California Assemblymember Sean Chiu has introduced a new bill, AB 15, to extend the no-eviction protections for tenants. The bill is expected to speed through the California Legislature when it reconvenes in January in time for the existing tenant protections to take effect before they expire.
AB15 is not yet on the agenda. The bill must pass through committees and the full Assembly when the Assembly reconvenes on January 11, and then be signed by Governor Gavin Newsom before it can take effect. There will be only about three weeks between the resumption of the session and January 31, when the tenant protection order expires.
AB15, known as the COVID-19 relief: tenancy: Tenant Stabilization Act of 2021, has been co-sponsored by several members of the California House and Senate.
In response, BAHN, a small landlord advocacy group, launched a drive-by demonstration last Friday to protest the legislation. About dozens of people drove with sirens blaring to participate in the demonstration.
Under the new protection order, tenants will be protected from eviction by paying 25% of their rent temporarily until 2022. Landlord group representative Pan Dan expressed concern that the extension of the protection order would lead to a continued reduction in rent for landlords, adding to the financial burden of landlords who also have to pay taxes and mortgages but are not protected by the policy, which she believes is unfair. She urged Khoo to listen to the voices of landlords and small landlords.
The Alliance for Secure Tenure has also staged a demonstration against Mr. Yew’s legislation near his apartment address in San Francisco.
Before the demonstration, Mr. Hew held a press conference and said that the initial legislation to protect tenants until January 31 was only in anticipation of the epidemic. But now it is clear that the epidemic will not end on January 31, which is why the legislation will extend the protection order so that residents can stay in their homes and reduce the risk of virus transmission. Many officials and community representatives attended the press conference, including State Assemblyman Scott Wiener, City Councilman Aaron Peskin, newly elected State Assemblyman Lee Tien-Ming from the South Bay district, and San Francisco City Councilman-designate Sherman Chen, all of whom supported Khoo’s legislation.
Under today’s circumstances, the tenant protection order would expire in February 2021, meaning that tenants would have to pay their rent on time every month or the landlord could force an eviction. After the extension of the ban, the practice of paying 25 percent of the rent could continue until the end of 2021. If the tenant is unable to pay even 25%, the landlord could begin evicting the tenant on that basis in January 2022. The bill never has a “rent reduction”, the total amount of rent owed is to be paid, but the tenant can pay 25% first and then pay it off later.
In addition, Mr. Hew has also introduced AB16, a bill to discuss rent assistance for landlords and tenants. However, the details of the bill are still pending federal funding.
Numerous officials and community representatives supported the AB15 and AB16 legislation.
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