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Friend --
As a single mother of two and a
renter that lost my job and income at the beginning of the pandemic, I
have faced constant harassment and eviction threats from my landlord.
Then ACCE and other groups got Governor Newsom to pass the Tenant
Protection Act (SB 91) in January to provide rent relief and eviction
protections, and at first I was optimistically relieved.
But then my landlord came knocking on my
door.
Despite the fact that my landlord
could get a whopping 80% of all rent debt owed to them paid for by SB
91 funds if they chose to waive the remaining 20%, my
landlord made it clear they had no intent of applying for those funds
and instead gave me a notice to vacate.
After a year of sleepless nights,
stress and anxiety - the least our elected leaders can do to support
struggling renters is ensure that our relief is not left to the mercy
of our landlords!
No
renter should be left behind during this pandemic - click to urge
Governor Newsom and state leadership to close the loopholes on SB 91
for a debt free recovery!
I am not alone. There are thousands of others who are
desperate for relief but are falling through the cracks of Newsom’s SB
91 bill - and 80% of tenants
at risk of eviction right now are people of color [1]. A program that
allows unscrupulous or racist landlords to opt out is a giant loophole
that means more families, disproportionately Black and Brown, will be
pushed out of our homes and into homelessness.
Click
here to urge your legislators to get this right - act now to prevent
evictions!
There are many good and fair
landlords. Unfortunately, there are also many landlords like mine who
show a total disregard for their tenants, and sometimes want to push
them out. They may want to slap on some paint and double the rent,
leave their property vacant, or just evict a tenant they happen not to
like. Consumer and fair housing protections exist for a reason - abuse
and discrimination are rampant.
Relief for renters cannot be
optional.
Urge
your legislators to close the loophole on rent relief and pass
immediate eviction protections!
In solidarity,
Patricia Mendoza
ACCE Action
http://www.acceaction.org/
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