California Democrats ask Newsom to spend $5 billion to help renters struggling in pandemic

A group of California Democrats wants Gov. Gavin Newsom to set aside billions of dollars in additional funding to help tenants keep up with their rent during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eighteen Assembly members and senators said in prepared statements that setting aside $5 billion in the state budget specifically for renters will help prevent evictions and homelessness during a public health emergency that’s already exacerbated income inequity in the Golden State.

They released their call for more funds a day before Newsom is scheduled to release his 2021-2022 budget proposal.

“People are absolutely hurting,” said Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, D-Los Angeles. “And we’ve seen the devastating effects particularly on low-income communities across the state. And we have seen the impacts across the board on all Californians, not just those who used to be considered one paycheck away from being evicted or on the streets.”

Newsom’s office this week said his budget proposal would recommend lawmakers quickly distribute $2.6 billion in funds earmarked for rental assistance that the state received from the federal government.

But Santiago said that lawmakers wanted to “aim for something high” in their bid for additional state dollars.

“Fight for as much as you can,” Santiago said. “People are desperate and they are literally going to die on the streets if we don’t act. We have to go out and fight as hard as we can to keep people with a roof over their head food on their tables.”

The governor also indicated support this week for lengthening the statewide eviction moratorium for renters who can prove pandemic-related hardship. That ban, which was enacted at the start of September, is set to expire at the end of this month.

Renters still have to pay at least a quarter of their rent total during the moratorium, beginning in September, to avoid eviction. Landlords can start collecting missed rent in civil court by March.

Assemblyman David Chiu, the San Francisco Democrat who authored AB 3088, has also introduced a bill to extend the moratorium through the end of the year, and another to establish a framework that would offer financial aid to tenants and landlords who’ve not been able to make or receive their housing payments.

Chiu said that millions of California renters were “staring down an eviction cliff” that mandated immediate action in the Legislature and by the governor to “step in to keep people housed.”

The effort has already sparked another drawn out negotiation process between tenants’ advocates and landlord groups, who must compromise on how long to extend the moratorium for and agree that any financial backing by the state is enough to alleviate accumulating debt.

But with a looming Jan. 31 deadline that will arrive amid one of the most difficult months of the pandemic, and with much of the state under stay-at-home orders that have shuttered businesses and pushed more Californians off payrolls, Democrats said bold economic decisions are needed.

“We are seeing waves of evictions and increasing homelessness, we are seeing people choosing between feeding their families and remaining in their homes, and we are seeing people get sick and die because they are cramming into overcrowded housing since it’s all they can afford,” Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, said in a statement. “The state needs to step in and help end this crisis.”

This story was originally published January 7, 2021 at 5:31 PM with the headline "California Democrats ask Newsom to spend $5 billion to help renters struggling in pandemic."