State lawmakers are expected to present a bill on Friday that would extend a statewide eviction moratorium, but would still require tenants to pay a portion of their monthly rent.
The bill is called the “Covid-19 Tenant Relief Act of 2020,” and would bar evictions of tenants facing financial hardships related to the pandemic, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. It would last through Jan. 31.
The current moratorium bars all evictions, regardless of whether a tenant has been financially hurt by the pandemic, and requires no partial payment of rent. It has been in place since March.
Landlord groups involved in the negotiations said tenants would also have to pay 25 percent of their rent from September through January.
The existing eviction ban is set to expire on Tuesday, giving the state Senate until then to pass a measure without any gap in protections.
The state’s rulemaking body, the Judicial Council, has periodically extended the moratorium through the last few months. But earlier this month, it signaled it had no intention of extending the moratorium further, arguing that it was up to the state’s legislative and executive branches to craft a permanent solution.
The Jan. 31 expiration date gives lawmakers time to negotiate another bill through the beginning of the next legislative session.
A measure currently up for consideration, Assembly Bill 1436, would extend the moratorium until 90 days after the pandemic-related state of emergency is lifted or until April, whichever comes first. It would give mortgage holders and landlords up to a year to pay missed mortgage payments. [LADN] — Dennis Lynch