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California extends eviction protection for renters

Tiles put together with the words "Debt Relief". Plain yellow background.
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Flickr / Creative Commons
Tiles put together with the words "Debt Relief". Plain yellow background.

San Jose residents are not the only ones struggling with rent debt. According to the National Equity Atlas, over 740,000 California households have applied for rental debt assistance and are waiting months to receive aid.

Recently, California passed legislation to protect California renters from evictions until June 30th. There are a few catches. This protection only helps renters who applied for financial assistance before March 31st of this year. Also, it only protects them from being evicted for rent owed during the first two years of the pandemic, which means people can still get evicted for not paying rent in April or in the future.

Many advocates fear that this rental assistance is coming too late, and some are nervous about an impending tsunami of evictions. More than 10,000 San Jose renters are still waiting for rent-relief money from their rent relief applications to the state. A majority of these families are low-income.

Legal aid groups are rushing to help San Jose renters. The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley is urging residents to pay their April rent, document all conversations with landlords, and to seek assistance if they receive eviction notices.