By Public Advocates Inc. and Housing Now! 

The recall campaign is finally behind us. But for renters struggling through the 18th month of a pandemic, very little has changed. For most, rental assistance dollars haven’t arrived yet, and on September 30th, the eviction moratorium will expire. 

On election night, the Governor said “In California we say yes to diversity and inclusion.” But that vision is at risk if Black and Brown families are hit hardest when evictions restart. The Governor, with the political wind at his back, can get back to work and take a bold but necessary stand on behalf of renters by:

1. Extending the eviction moratorium and making sure AB 832 works as intended. This will give renters a chance to apply for – and receive – rental assistance dollars so they can stay in their homes. To date, only 25% of rental assistance requested has been paid out. New York recently extended its eviction moratorium; California should show similar leadership.  We also urge the governor to ensure that the state housing department complies with state law by creating an accessible online portal where tenants, landlords and courts can verify the status of rental assistance applications in real time.

2. Signing AB 1487, the Tenant Protection and Homelessness Prevention Act. This common sense bill, which had near-unanimous support in the Legislature and is currently on the Governor’s desk, would create a fund for tenants to access legal representation in eviction court and tenant’s rights information even before that. It’s no secret that many illegal evictions happened throughout the pandemic which could have been prevented if tenants had access to an attorney and education. Right now only three percent of renters have an attorney during eviction proceedings.

The Governor won the recall by a huge margin. He should capitalize on his victory by fearlessly pursuing an agenda that keeps California at the forefront of the battle for racial and economic justice and that keeps people housed.