jumped to 125 in November and 126 in December 2021. Through the first week of March 2022, at least 268 residential unlawful detainers have been filed in the County this year. The Court is anticipating a significant increase after the additional procedural filing requirements expire on March 31.
Legal services are available at the EHCs in partnership with Law Foundation of Silicon Valley (Law Foundation) and Bay Area Legal Aid. The Law Foundation services include legal consultations, assistance in drafting responses to unlawful detainer complaints, advocacy and counseling related to completing or responding to a Notice of Termination of Tenancy, legal referrals to fair housing agencies, client advice/education regarding City ordinances and rent moratoriums enacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and assistance developing legal defense for small claims court. EHC legal services are available in person and remotely.
In addition to providing legal assistance at the EHCs, the following is an update on the progress of other work on legal systems to help reduce evictions:
1. Superior Court Eviction Diversion Program: Early this year, the Housing Department collaborated with the Superior Court and other unlawful detainer court stakeholders on a grant application to the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) for an eviction diversion program.
19 The program would fund a full-time position at the Court to manage a collaborative Eviction Diversion program. Building on the existing collaborative efforts, this Court position would create and coordinate a holistic weekly workshop designed to offer a spectrum of resources to all parties. Workshops would include help with ERAP and other rental assistance, social services assistance, mediation, and legal
19 https://www.ncsc.org/information-an d-resources/improving-access-to-justice/eviction-resources/eviction- diversion-initiative-grant-program
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 17, 2022
Subject: Report on Status of California’s COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act
assistance. Open to all parties, workshops would be designed to offer help to each litigant and to provide as many opportunities as possible to help parties resolve their disputes and, ideally, avoid evictions. If the workshop does not reach enough litigants, it will be transformed into a Collaborative Court model held one week before a scheduled unlawful detainer trial. Collaborative Courts typically require mandatory pre-trial conferences and on-site connections to tenant services. The goal of both the proposed Eviction Diversion Program and Housing Collaborative Courts is to maximize the likelihood that tenants facing evictions and landlords reach a settlement before trial. 20 The Court’s proposal has entered the next level of NCSC review. In mid-March, Housing Department staff will participate in a virtual “on-site” interview NCSC is holding with the Court and its grant proposal partners. Partners involved in this work include the County, Sacred Heart Community Services, Destination: Home, Court administration, and self-help staff at the Court. Partners meet weekly to discuss Collaborative Court options that could be implemented quickly even in the event the Court is not awarded the grant proposal.
2. Right to Counsel: In addition, per the City Council’s direction, staff is developing a Request for Proposal to engage a consultant to create a cost estimate for a potential Right to Counsel program in San José. Having legal counsel to represent low-income tenants going through the evictions court process is just one way to help lower-income people stay housed and healthy. However, it is a strategy that several other communities have employed and studied. Early indications are that Right to Counsel programs can be both cost-effective and effective at reducing evictions.
21 3. Legal Clinic: Finally, the Housing Department is working with Santa Clara University on a legal clinic model that would support tenants’ legal service needs. The new opportunities with the Court mean the legal clinic model could serve a crucial role in staffing a weekly workshop for unlawful detainer litigants. The Housing Department is revising the initial outline of services to reflect and integrate the collaborative efforts with the Court and community partners. The Council approved
22 the use of Measure E funds
for this program on December 7, 2021. Staff will bring forward an agreement with Santa Clara University later this summer for Council consideration and approval.
Strategy Four:
Eviction Prevention Help Centers and Outreach
For seven months, the Housing Department has operated two EHC locations for tenants to get help with rental applications – the 12th Floor of City Hall and the Franklin McKinley School
20 Note that a Housing Collaborative Court was included in Recommendation 1 of the Citywide Residential Anti - Displacement Strategy.
21 Ingrid Gould Ellen et al., “Do Lawyers Matter? Early Evidence on Eviction Patterns After the Rollout of Universal Access to Counsel in New York City,” Housing Policy Debate, vol. 31, pp. 540-561, Nov. 25, 2020, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10511482.2020.1825009 . 22 Staff report to City Council December 7, 2021:
https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=10297509&GUID=883FF69D -67 E6-40C4-AC99- 97C83CB101F2
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 17, 2022
Subject: Report on Status of California’s COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act
District facilities. At these sites, Rental Assistance Navigators help tenants submit rental assistance applications, with assistance provided in various languages including Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin, and English. Additional language assistance is also available. The centers also offer access to legal services. In addition to these two locations, City staff have coordinated with organizations across the city to host pop-up events offering information regarding the Eviction Moratorium and rental assistance application help. In the last six months, Housing Department staff participated in more than 300 pop-up and outreach events. In addition, Rental Assistance Navigators are onsite at the downtown Superior Courthouse during the unlawful detainer calendars on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
Through pop-up events and at the two permanent locations, staff has assisted over 1,400 families in applying for rental assistance. With the end of the stronger tenant protections on September 30, 2021, staff stepped up efforts to reach tenants that may continue to struggle and would benefit from further rental assistance. During this time, staff collaborated with vaccine clinics, community partners, schools, and other groups to participate in 34 pop-up clinics, presentations, and flyering efforts at resources fairs and holiday events. In addition to these outreach efforts, staff fielded over 7,500 inquiries about COVID-19 rent relief applications and tenant protection from residents in person and by phone, and regularly directed residents to available resources.
Over 64% of households were assisted in Spanish and over 5% in Vietnamese. At least 70% of the households were extremely low-income.
The Housing Department continues actively communicati ng with the public regarding tenant protections and available programs to help them keep their housing. Staff coordinates outreach and education campaigns with the County and other community partners. Shared messaging topics include: the state’s eviction protections during the COVID-19 recovery period, the Tenant Protection Ordinance, and available state rent and landlord assistance programs. Media used include social media, webinars, public service announcements, paid media, and mailers in multiple languages.
On a weekly basis, Housing Department staff sends mailed informational flyers in English, Spanish and Vietnamese to tenants of landlords that filed three-day Notices to Pay with the City as required by the Tenant Protection Ordinance. Over the past two quarters, staff sent 6,425 mailers to vulnerable tenants. The Housing Department will continue to reach out to tenants who have received notices. The EHC has also referred 39 households who identified their housing situation as severely unstable to the Homelessness Prevention System. A challenge of the current system is that none of the documents filed with the Housing Department or entered into the Rent Registry include tenant contact information such as their phone number or email address. This makes it difficult to follow-up with the tenants. Staff have created an EHC/CSJ tenant database which currently has 298 tenants who have agreed to receive information about renters' programs.
Eviction Prevention Help Center Program Transition & Addressing Ongoing Need
The Housing Department will focus on the three priority strategies over the next six to nine months, but we must also now look to the future and long-term plans for the EHC’s. In December 2021, EHC staff began conducting a follow up survey with the 813 households the
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 17, 2022
Subject: Report on Status of California’s COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act
centers assisted between August 20, 2021 and December 1, 2021. The purpose was to get a better understanding of households’ conditions since being served by the EHC, and whether their housing instability was resolved by the emergency rental assistance. The preliminary results are summarized in Attachment B.
A review of the first 312 responses indicated that the households continue to struggle financially.
More than two-thirds of households reported currently working less hours and earning less income than they were at the beginning of the pandemic. Approximately three in four households reported owing back rent, 63% of households felt their current income is not sufficient to pay upcoming rent and 78% of households described their current housing situation as either “unstable” or “severely unstable.” A majority of the responding households wanted to recertify to receive further rental assistance, however, they expressed concern that the lengthy application processing times impeded their ability to request rental assistance for additional months. Only after the initial application is approved can a tenant re-certify to request more funds.
Recertification is faster than submitting a new application because a tenant and landlord only verify or update some information.
EHC staff’s current work includes helping residents with checking the status of their application, uploading documents, printing verifications of participation and dealing with questions or tasks sent by state program case managers. The state program will prioritize processing applications if the tenant notifies them that they have received a Notice to Pay, been served with an unlawful detainer lawsuit or are facing some other threat of eviction. EHC staff assists tenants in emailing Notices to Pay or unlawful detainers to the state program to help their application get processed faster. Tenants in need of legal assistance are provided same day referral to legal aid who assists daily by phone or in-person. Tenants concerned about paying April rent or who are need of other resources are referred to the Homelessness Prevention System. Residents are encouraged to frequently check the status of their application and to visit or call if they need further support with their application.
In order for tenants to know when they should seek help, it is important for the community to understand what an unlawful detainer lawsuit looks like and how it is different from a notice of termination of tenancy and a notice to vacate (posted by the sheriff when a lockout is imminent).
The outreach and education efforts of the EHC are now focused on educating tenants, landlords and community members about what these documents look like, what they mean, what’s required and where to go to for help. The EHC is leveraging the community engagement efforts undertaken during the past seven months of outreach to establish lasting relationships with community partners. Staff is coordinating presentations and regular participation in community events. The EHC is developing materials and flyers to demonstrate the basics of the eviction process and will coordinate with the Rent Stabilization Program to include information about the Tenant Protection Ordinance and the Apartment Rental Ordinance. For eviction protections to have their intended effect, it is crucial that residents understand at least the fundamentals of those protections.
The high cost of housing and lack of affordable housing in the Bay Area was a challenge prior to the pandemic and will not be solved with one-time rental assistance. The survey illustrates that
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 17, 2022
Subject: Report on Status of California’s COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act
households will continue to struggle, even after they receive this emergency assistance.
Therefore, it is imperative that the work of the EHC’s supporting our most vulnerable households continue for at least another nine to twelve months, as the Housing Department continues to work with the state on distribution of emergency rental assistance, coordinates with the Superior Court on eviction diversion and connects households who need longer-term support with the local homelessness prevention system.
The Housing Department has initiated the process for approving changes to the spending priorities for Measure E Real Property Tax Revenue. Higher than anticipated revenue and the critical ongoing need to fund interim housing and homeless services prompted updates to the Measure E spending categories. The first public hearing was held February 15, 2022 and the second hearing is scheduled for April 12, 2022, with final City Council consideration on April 26, 2022.23 Staff is recommending changes to the percentage allocations for each Measure E category, including an increase to the proportional share and revisions to the definition of Homeless Prevention and Rental Assistance that also allows for funding the interim housing operations, in addition to the current uses. Homeless prevention and rental assistance are a crucial resource for families at risk of eviction, and the COVID-19 pandemic has further amplified that reality. Measure E is an important source for scaling the proven successful homeless prevention system. As tenant protections expire, and more households than ever before teeter between housing instability and homelessness, a focus on prevention has never been more important.
CONCLUSION
Tenant protections end March 31, 2022, and the state’s inability to quickly process rental assistance applications means thousands of households could be at risk of eviction. AB 832 pre- empts jurisdictions from enacting local eviction moratoria. Now more than ever, the Housing Department must respond with urgency and creativity to protect the most vulnerable households most at-risk of eviction and displacement. Council action authorizes staff to implement a targeted Eviction Diversion and Settlement program using the City’s existing U.S. Treasury ERA1 funds.
This program prioritizes our most vulnerable residents hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic by focusing efforts on households in process of eviction (unlawful detainer lawsuit has been initiated), working with court mediators on a settlement between landlord and tenant and quickly paying back owed rent. Finally, the Housing Department will continue to support other critical strategies of providing legal services and robust community outreach and engagement.
EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP
The Housing Department and the City Manager’s Office of Administration, Policy, and Intergovernmental Relations will continue to track legislative action around this issue, as well as the impact of the state rental assistance efforts. Future updates to the City Council regarding the
23 Staff report on proposed changes to Measure E February 15, 2022:
https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=10507662&GUID=8813E02F -0284-4D68-9221-EAB377172DE4
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 17, 2022
Subject: Report on Status of California’s COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act
Housing Department’s work protecting vulnerable households from eviction and emergency rental assistance will be made quarterly the Neighborhood Services and Education Committee and the Community and Economic Development Committee.
CLIMATE SMART SAN JOSE
The recommendation in this memorandum has no effect on Climate Smart San José energy, water, or mobility goals.
POLICY ALTERNATIVES
Alternative #1: City Council could consider enacting an urgency ordinance (requiring eight affirmative votes) limiting nonpayment of rent evictions for current rent due for tenants with pending rental assistance applications to pay their current rent. Under the City Charter, the ordinance would require a finding that this legislation is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety, and contain a statement of the facts constituting such urgency.
Pros: This could prevent evictions for tenants if they are unable to pay ongoing rent due, so long as they have applied for rental assistance that is available to pay for their current rent.
Cons: The immediate problem discussed throughout the memorandum is the risk of eviction beginning April 1 for tenants awaiting approval and payment on pending applications for rent accrued between October 2021 and March 2022. Placing protections for tenants unable to pay rent for April and forward does not protect against pre-April 2022 unpaid rent due to slow processing of state program rent relief applications. Furthermore, landlords who are already waiting for unpaid rental amounts would shoulder even more income loss.
Reason for not recommending: This alternative cannot address the unpaid rental applications for outstanding rent due between October 1- March 31, 2022. Instead, staff has identified a targeted solution through the Eviction Diversion Program to address the acute, immediate problem that tenants who have pending rental applications will be at risk of eviction for unpaid October 2021 through March 2022 rent. The City can prevent evictions by paying amounts owed to landlords by use of available ERA1 funds that will keep tenants housed by avoiding an eviction judgment.
Furthermore, significant indicators of need for additional eviction protections, high COVID-19 case rates and public health orders that impact ability to work and limit movement, are not present currently. It would be difficult to show that the measure is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and/or safety.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 17, 2022
Subject: Report on Status of California’s COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act
PUBLIC OUTREACH
The memorandum will be posted on the City’s website for the March 22, 2022 Council agenda.
COORDINATION
Preparation of this report was coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office and the City Manager’s Budget Office. Staff also coordinated with external partners include the County, Sacred Heart Community Services, Destination: Home, Superior Court, and Law Foundation.
COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION/INPUT
No commission recommendation or input is associated with this action.
FISCAL/POLICY ALIGNMENT
This action is consistent with the City’s Consolidated Plan 2020-2025, adopted by City Council t
o provide homes for very low- and extremely low-income households. It is also in alignment with the Citywide Residential Anti-Displacement Strategy goals to:
• Support equitable COVID-19 recovery and impact mitigation measures for renters and homeowners, and
• Establish new sources of funding for affordable housing and anti-displacement.
COST SUMMARY/IMPLICATIONS
Recommendations included in this memorandum rely on the use of existing contracts with County of Santa Clara and Sacred Heart Community Service for emergency rental assistance from remaining Federal ERA1 funds budgeted in the Emergency Reserve Fund. Actions will be brought forward to rebudget funding for activities continuing into 2022-2023, including existing American Rescue Plan funding to support the EHC, as part of the regular budget process. If additional funding is needed, subsequent recommendations will be brought for Council consideration based on the recommended modifications to the Measure E allocations and categories, for which the second public hearing is scheduled for April 12, 2022 and final Council consideration on April 26, 2022.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 17, 2022
Subject: Report on Status of California’s COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act
CEQA
Not a Project, File No. PP17- 008, General Procedure and Policy Making resulting in no changes to the physical environment.
/s/
JACKY MORALES-FERRAND
Director, Housing Department
The principal authors of this memorandum are Emily Hislop, Housing Policy and Planning Administrator and Ragan Henninger, Deputy Director. For questions, please contact Ragan Henninger at [email protected].
ATTACHMENT:
Attachment A: Summary of COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act and Protection Periods Attachment B: Summary of Eviction Prevention Help Center Customer Survey
ATTACHMENT A
Summary of COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act and Protections
COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act Eviction Protections
AB 832 extended protections through September 30, 2021 that were originally established under the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act of 2020 (AB 3088), and further extended under SB 91. Tenants cannot be evicted for COVID-19 rent debt (rent due between March 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021) so long as they:
• Pay at least 25% of rent due by September 30, 2021 for the period of September 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021. Tenants may do this by paying at least 25% each month, or by paying a lump sum equaling 25% of their cumulative rent owed during the time period, or by some other means; and
• Submit to their property owner a signed Declaration of COVID-19 Related Financial Distress within 15 days of receiving a notice for nonpayment of rent and blank declaration form.
These protections ended September 30, 2021. AB 832 contains further provisions preventing local jurisdictions from adopting eviction protection measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act
AB 832 contains the COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act (Recovery Act), effective through September 30, 2024. The Recovery Act applies to rent debt accumulated during the COVID-19 hardship periods, which include COVID-19 rental debt (March 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021 rent) and COVID-19 recovery period rental debt (October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 rent), if the debt accumulated during a tenancy initially established before October 1, 2021.
The Recovery Act contains three main protections:
1) Requiring that property owners provide information about the availability of rental assistance and information about how to apply when they issue a notice for nonpayment of rent;
2) Requiring property owners to apply for rental assistance and be denied (or wait twenty days without a response from the rental assistance program or without the tenant completing their portion of the application) before a Court will allow them to evict; and 3) Authorizing Courts to stay eviction proceedings and reinstate tenancies if a tenant’s application for rental assistance has been approved and payment is pending to the property owner.
First, for any notice demanding payment of rental debt during the COVID-19 recovery period (rent due between October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022), the property owner must include additional information in their notice. The notice must state:
• The time period in which the tenant may pay the amount due or deliver possession of the property shall be no shorter than three days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and other judicial holidays;
• The amount of rent demanded and the date each amount became due; • The telephone number and internet website address of the pertinent government rental assistance program; and
• Notice with specified language:
“IMPORTANT NOTICE FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA – YOU MUST TAKE ACTION TO AVOID AN EVICTION:
As part of the state’s COVID-19 relief plan, money has been set aside to help renters who have fallen behind on rent or utility payments.
If you cannot pay the amount demanded in this notice, YOU SHOULD COMPLETE A RENTAL ASSISTANCE APPLICATION IMMEDIATELY! It is free and simple to apply. Citizenship or immigration status does not matter.
DO NOT DELAY! IF YOU DO NOT COMPLETE YOUR APPLICATION FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE WITHIN 15 BUSINESS DAYS, YOUR LANDLORD
MAY BE ABLE TO SUE TO OBTAIN A COURT ORDER FOR YOUR
EVICTION.
You can start your application by calling 1-833-430-2122 or visiting http://housingiskey.com.
If the property owner does not follow the above requirements, AB 832 states that the Court can dismiss the eviction. This action can be placed in motion by the Court or by the defendant. The defendant also has the right to use in their defense any of the requirements that the property owner did not meet.
Second, between October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022, when a property owner files an unlawful detainer action, before the Court can issue a summons, the property owner must declare under penalty of perjury one of the following circumstances:
• The property owner has completed an application for government rental assistance, but the application was denied, and the property owner has a copy of the denial; or • The property owner submitted a completed application for rental assistance and a) 20 days have passed since the property owner applied or served the 3-day Notice to Pay or Quit, whichever date is later, b) the property owner has not received notice indicating the tenant has submitted a completed application, and c) the property owner has not received any communication from the tenant that the tenant has applied for rental assistance demanded from the property owner.
Additionally, before entering judgment, the Court must find that both of two circumstances are true:
1) Prior to filing the complaint, the landlord completed an application for rental assistance for the amounts demanded in the complaint; and
2) The application was denied.
Third, after judgment is entered in an eviction case, the Court can delay the sheriff’s lockout if the tenant is still residing in the property and reinstate a tenancy if all the following apply:
1) The lawsuit demanded payment of rental debt that accumulated due to COVID-19 financial hardship;
2) The tenant submits verification to the Court that a government rental assistance program has approved an application for rental assistance corresponding to part or all of the rental debt demanded in the complaint;
3) The approved payment from the rental assistance program, together with any additional payments made by the tenant, constitute full payment of the rental debt demanded in the complaint; and
4) The property owner has received the full amount of payment as demanded in the lawsuit.
EHC Outcomes Survey Preliminary Results Summary v.2/22/2022 Eviction Prevention Help Center
Outcomes Survey Summary of
Preliminary Results
Prepared by Berny Lazareno, EHC Analyst
Preface
The Eviction Prevention Help Center (EHC) Outcomes
Survey is an ongoing projec t. The project aims to survey all 813 EHC customers that submitted an E mergency
Rental Assistance (ERA) application at any of the EHC sites between 08/20/2021-12/01/2021.
To participate in the survey , customers are cont acted by phone and asked if they would like to complete the survey questionnaire.
EHC n avigators beg an contacting customers on
12/20/2021. As of 02/01 /2022, 312 surveys have been
completed (38% of total applications submitted) with a high response rate of 81%.
This report summarizes the preliminary results from our review of the 312 completed surveys.
Overview
The Eviction Prevention Help Center Outcomes Survey has three objectives:
First, for the City of San Jose Eviction P revention Help Center (EHC) to follow up with customers about the
outcomes of their ERA program application.
Second, to assess EHC customers’ ongoing need for rental assistance.
Third, to connect households with programs and
resources as needed and to develop a City of San Jose
tenant database for future communications.
Households from 47 different zip codes have completed
surveys. The five zip codes with the most completed
surveys are. These five zip codes account for 42% of all surveys completed.
Figure 1 shows the count for the top five surveyed zip codes.
Surveys were completed in four different languages:
Spanish, English, Vietnamese, and Cantonese/Mandarin.
The majority of households’ preferred language is Spanish 62%, followed by English 34%, Vietnamese 3%, and
Cantonese/Mandarin 1%.
Figure 2 shows the percentages of households’ preferred language.
18 30
33 30
22 0
5 10
15 20
25 30
35 95110 95112 95116 95127 95122
Five Most Surveyed Zip Codes
1%
34%
62%
3%
Preferred Language
Chinese/Cantonese/Mandarin
English
Spanish
Vietnamese
Page | 2
EHC Outcomes Survey Preliminary Results Summary v.2/22/2022
Initial Review and Findings
An initial review of the data provides three important
findings.
1. EHC customers continue to struggle financially.
Since a household’s finances are directly linked to their ability to pay rent, we asked customers about how the
pandemic has impacted their work hours, and income.
When asked how their household’s total work hours per
month have been impacted since the beginning of the
pandemic. 71% of households reported a decrease in
monthly work hours, 21% said monthly work hours stayed
the same, 3% reported an increase and 3% declined to
answer.
Correspondingly, when asked about their household’s
total income, 71% of households reported a decrease in income, 22% reported their income stayed the same, 4%
reported an increase and 3% declined to state.
Figure 3: Shows a near perfect correlation between a decrease in household monthly hours worked and a decrease in household income.
As a follow up question, households were asked “Do you
feel that your household has recovered financially from the negative impact of the pandemic?” 88% of
respondents answered “No ,” only 9% answer ed “Yes,”
and 3% declined to state.
Figure 4 shows 273 households out of 309 (88%) respondents do not feel they have recovered financially from the negative impact of the pandemic.
With nearly 9 out of 10 households feeling that they have not recovered financially as well as over 2/3 of households reporting both a decrease in the number of hours worked per month and a decrease in their household’s total
income it is clear that EHC customers continue to struggle financially.
Figure 5: Summarizes EHC customers economic situation since the beginning of the pandemic.
2. T here remains a significant need for rental
assistance.
To assess our customers’ ongoing need for rental
assistance we asked them about their current
housing situation, their capacity to pay rent, and if
they would like to recertify.
0.00%
20.00%
40.00%
60.00%
80.00%
Decline to
state
Decreased Increased Stayed the
same
Change in Hours Worked and
Income Since Start of the
Pandemic
Monthly Work Hours Household Income
7 273
29 0
50 100
150
200
250
300
Decline to
State
No Yes
Recovered Financially
Decline to State No Yes
88%
71% 71%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Have Not
Recovered
Financially
Decrease in Work
Hours
Decrease in
Income
EHC Customer Households
Page | 3
EHC Outcomes Survey Preliminary Results Summary v.2/22/2022
The negative financial impact the pandemic is having on households’ finances can be seen in the number of
households that owe back rent, how households describe
their current housing situation, and the number of
households that want to recertify for more rental
assistance.
Of the 311 households that responded to the question
“Do you currently owe any back rent?” 230 (74%)
responded “Yes,” 79 (25%) responded “No,” and 2 (<1%)
declined to state.
Figure 6: Shows 230 out of 311 (74%) households owe back rent.
In response to the question “Do you feel that your
household income is sufficient to pay your rent in the
upcoming month?” only 19% responded their income is
sufficient. In contrast, 63% answered their current income is not sufficient, and 15% said they “do not know” if their income is sufficient , 2% declined to answer . This means that 78% of households either don’t know if their income is sufficient or know their current income is not sufficient to pay their upcoming rent.
Figure 7: Shows that 245 out of 3 11 households (78%) do not know if their income is enough or know their income is not enough to pay their upcoming rent.
The uncertainty that households feel about their capacity to pay rent is reflected in how they describe the stability of their current housing situation.
When asked “ How would you describe your current
housing situation?” 22% responded “stable, do not worry about paying rent,” 68% responded “unstable, worry
about paying rent, must use savings, cut out buying food, or borrow money to pay for rent” and 10% answered
“severely unstable, I worry I cannot pay rent and will be forced to move from my current residence .” In
combination, 78% of househol ds describe their current
housing situation as unstable or severely unstable.
2 79
230
Decline to state
Do Not Owe Back Rent
Owe Back Rent
0 50 100 150 200 250
Number of Households That
Owe Back Rent
Decline to state
Do Not Owe Back Rent
Owe Back Rent
7 59
197
48 245
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Decline to state
Yes
No
Does Not Know
No Or Does Not Combined
Household Income Sufficient to
Pay Rent
Page | 4
EHC Outcomes Survey Preliminary Results Summary v.2/22/2022
Figure 8: Shows that more than 2 out of 3 households feel their current housing situation is unstable, and that 1 in 10 households feel their current housing situation is severely unstable The need for more rental assistance is further illustrated by the number of households that would like to recertify (request rental assistance for additional months ). Out of 292 response, 191 (66%) households want to recertify, 77 (26%) do not want to recertify, and 24 (8%) are unsure if they would like to recertify. Meaning that at least 2/3 of households would like to recertify.
Figure 9 Shows that 2 in 3 households want to request rental assistance for additional months.
According to our data nearly 3 in 4 households surveyed owe back rent, nearly 4 in 5 households either know their income is not sufficient or do not know if their income is sufficient to pay rent, nearly 4 in 5 households describe their current living situation as either unstable or severely unstable, and 2 in 3 households are seeking rental
assistance for additional months . This data clearly shows that there remains a significant need for continued rental assistance.
Figure 10 summarizes EHC customers current housing situation. 22%
68%
10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Stability of Housing
Stable- Does Not Worry About Paying Rent
Unstable-Worries about paying rent, must use
savings, cut out buying food, or borrow me to
pay rent
Severely Unstable-Worries household can not
pay rent and will be forced to move
No
26%
Not sure
8%Yes
66%
Household Wants to Recertify
No Not sure Yes
74% 78% 78%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
EHC Customer Households
Unstable or Severely Unstable Housing Situation
Income is Not Sufficient To Pay Rent or Do Not Know
Currently Owe Back Rent
Page | 5
EHC Outcomes Survey Preliminary Results Summary v.2/22/2022
3. ERA application processing times are significantly
long
To find out the outcome of households’ ERA applications we asked customers about the status of their application.
One of the more surprising findings is the amount of time that households are waiting to have their ERA applications processed and approved.
When asked if their ERA application had been approved, a majority of households, 54%, said that their application is still pending, 23% responded they do not know the status of their application, and 22% reported their application had been approved. Less than 1% reported that their
application had been denied.
A major consequence of the long processing times is that households are unable to re certify until their initial application is processed and approved.
**The preliminary results reviewed for this document did not link the application submission date to the completed survey. Therefore, it is not possible to give an exact
number for how long applications are taking to be
processed. However, the majority of surveys were
completed after 01/03/2022 by households that
submitted applications in 09/2021, and 10/2021. **
Figure 11 Shows that a majority of EHC customers' applications are still pending, and that nearly 1 in 4 households does not know the status of their application.
Outreach
The EHC Outcomes Survey is also used for outreach
purposes. As of 02/01/2022 , 32 h ouseholds that self-
identified their housing situation as “severely unstable” were referred to the Homelessness Prevention System. As well 205 of the tenants surveyed agreed to be contacted about renter protections, resources and progra ms and
have been added to the EHC Tenant Database.
Conclusion
An initial review of our survey data produced three
important findings. First, EHC customers continue to
struggle financially. According to our data more than 2/3 of households surveyed are currently working less hours and earning less income than they were at the beginning of the pandemic. Second, consequently there remains a
significant need for rental assistance. Currently,
approximately 3 in 4 households find themselves owing
back rent, 63% of households feel their current income is not sufficient to pay their upcoming rent and 78% of
households describe their current housing situation as
either “unstable” or “severely unstable.” Third, although a majority of ECH customers want to recertify, the lengthy application processing times impedes their ability to
request rental assistance for additional months.
Does Not
Know
23%
No
1%
Still
Pending
54%
Yes
22%
Rental Assistance Approved
Does Not Know No Still Pending Yes