TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND FROM: Lee Wilcox
CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT: SPRING INTERGOVERNMENTAL DATE: March 28, 2022
RELATIONS REPORT
Approved Date
03/28/22
SUPPLEMENTAL
REASON FOR SUPPLEMENTAL
This supplemental memorandum provides an update on recent pending legislation AB 2179 (Grayson and Wicks) COVID-19 Relief: Tenancy.
ANALYSIS
On March 22, 2022, the City Council directed the Administration to return to Council on April 5, 2022, with a local residential eviction moratorium urgency ordinance since certain State law protections passed under Assembly Bill 832 (2021)(AB 832) are set to expire on March 31, 2022. In June 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 832 into law. AB 832 extended the State’s Eviction Moratorium through September 30, 2021 and provided additional, more limited protections through the COVID-19 Recovery Period beginning October 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022. AB 832 ended on September 30, 2021 the 25% rent obligation “safe harbor” that was previously established, and replaced it with procedural conditions landlords were required to satisfy before the Court would issue a summons or enter a judgment in an eviction action. Those conditions required that landlords declare under penalty of perjury that they applied for rental assistance and were denied, or that they applied for rental assistance and, after twenty days, received no response from the government agency on the application’s status or from the tenant indicating they applied for rental assistance. On March 31, 2022, these limited protections are set to expire.
Vulnerable San José households continue to seek out rental assistance funds from the State’s emergency rent relief program, though most wait months for the relief to be paid out. The State program closes to new applications on March 31, 2022. Only a third of the 15,000+ rent relief applications submitted to the State program have been approved and paid out. Since the beginning of the year, 78% of residents seeking help at the Eviction Prevention Help Centers were seeking assistance checking the status of their application.
COUNCIL AGENDA: 03/29/22
FILE: 22-400
ITEM: 3.4
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 28, 2022
Subject: Spring Intergovernmental Relations Report
On March 24, 2022, Assemblymembers Grayson and Wicks introduced AB 2179, entitled “COVID 19 Relief: Tenancy.” This bill was introduced to address the eviction moratorium that will expire on March 31, 2022. The aim of this legislative action is to do the following:
• Pre-empt any local governments from passing their own COVID-19 eviction moratoria, or other protections for rent due for an additional three months (through June 30, 2022); • Prohibit a landlord from evicting a tenant for nonpayment of rent if the tenant has applied for COVID-19 emergency rental assistance dollars on or before March 31, 2022. This extension would continue through June 30, 2022 and apply to rental arrears accrued before March 31, 2022. This bill does not extend the Emergency Rental Assistance Program deadline that closes on March 31, 2022; and
• Maintain a standard for eviction protections across the State of California related to rent due from March 2020 through June 30, 2022.
Importantly, in a letter to the bill authors on March 25, 2022, the Department of Housing and Community Development requested that the eviction protections extend to July 31, 2022, rather than June 30, 2022, to provide additional time to meet the goal of processing the pending applications received by March 31, 2022.
AB 2179 will be heard in the Assembly Judiciary Committee on March 28, 2022. Assuming that it passes, it will move for full vote in the Assembly and then through the Senate Judiciary Committee and Appropriations Committee with a vote by the full Senate on March 30, 2022.
This bill has an urgency clause meaning that it will take effect immediately upon signature from the Governor and also requires two-thirds vote from the legislature to pass.
This bill is being heard on March 28, 2022 and amendments are possible throughout this process.
With this in mind, the Administration requests additional time to understand how this legislation may impact the following issues prior to returning to City Council with a local residential eviction moratorium urgency ordinance:
• How will the pre-emption language impact local ordinances on the City and County level?
• What impact could this legislation have on the most vulnerable in our community, particularly between April 1, 2022 and June 30, 2022?
• What impact could this legislation have on the scope of the Housing Department’s Eviction Diversion and Settlement Program?
/s/
LEE WILCOX
Assistant City Manager
For questions, please contact Sarah Zárate, Director, City Manager’s Office of Administration, Policy and Intergovernmental Relations at [email protected], or Ragan Henninger, Deputy Director, Housing Department at [email protected].
ASSEMBLYMEMBER TIM GRAYSON
ASSEMBLYMEMBER BUFFY WICKS
AB 2179
COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance
Summary:
AB 2179 extends the critically-needed COVID-19
emergency rental assistance program for tenants
and landlords whose applications are pending as of
March 31st, 2022, to ensure eligible applicants
receive the assistance they desperately need.
Background:
The economic fallout from the COVID-19
pandemic left California on the precipice of a
catastrophic wave of evictions and surge in
homelessness. In a monumental effort to keep
people in their homes, California launched the
California COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act and the
COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act on
March 15th, 2021. This program has been
responsible for delivering over $2.4 billion in
direct assistance to tenants and landlords, helping
more than 214,000 households pay off rental debt
incurred during the pandemic. 84% of these
households are very low- or extremely low-income
households.
Now, as the economy continues to recover and job
offerings continue to be plentiful, these pandemic-
era eviction protections are coming to an end. As
the state transitions back to pre-COVID rules and
regulations, it is essential that the thousands of
tenants and landlords whose rental assistance
applications are still pending are not left behind.
Problem:
Though the state’s rental assistance program was
groundbreaking, rollout has been slow. As the
program’s expiration date of March 31st, 2022
draws near, thousands of landlords and tenants
continue to wait for relief as their applications for
emergency rental assistance pend. Without
immediate state action, Californians in the queue
for rental relief will continue to wait for assistance.
Tenants may be evicted, despite applying and
qualifying for rental assistance that can cover
100% of the back rent they owe, and landlords will
continue to have thousands of dollars in rental
payments owed to them.
Solution:
AB 2179 will protect landlords and tenants
alike by ensuring a smooth transition back to
pre-COVID rental regulations. AB 2179 will
temporarily extend the COVID-19 recovery-
period eviction protections for landlords and
tenants who have submitted a complete
application for emergency rental assistance by
March 31st, 2022. This will maximize the
state’s investment in rental assistance by
getting every possible dollar out to tenants and
landlords to keep people in their homes. This
critically-needed measure is the next step in a
just and equitable transition back to pre-
COVID rules and regulations.
Staff Contact:
Steven Stenzler
[email protected]
916-319-2014