California leaders must halt coronavirus evictions to protect renters from homelessness
The unfolding economic crisis sparked by COVID-19’s shutdown of American society will cause an explosion of homelessness without drastic government intervention to protect renters.
That’s why it’s time for Sacramento County – and the State of California – to step in and ban evictions until further notice.
Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna has introduced a measure to temporarily halt evictions for those impacted by the coronavirus shutdowns. State Assemblymember Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, has introduced Assembly Bill 828 to halt such evictions statewide. A separate bill in the state senate would extend eviction protections to small businesses affected by the coronavirus shutdown.
Both the county and the state must act with urgency to approve eviction moratoriums.
“The logic behind the proposal is that renters will be the first to become homeless,” said Serna, whose proposal will be considered by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. “The county and the state this week issued stay at home orders. How do you expect people to comply if they don’t have a home to stay in?”
Nothing about this is simple or easy. Property owners and landlords have a right to make money, and they also have bills to pay. But we are all in this together. The coronavirus response has required shutdowns of entire industries, rendering tens of thousands of people jobless with only a day or two of notice.
By no fault of their own, many workers – many of whom are forced to live paycheck to paycheck due to low wages and rising costs – will now struggle to afford rent, food and bills. It would be downright wrong and cruel to evict these people under the current circumstances. That’s why state and local leaders around the country are weighing – or passing – eviction moratoriums. Cities like Fresno, Oakland and San Jose have already passed such measures.
Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon declared an eviction moratorium. So did Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York. Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order allowing local government to adopt such moratoriums, but this is no time for the governor to shy away from decisive action. California needs a consistent, statewide policy to address a problem affecting every part of the state.
For example, the Sacramento City Council passed an anti-eviction measure last week, but a similar effort failed in Elk Grove. Local officials, especially those in areas under the sway of President Trump and the Fox channel, cannot be trusted to do the right thing.
If the coronavirus pandemic results in a wave of evictions, it will worsen the state’s homelessness emergency and complicate efforts to slow the virus’ spread. Serna’s proposed measure, for instance, would cover unincorporated areas in Sacramento County but would not protect Elk Grove residents.
The federal government has already taken steps to protect homeowners from foreclosure, but it has done nothing to help renters. Ting’s bill would help tenants and landlords alike by establishing a process by which landlords would be repaid any missed rent. California must take steps to ensure landlords are protected and made whole, but the first priority must be to protect millions of renters from becoming homeless.
“We already had a homeless crisis before the coronavirus reached California,” said Ting. “The last thing we need is to put more people on the streets and increase community spread. We must prioritize public health right now and keep people housed.”
Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures. California’s leaders must take swift and decisive action to temporarily halt residential and commercial evictions.
This story was originally published March 21, 2020 at 1:47 PM with the headline "California leaders must halt coronavirus evictions to protect renters from homelessness."