Eviction protections that California lawmakers put in place at the beginning of the pandemic, and extended several times since then, are about to expire.
On Tuesday, a group of community-based organizations held a Zoom news conference meant to highlight what they said will be a catastrophe for tens of thousands of people in just a few days.
More than $3.5 billion in rent relief payments have gone out since the protections began. But barring any last-minute action from the state (the protection goes away on July 1) leaves people like Imperial Beach resident Patricia Mendoza in a slow-building state of panic.
“Here I’m thinking, 'I’m gonna be protected, I’m gonna protect my kids under the same roof,' but then I get this, I get an unlawful detainer, but I’m doing everything I’m supposed to be doing. And that’s not right. This is not only very stressful for me, but it’s very unstable for my children … My son is going to 7th grade. He’s scared. What happens if we’re not gonna be living here?” Mendoza said through tears.
Mendoza is a member of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Action (ACCE), one of several statewide advocacy groups that filed a lawsuit against the state Department of Housing and Community Development. The suit accuses the department of administering relief in a way that is opaque, denies applicants due process upon denial and disproportionately harms tenants on the basis of race, color or national origin.
The advocacy groups are urging everyone who is in danger of losing their home to contact local and state leaders and demand they take action.
