State lawmakers call for eviction moratorium extension

Legislators are calling on California’s rulemaking body to extend the statewide moratorium on evictions, which could be lifted within days.

Assembly and Senate Democrats want time to put together a policy that would protect millions of renters hard hit by the pandemic, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The state Judicial Council — which voted in April to stop courts from carrying out evictions — could lift the temporary ban as early as Aug. 14, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye has indicated.

Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon requested the court consider the issue no sooner than Sept. 5, the Times reported. They wrote that “speeding up the legislative process is nearly impossible,” and argued that racing to pass legislation by mid-August would preclude proper vetting of that legislation.

The September date would ensure there is no gap in tenant protections if the state passed a law addressing evictions. Experts have warned that a wave of evictions could come when the moratorium expires. UCLA recently estimated that upt to 350,000 renters in L.A. County alone could be evicted.

The Judicial Council suspended evictions and foreclosures after Gov. Newsom gave it the power to do so. In June, the Judicial Council postponed any consideration to resume evictions until mid-August. A group of landlords sued the Judicial Council over the moratorium.

Cantil-Sakauye, in remarks written this week, said it was time the legislature took up the issue. “Remedies we sought for all the affected parties are best left to the legislative and executive branches of government.” [LAT] — Dennis Lynch