In summary

Under a legislative agreement, California would extend its eviction moratorium to the end of June. Landlords would get an incentive to forgive back rent using an extra $2.6 billion from federal relief.

Legislators are prepared to extend California’s eviction moratorium to the end of June while offering landlords an incentive to forgive back rent using an extra $2.6 billion the state received from the latest federal relief bill.

An outline of the deal’s main points was obtained by CalMatters after legislators and groups representing landlords and tenants worked on a deal over the weekend. It remains unclear whether Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office has signed off on the deal.

Additional tenant protections are expected to be included in the bill’s final language.

Despite a federal eviction moratorium that runs until the end of March, legislators were working to preserve the complicated and delicate framework of California’s deal, which allowed those who have paid 25% of their rent during the pandemic to avoid eviction and owe the back rent as civil debt.

California’s original eviction moratorium ends Jan. 31, and a new deal would need to be in place before then.

The proposed moratorium extension deal also addressed one of the California Apartment Association’s major demands: A unified statewide eviction moratorium that preempts any local efforts to establish a longer moratorium.

Using $2.6 billion in federal relief as rental subsidies, the proposal would pay landlords 80% of unpaid back rent incurred between April 2020 and March 2021 if landlords agree to forgive the remaining 20% in back rent and agree not to pursue evictions.

Should landlords not agree to accept the rental relief dollars, the deal would instruct courts to reduce damages owed the landlord, assuming the tenant met the eligibility requirements.

Per federal rules, rental assistance is limited to those who make up to 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). The outline obtained Monday suggests that priority for rental relief will go to those earning less than 50% AMI.

This article is part of the California Divide, a collaboration among newsrooms examining income inequality and economic survival in California.

###

CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.