Sonoma County mulls rental assistance as state Legislature approves bill to block evictions

Lawmakers are taking up a series of proposals at the local and state level this week to bolster safeguards for renters and keep people housed amid the pandemic, but housing rights advocates worry that gaps between the various measures could still leave many residents at risk of eviction.

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider a $2.4 million rental assistance program for low-income renters and landlords, part of an $8 million coronavirus relief package that aims to address the local fallout from the pandemic.

Meanwhile, in the final day of this year’s session, state legislators on Monday approved an emergency bill widely viewed as a short-term compromise and meant to forestall what some experts say is a looming wave of evictions linked to the pandemic.

Without broader, longer-term protections, many of the estimated 6,000 local households facing eviction could still be displaced, according to a recent report by the Bay Area Equity Atlas and the Santa Rosa-based North Bay Organizing Project, a housing and civil rights group.

Also, roughly 15,000 small landlords in the county, who rely on rent payments to meet mortgage obligations but could qualify for foreclosure protections, will still have to go months before they can start recovering missed checks under the set of state and local measures now in place.

“The can keeps getting kicked down the road, whether it’s the state government or local government,” said Rachel Marcus, a Sonoma County Tenants Union board member, who favored a total freeze on rent and mortgages. “There keeps being this never-ending loop of temporary protections.”

Caught in the middle are families like the Camachos in Cloverdale, who say that in a matter of weeks they could be kicked out of their house in the middle of a pandemic ‒ when public health officials are asking people to stay home as much as possible.

Ofelia Camacho Barbosa, whose parents are renting the home, said they received a “no-fault eviction” notice on Aug. 20, giving the family of seven 60 days to vacate a place where they have lived for over a year. She disputed the landlord’s justification and claimed it was a ploy to force them out.

Her father, Israel Camacho, can’t work because of a workplace injury three years ago that tore a tendon in his leg. The leg has atrophied since, making it hard to maintain any job, let alone rise back to his previous position as a farm supervisor. Her mother, Veserina Barbosa, has been experiencing debilitating pain and is awaiting hospital test results, keeping her away from her job as a housecleaner.

Both have additional medical costs ahead, Ofelia said. Being impaired for so long, accruing debt to pay bills, her father has become depressed, she said, overwhelmed by the compounding challenges they face.

“For them to kick us out, knowing my parents’ situation, knowing they have kids, knowing they have been through so much trauma already, I find it cruel,” Ofelia said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s the scary part of this.”

Under Assembly Bill 3088, which cleared the Senate and was passed by the Assembly late Monday, landlords can't evict tenants who did not pay their rent between March 1 and Aug. 31. It would also ban evictions for tenants affected by the pandemic who pay at least 25% of their rent that's due between Sept. 1 and Jan. 31.

The legislation would not forgive the missed payments, though, so renters will still owe the money. Landlords can ask a judge to order the tenant to pay, but they can't ask a judge for an eviction solely for not paying rent in full.

Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, who authored the measure, said it's the best lawmakers could do while mustering the two-thirds vote needed to make the bill take effect immediately upon the governor's signature. Newsom has given his support to the bill.

But it doesn’t account for families like the Camachos and other renters who are receiving eviction notices for different lease violations.

In March, Sonoma County banned evictions for nonpayment until 60 days after the public health emergency has ended. But supervisors chose not to strengthen that moratorium in early August, citing the pending state legislation and the burden a broader ban would place on landlords.

Any local anti-eviction ordinance that gets passed will now have to sync up with AB 3088, according to the bill.

Sonoma County officials hope they can offer some relief by scraping together a total $2.4 million for a rental assistance program that would dole out up to $6,000 for about 350 low-income families struggling to pay their bills because of the pandemic, according to a county staff report.

If approved, the move would require contracting with an organization that can manage distribution. That process could limit how quickly the dollars get to residents who need money right now.

Supervisor Susan Gorin, the board chair, was less concerned with that issue Monday and more focused on establishing a streamlined program for providing future federal relief dollars if a second round of stimulus funding arrives.

Her goal is to find an organization that can better serve an array of needs throughout the county, but no one has come forward yet.

“My concern is the need is so great in the community for rental assistance as well as for landlords, too,” Gorin said. “We need to look at a larger process. ...The board needs some help form the community to really streamline the distribution and create geographical and income equity.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story. You can reach Staff Writer Yousef Baig at 707-521-5390 or yousef.baig@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @YousefBaig.