Join the Coalition!
May 29, 2020
Honorable City Council Members:
We are writing to you regarding our City’s moratorium on rental evictions that is set to expire on Sunday, May 31, 2020. We urgently ask that you extend the current moratorium to at least August 31, 2020 or better, until the end of the calendar year. We also ask that you consider extending the time frame for repayment of back rent beyond the current 120 day/ 4 month period. We further ask you to direct staff to research options to mitigate the approaching displacement “time bomb” that is likely when rents become due. Federal and state support may be part of this planning. The County has extended its moratorium until August 31, 2020. Following are further details regarding the urgency of our request.
Many of the renters in our community are not receiving their usual income because their employers are either temporarily closed or operating at a reduced level. This is especially true for food service, hotel, travel, and child- care employees. Many are currently paying rent from their savings, but at some point these savings will be exhausted. Even as the current shelter-in-place orders are lifted, the volume in these businesses, and the income of their employees, will only increase over time. It is important for the City to take steps now to prevent a massive displacement of our current residents due to eviction.
Mountain View is quite fortunate in that many of its renters employed in the tech industry are still working and able to pay rent. In addition, Social Security benefits in all forms continue to be sent to recipients, as are pensions and similar retirement benefits. As a result, overall, landlords will continue to receive rental income from many of their tenants. Those tenants who are not able to pay right now will likely be able to pay down the road. Since the City’s moratorium does include a time frame for repayment of back rent, landlords will get the funds they are due without, in most cases, having to resort to eviction. We request that the City also explore ways to support small landlords whose viability is threatened by the temporary loss of cash flow.
Effective response of the State, County, and City is taking considerable time to implement. Many in our community report that their applications for rental assistance made to CSA in April have yet to be processed. EDD continues to struggle to keep up with the staggering pace of unemployment claims; hence many in our community have not yet received funds to which they are entitled. A longer time-frame for the moratorium is thus called for.
Finally, the City staff report on this topic notes that the city’s rent relief program, administered by the Community Services Agency, "is significantly greater than the resources available.” It adds, "there is only enough funding to provide approximately 1,300 households one month of rental support.” 1,800 households have applied, and one month is not enough. Until we can find a way to close this gap, we should not be pushing people out of their homes because of a situation they could not anticipate or control. We thank you for your attention to the economic distress of many Mountain View residents, and urge you to extend the current moratorium to 8/31/2020 or later, and to extend the time frame for repayment of back rent beyond the current 4 month period.
The Mountain View Housing Justice Coalition