Eviction moratorium ending; funding available for San Mateo County renters, landlords

“Apply. Apply now,” said Bart Charlow, CEO of Samaritan House, a nonprofit helping with the application process. “There’s help, there’s help in your own language to help you get through it, you don’t need to go it alone, but you need to take the initiative.”

As of Sept. 27, 2,102 households in San Mateo County had been given just more than $30 million in rent relief, with another $43.9 million promised but not yet distributed across 5,291 applications received.

The state has allocated $45.3 million to the county for the effort, with another $26.6 million coming potentially later this year, Deputy County Manager Peggy Jensen said. And more funding could be made available in 2022. Just less than $650 million of the $5.2 billion available to the state from the federal American Rescue Plan Act has been distributed. 

Still, approximately 310,000 Californians have rental debt, totaling more than $3.5 billion, according to an August study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. 

Part of the problem has been slow disbursement of funds; another has been lack of awareness of available programs or confusion on how to apply. Also, some people who did not qualify for assistance earlier on may now be eligible as some rules have been relaxed.

“The information hasn’t caught up with enough of the public,” Charlow said. “But I have to say the slow speed of disbursement by the agency the state employed to do this has also been a problem.”

Charlow emphasized that the application process has been simplified and is less cumbersome than earlier versions. Applications can be submitted at housing.ca.gov and additional help can be sought via a number of nonprofits, including Samaritan House. Unpaid rent as far back as April 1, 2020, is eligible for reimbursement.

Additionally, undocumented residents as well as people with potentially illegal rental situations, such as not being on the lease, may qualify for assistance, Charlow said. Some cities and nonprofits have additional funding available, which may be rewarded where funding from the federal package does not apply. 

While help is available for those explicitly behind on rent, many Californians may be experiencing “shadow debt,” according to Charlow, referring to debt incurred from renters who have borrowed money or deferred payments elsewhere to pay debt. 

“The problem is, they can’t then show that they have a backlog of rent that’s due,” Charlow said. “Nothing really addresses the shadow debt really adequately yet, and this is not an uncommon situation.”

The median rent for available one-bedroom homes statewide was $1,914 as of August, and the median for the city of San Mateo was $2,300, according to a report by Zumper. 

For landlords of tenants unable to pay, the reimbursements will eventually make them whole, despite delays. Landlords can still remove tenants in certain circumstances, including health and safety concerns, if they have plans to sell the property or have family move in or for various bad behaviors. 

According to a statement from California Apartment Association CEO Tom Bannon, the moratorium has been “devastating” for some landlords who have not received rent payments necessary to pay mortgages, taxes, insurance and to perform property maintenance.

corey@smdailyjournal.com

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