San Diego extends eviction moratorium another month

San Diego City Council voted to extended an eviction moratorium Tuesday designed to protect renters and small businesses struggling financially during COVID-19.

The council voted 8-1 to extend its previous moratorium that was set to expire May 31. It will now go until June 30.

Council members said they understood landlords are struggling too, but that renters were vulnerable to becoming homeless if kicked out of apartments soon. The moratorium is limited to people having financial difficulty related to COVID-19, such as a job loss, and are able to provide documentation.

“We are living in unprecedented times and, through no fault of their own, thousands of San Diegans are out of work,” said Councilwoman Barbara Bry.

Under the moratorium passed Tuesday, tenants provided financial relief will have until Sept. 25 to pay back any rent.

Several council members said they are hopeful for some type of program to provide direct rent relief. Democratic lawmakers in Sacramento have introduced a series of bills aimed at helping renters and landlords. One of the plans, from Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), would allow qualifying renters 10 years to pay back missed payments while the state could compensate landlords for missed rent with tax credits.

The tax credits would be transferable, meaning the property owner could sell them to an outside investor and get cash immediately.

Councilman Scott Sherman voted against the moratorium, trying to push the council to use federal funding from the CARES Act, or the Community Development Block Grant, for direct rent relief. He argued continuing the eviction moratorium would end up being putting renters in deep debt and hurt smaller landlords.

“The way the moratorium is now, the renter still owes that rent when this is done,” he said.

Most council members said they would like a rent relief program, but it would take time and they needed to act to at least extend the moratorium as the jobless rate continues to grow.

The unemployment rate in San Diego County was estimated to be around 28.2 percent as of May 2, said the San Diego Association of Governments. Low-income areas seem to be hardest hit so far with many low paying jobs unable to be performed at home.

Several groups are organizing rent strikes throughout the state, including San Diego. The intention is not to pay rent or pay it back later, although it is unclear how many people are actually participating. Local apartment groups have condemned the action because they say landlords also have bills to pay and could not financially survive without any rent payments.

Instead, apartment associations and the City Council have said they would like landlords and renters to try and come up with payment plans. At the moment, there is no law requiring landlords to allow delayed or partial payments.

There are a host of eviction moratoriums throughout San Diego County and the state. The city’s moratorium was first passed May 17 but, like many communities, have extended it as communities continue to deal with economic woes. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors also voted last week to extend it to June 30.