Gavin Newsom has a deal on a California eviction ban. Here’s what you need to know

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday said his administration struck a deal to protect renters from eviction during the coronavirus outbreak, but it’s leaving some tenant advocates disappointed.

The agreement is urgent because the state’s coronavirus eviction ban expires Sept. 1, and eviction proceedings could begin as early as Wednesday if the pact isn’t signed. As many as 4 million Californians are believed to be at risk of eviction because of unpaid rent.

The legislation, Assembly Bill 3088, would allow any renters experiencing COVID-19-related financial distress some relief, including:

▪ Tenants do not have to immediately repay rent they missed between March and August, although landlords will be able to sue them to recover the money beginning in March 2021.

▪ Tenants must pay 25% of their rent from Sept. 1 through Jan. 31 to be protected from eviction. Landlords will be able to sue tenants in civil court to obtain unpaid rent. Come Feb. 1, those guardrails expire and tenants would have to start making full payments.

▪ If renters can’t pay the 25% moving forward, they can be evicted starting Feb. 1.

For high-income renters seeking the assistance, they’ll have to, under penalty of perjury, submit a form declaring financial distress. Landlords can still evict tenants who create disturbances or refuse to provide rent but have the finances to make the payments.

“We did land on an agreement on evictions,” Newsom said during a press conference, though the governor declined to give details on the negotiations before the final version of the legislation was available. “Broad strokes, we were able to accommodate each other’s points of view. Not everybody is pleased with every detail, that’s the nature of negotiation. But we did get an eviction deal done. And I look forward to signing it very, very shortly.”

Representatives for landlords said on Friday they were pleased with the agreement.

“We applaud the Legislature and governor for advancing legislation with protections for tenants truly harmed by COVID, while ensuring that owners can evict nuisance tenants and residents who can afford to pay rent but choose to game the system instead,” Tom Bannon, CEO of the California Apartment Association said in a press release. “We will continue to work on proposals to help housing providers recoup lost rent in the near term. More must be done to help our mom-and-pop landlords.”

The measure does not protect homeowners from foreclosure. It says banks must explain any decision they make rejecting requests from homeowners to pause mortgage payments.

The new bill disappointed housing activists, who’ve urged Newsom and the Legislature to pass the strongest security measures for the millions at risk of losing their shelter, many of them low-income and already paying more than a third of their income on rent.

“Newsom’s deal does nothing to protect renters from unscrupulous landlords like mine from attempting to evict people for (unscrupulous) reasons,” Patricia Mendoza, a San Diego renter and Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment member said in a press statement. “This is not the courageous leadership we need during these unprecedented times. Gov. Newsom has the power to do more, and he must do more for the people of California.”

Until the deal was announced, the only coronavirus renter protection bill moving forward in the Legislature was one carried by Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco. It would have prohibited evictions until April 1 and given tenants a year to make up unpaid rent.

“There is much more I wanted to see in this bill, much more that I fought for during the negotiations, and much more needed to truly protect renters in California. But, through the course of negotiations,it became clear that the choice was not between this proposal and a stronger one. The choice was between this proposal and nothing,” Chiu said.

“Given that reality, it is imperative that AB 3088 is passed and signed into law before the courts resume hearing all eviction cases on September 2. The consequences of not doing so are too dire to comprehend,” he said.

This story was originally published August 28, 2020 at 2:48 PM with the headline "Gavin Newsom has a deal on a California eviction ban. Here’s what you need to know."