- kmathavongsy
David Lindsay, Common Ground: Support for rent protection - Benecia Times Herald; April 26, 2020
Updated: Sep 23, 2020
BARHII is proud to have contributed to an article published in the April 26, 2020 edition of the Benecia Times~Herald.
According to the Insight Center for Community Economic Development, 30,000 families in Solano County were one paycheck away from financial ruin before the COVID-19 crisis. The pandemic has only increased the problem for communities. This article explores the case for rent protection in the North Bay counties.
Key quotes from the article include:
“Landlords need relief, but renters and the homeless are under immediate threat to their survival. While recent state actions will prevent evictions during the emergency period and for 90 days after, there could still be a tsunami of evictions afterwards, triggering a flood of homelessness and a public health disaster. To prevent this, we should treat unpaid rent during this time like any other consumer debt, such as utility and credit card bills, and guarantee renters the opportunity for a payment plan.”
“Common Ground has been working with tenant attorneys and county staff to research and draft a common-sense county ordinance providing a 12-month grace period for repaying rent and prohibiting late fees. This ordinance, modeled after successful ordinances in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, would allow individual tenants and landlords to work out a payment schedule so families can stay in their homes, and landlords can become whole, using whatever resources and state aid become available.”
View the opinion BARHII contributed to here.