Last week CSDA sent a letter to the Governor pertaining to the federal Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program funding and special district access to to funding available for rental assistance and housing utility and home energy costs. This week, a deal was reached between the Governor, Speaker Rendon, and Pro Temp Atkins on COVID-19 on extending the residential eviction moratorium and rental assistance, including utility bill assistance for renters.
ERA Program – Budget BillsSB 91 and
AB 80 are mirror COVID-19 relief budget bills that deal with tenancy and the federal rental assistance funds. These funds statutorily have to be delivered from US treasury by today and then the grantees (counties and cities with 200,000 or greater population and the state) have until September 30, 2021 to dedicate the funds. Additionally, this funding is tied to the eviction mortarium which ends at the end of this month so lawmakers are seeking immediate action.
The agreement:
- extends the moratorium on evictions for residential rental properties through July 1, 2021
- would set up a State Rental Assistance Program to allocate $2.6 billion
- consistent with rules set forth in the federal COVID-19 relief bill, will be income based
- will allocate funds through the Department of Housing and Community Development to cities and counties, who would provide the payments directly to landlords on behalf of eligible households
- rental arrears will be the priority, but utility arrears and prospective payments for utilities are eligible to be paid as well
- per the federal legislation, applies only to residential renters; commercial tenants and homeowners do not appear to be eligible
- residential landlords will also be required to send notices to tenants who have not paid one or more rental payments due to COVID-19 - the notice will stipulate that they may qualify for rental assistance, including for utility bills.
Here is an
article that speaks to these bills and does a good job breaking it down.
The Assembly Budget Committee will hold an informational hearing on the bill on Wednesday, with a potential floor vote on Thursday for immediate budget action. The Senate likewise has hearings set for Wednesday and Thursday. The bill is slated to be fast tracked to the Governor’s desk for his signature in advance of the moratorium expiration.
CSDA staff is evaluating the proposal and working with our counterparts in sister associations to determine impacts and how to move forward cohesively in messaging. We will keep this community posted with developments as they occur.
Please contact Alyssa Silhi, the legislative representative handling this issue for CSDA, at
alyssas@csda.net with questions.