Stop Evictions in California, Help Pass Assembly Bill 1436

By Eli Kaplan

The moratoriums on evictions in California will end soon, and renters across California who were unable to pay rent during the COVID-19 emergency will suddenly face months of back rent and the possibility of homelessness. Millions of people have lost their jobs, and with huge numbers of tenants potentially facing eviction, we need to act now to protect renters and keep people off the street.

People power at the state capitol building in Sacramento before the pandemic. The photo shows a large gathering in front of the capital in 2019. Now we must do it by telephone.

Join us in supporting AB 1436, an important piece of State housing legislation aimed at protecting renters against eviction. SURJ Bay Area’s Policy Committee is urging people to pitch in and promote this important piece of State housing legislation related to COVID-19. SURJ Bay Area is a member of the statewide Housing Now Coalition. The coalition is co-sponsoring AB1436, which will help prevent a massive tidal wave of evictions due to COVID-19. You can play a crucial role in ensuring that millions of low-income renters in California, who are disproportionately people of color (POC), are not faced with displacement and homelessness during this public health crisis.

Quick overview of the legislation:

• While there are eviction protections in place right now, they vary greatly across the state, and some are likely to end in the near future. At that point, tenants who have been unable to pay rent due to COVID-19 will be expected to pay back rent in order to avoid eviction. 
• The bill we're working on, AB1436 (COVID-19 Eviction Prevention and Housing Stability Act), would keep landlords from being able to use unpaid back rent during the COVID-19 crisis as a reason for eviction.

The importance of this legislation for racial justice:

• Racist housing policies and practices have denied Black access to homeownership and exposed Black folks to predatory mortgage lending practices that have resulted in high rates of foreclosure. As a result, Black people and other POC are far more likely to be renters, and they are also far more likely to be unable to pay rent currently due to the economic impacts of COVID. 
• When the current eviction protections end, many of these folks simply won't have the ability to produce thousands of dollars in back rent. Without action, we will be condemning over a million Californians to impending displacement, if not homelessness.
• AB 1436 helps our most impacted renters, who are disproportionately POC, transition out of emergency and into recovery.

The challenge:

• Not all state legislators see the urgency to act on this crucial piece of legislation, and they may be swayed by the opponents of this bill. We need to call on our legislators to pass AB 1436 and prevent people from being evicted for being unable to pay rent due to loss of income from COVID.

The ask:
It is crucial that legislators hear from their constituents to counter the narrative from the California Apartment Association and other opponents of AB 1436. We need to let our representatives know that passing state legislation to prevent COVID-19 related evictions is the only way we will prevent massive evictions, displacement and a homelessness crisis even worse than what we face now. Help us pass AB1436 by...

• Contacting your Assembly and Senate members to express your support using this easy form.
• Sending this blog post to 3 friends and asking them to take action as well!
  
  

Thank you for taking action for racial justice!