By Noah Zucker
article from THE US SUN
A PANDEMIC-era eviction protection has expired in one major US city, and now many residents fear they could soon be homeless.
Julia Orozco, a street vendor, is one of many tenants facing the heat in Los Angeles, where the eviction moratorium expired at the start of this month.
“It affects me a lot because my daughter asks me every day if we are going to sleep at home or if we are going to sleep on the street,” she told LAistat a rally last month.
“It’s going to lead to a wave of massive evictions. It’s going to lead to a wave of massive homelessness,” said renter Cesar Alvarez, who was facing $18,000 worth of rental debt at the end of last month.
“If you think it’s bad now just give it three more months.”
Renters are now expected to repay any debt rental debt accrued during the first 18 months of the pandemic, from March 2020 to September 2021.
If they don’t make the payments, landlords can begin eviction proceedings.
A similar deadline for debt accrued between October 2021 and January 2023 will expire on February 1, 2024.
“I’m very, very worried that this is going to contribute to the inflow of people on our streets,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said before the deadline passed.
“Though I was completely expecting it.”
The city government is considering a measure that would provide $18.4million for short-term rental assistance and another and another $23million for eviction defense and prevention programs, Patch reported.
This money would be sourced from a proposed $58.1million “mansion tax.”
The legislation would levy a 4percent fee on the sale of any homes in Los Angeles worth more than $5million and a 5.5percent tax on the sale of any homes worth more than $10million.
But in the meantime, Bass has sent out a letter encouraging tenants facing eviction to reach out to the Los Angeles Housing Department and another city organization called Stay Housed LA.