Gov. Newsom has signed into law SB 91, a bill that provides financial assistance to qualifying housing providers and tenants of up to 80 percent of the unpaid rent accrued since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID relief legislation passed by Congress with bipartisan support and signed into law in December set aside $25 billion for direct financial relief to rental property providers through the states. SB 91 establishes the rules for distributing those funds in California based on the framework established by the federal stimulus bill. C.A.R. worked closely with California Members of Congress to ensure that direct assistance to rental property owners was included in the overall legislation.

Additionally, SB 91 extends the current statewide eviction moratorium law until June 30, 2021. The state eviction moratorium parallels the federal eviction moratorium initiated in September 2020, recently extended through March and which will likely be extended further by Congress.  C.A.R. anticipates that the passage of SB 91 will prevent other, more restrictive state moratorium proposals from moving forward, including AB 15 (Chiu), which C.A.R. opposes. 

Source: California Association of Realtors