California Lt. gov. Eleni Kounalakis made national news on Thursday by becoming the first woman in history to sign a state measure into law. The bill she ratified, Assembly Bill 2179, extends statewide eviction protections through June for renters who have applied for a state relief program – protections that would have expired this past Thursday had action not been taken.

Feel good story? Unfortunately, no.

Seemingly lost (arguably by design) in the national fanfare over Kounalakis’ historic first is the fact that the bill she signed contained a poison pill. Embedded in its text is a preemption clause that prevents jurisdictions like San Francisco from enforcing their own local eviction moratoriums, while allowing moratoriums in some places – like Los Angeles — to survive.

“There is no policy rationale for overriding local eviction protections in San Francisco, etc., while allowing other cities to protect their renters,” State Sen. Scott Wiener D-San Francisco and Assembly Member Phil Ting D-San Francisco, both of whom voted against the bill, said in a joint statement this week. “We shouldn’t be playing favorites by allowing some cities to protect their renters while prohibiting other cities from doing so. Cities must have the ability to protect their residents from eviction and homelessness.”

San Francisco is a city known for its political excesses. Trying to help its residents from being tossed into the street amid a deadly pandemic that continues to cause chaos in the global economy, however, isn’t one of them. And arbitrarily stripping the city of its ability to do so reeks of an ugly backroom deal.

Data compiled by The Chronicle show that nearly 21,500 households in San Francisco County were behind on rent as of February. Collectively, these households owe nearly $199 million.

More than $5 billion in federal funds has been made available to make the households whose back rent stems from COVID — and the landlords they owe — whole. But the state rental relief program charged with distributing most of these funds has been clouded by bureaucratic failures. Upwards of a year after California began accepting applications, not even half of the more than 507,000 households who have applied for the program have received aid. Those numbers don’t include more recent applications sitting on desks, waiting for the machinery behind this program to process them.

This is why flexible local eviction moratoriums remain so essential. And yet California didn’t just eliminate the ability of places like San Francisco to protect its residents, it cut off new relief applications as of March 31 – even as it actively pursues funding sources to expand the program’s pot. The state requested an additional $1.9 billion in federal funds last November, money that it is still seeking. And legislators recently passed a law to streamline the relief process to make it easier to quality.

It still wasn’t easy enough. In the wake of the bill’s signing, many lawmakers expressed concern that non-English speakers and some other groups had struggled to navigate the process and had been left behind.

We urge these and other lawmakers to take stock of the system’s failures and aggressively move to remedy them — before a wave of evictions swells the ranks of the state’s homeless population.

It’s not as if California lacks the capability to put money in people’s pockets in a hurry. gov. Newsom is lobbying for an $11 billion rebate that would give $400 debit cards to car owners — including electric vehicle owners — to combat the rising costs of gas. Payments could conceivably go out as soon as July. That Tesla owners could see direct relief from a momentary gas price hike, as thousands of struggling renters are thrown out of their homes due to bureaucratic bungling, is an injustice that can’t be allowed to occur.

Landlords are right to insist that tenants can’t be allowed to forgo rent payments in perpetuity. Blanket eviction moratoriums have to end eventually. The quickest and most ethical way to get to this place, however, is for California to more efficiently use the massive pot of funds at its disposal to make those with COVID debt whole. If we’re prepared to clear the way to put cash in the pockets of Tesla owners, we can do the same for those at risk of eviction and homelessness.

This commentary is from The Chronicle’s editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.

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New York City has dethroned San Francisco as the most expensive city for renters, according to a report by real estate portal Zumper. SFGATE spoke to Zumper data journalist Jeff Andrews to understand why the City by the Bay is leaving New York behind, albeit slightly. He believes it has something to do with the high cost of living in San Francisco.

The average price for a one-bedroom apartment in New York is currently $ 2,950, only $ 150 more than San Francisco, according to Zumper’s monthly rental report.

New York has only declined 3% since March 2020, when the US was locked down due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which sees tenants fleeing major coastal cities to suburbs in search of more space and lower costs. By comparison, rents in San Francisco have fallen 20% since March 2020.

While researchers debunked the myth of statewide emigration in California, data shows that people left San Francisco during the pandemic and rents had to drop to meet lower demand.

Andrews suspects that San Francisco was first above New York between 2005 and 2008. During the financial crisis, its rents rose steadily above those of New York. Andrews said early pandemic migration consists mostly of “rich people” who could “pack on a dime” and leave. The middle and lower classes followed, with many leaving San Francisco and New York in the summer and fall of 2020.

One theory is that the predominance of the tech sector, which generally allows people to work remotely, is responsible for lower rents in San Francisco. However, Andrews found that the difference in office occupancy between New York and San Francisco was “negligibly higher,” debunking this theory.

“It’s not that the San Francisco and New York offices didn’t reopen, and that’s what made everyone come back,” he said. “Personally, I don’t think that’s the reason.”

New York, Andrews said, has generally recovered from the peak of the pandemic, which has allowed people living in cheaper areas like Brooklyn to rent their “dream homes” in more expensive neighborhoods at lower prices.

In San Francisco, rents were already so high that the 20% decline leveled rents and brought them back down, Andrews said.

“In New York there was a price incentive to come back. In San Francisco it really wasn’t just because it was so much more expensive even at the start of the pandemic,” said Andrews. “I mean, it’s still very expensive.”

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While Californian companies like Tesla and Oracle are giving up Silicon Valley in favor of central Texas, Texans more than Californians are driving the rental market.

AUSTIN, Texas – The largest source of potential tenants for Austin’s booming rental market comes from Houston, according to newly released data from Apartment List.

While Californian companies like Tesla and Oracle are giving up Silicon Valley in favor of Central Texas, Californians and people from other states aren’t high on the list.

According to the data, Houstoners accounted for a fifth of all Austin apartment searches from July 1 to September 30, followed by Dallas supporters at 12% and San Antonians at just under 10%.

San Francisco and San Jose accounted for about 2% of Austin apartment searches, while Los Angeles accounted for about the same percentage.

Data from Realtor.com showed that Travis County’s rental prices hit an average of $ 1,695 in September, higher year-over-year growth than any other tech hub including Boston, Chicago, Denver and Seattle. But the average Austin rental price was still cheaper than the other 10 locations, and well below the $ 3,450 price in San Francisco.

Austin property prices continue to rise as professional transplants choose to buy rather than rent. A report from Texas Realtors for the third quarter showed the average home price to be up to $ 465,000, up nearly 33% year over year.

The apartment list data also showed that Austinites looking to rent elsewhere are looking to San Antonio, with about 30% looking for apartments there, compared with 5% looking to Houston. Dallas residents now make up 14% of searchers in the Houston area, up from 8% last quarter.

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As rental prices continue to rise, many tenants are looking for new cities to move to.

Remote working life, price volatility, and COVID-19 restrictions mean more renters pick up and leave when looking for more affordable accommodations, according to Apartment List’s quarterly data Tenant Migration Report. And some of the hottest tech cities like San Jose, CA, Raleigh, NC, and Austin, TX, in Silicon Valley, have some of the biggest sales as renters drive in and out of these areas.

Almost 40% of tenants who searched for apartments on the website searched in a different metropolitan area than their current location. And 26% looked in another state.

The report was based on rental inquiries on the apartment listing between July 1 and September 30. Subways include the capital and surrounding cities, suburbs, and smaller towns.

“We are definitely seeing the flexibilization effect of remote work,” says Rob Warnock, Senior Research Associate at Apartment List. “The pandemic has really shifted people’s priorities and what they want from their housing, and affordability has become a scarce commodity. People are rethinking where they want to be tenants, what suits their personal lifestyle and economic situation. “

In fact, urban rents rose dramatically across the country in 2021. At the national level, median rents have risen by more than 16% since January. In some hot cities, the increase was more than double.

‘Revolving Door’ Rental Markets

Some of the largest renters are moving in and out of technology hotspots where many residents can work remotely. Raleigh and San Jose in particular had the highest numbers (more than 50%) of renters moving to and from the cities. Austin also has a high turnover.

“These cities are in a technology-friendly part of the country where we know remote work is the most common. Some people will take advantage of it, while others say, ‘This is my chance to move to a city and do something that used to be unaffordable,’ ”says Warnock.

There are now fewer than half a dozen cities where rental prices are even lower than they were before the pandemic. Two of the most expensive places in the country, San Francisco and San Jose, are among the regions that technically still have a discount, according to Apartment List estimates.

But that doesn’t mean there are a lot of bargains out there. In San Francisco, the median rental price for a one-bedroom apartment was $ 3,300, while in San Jose it was $ 2,809, according to Apartment List.

Florida is still a hot spot for New Yorkers

New Yorkers are still hot for Florida, with its warm weather and no income tax. About 14% of New York renters were looking for apartments in the Sunshine State. And 10% hunted in cheaper Pennsylvania and another 10% searched other parts of New York state. About 7% looked at California real estate.

Miami is the # 1 city for New York renters, with 6.1% of searches leaving the Big Apple. The Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville, Florida subways are other areas New Yorkers are looking for housing.

As New Yorkers continue to plant new roots in Florida, there is also an influx of new renters from California, says Rose Kemp, an Orlando-based real estate agent with Re / Max Town Center. She also noted that the “snowbird” trend of older renters leaving the northern states in winter for warm weather continues.

“We get people from all over the place, and even more so from new places like California. That has never happened before, ”she says. “We’re seeing more and more people from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania leaving cold-weather states. We cannot build homes fast enough. Our inventory is small and the rentals are hot and in demand. “

Emigrated from California

Most renters planning to move to another city are from California, according to the Apartment List report. Golden State renters have their sights set on Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Texas. In Nevada in particular, more than half of all apartment searches came from people living in California because there is a cheaper alternative nearby.

More California renters appear increasingly affected by the state’s progressive policies and potentially its COVID-19 restrictions, the report suggests. California’s net population suffered a record slump in 2020 when it lost more than 182,000 residents in the wake of COVID-19, according to the Associated press.

High government taxes could also be a reason for emigration. The median sales price of a single family home in California rose 23.9% in March to $ 758,990, the company said AP.

“The way that state governments and local leaders run cities and states has a huge impact on whether they want to stay or not,” says Kemp.

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SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco supervisor Rafael Mandelman proposed an ordinance Tuesday that would prohibit landlords from violating leases by depriving tenants of amenities such as storage, parking, bike storage or laundry.

The proposed regulation would require landlords to provide a just cause for the removal of existing facilities, Mandelman said, and would effectively extend the same remedies that apply to unlawful evictions to cases of illegal removal of housing services.

Mandelman said landlords removed such services when converting garages and common spaces into new rental units known as additional housing units, or ADUs.

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He said he drafted the ordinance after hearing an increase in such cases over the past few months reported to his office by tenants in District 8.

“Adding a new unit or two or more to existing buildings can be a great way to increase the number of homes in our neighborhoods, but adding new homes shouldn’t come at the expense of current tenants,” he said. “It’s not okay to take away storage rooms, parking lots, bike rooms, or laundry that people have relied on for years and that have the right to continue to enjoy being part of their home.”

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Mandelman said his office reached out to the San Francisco Housing Rights Committee – a tenant rights organization – which was aware of similar cases in at least 10 other residential buildings in the San Francisco area.

“Landlords should build ADUs to create new rent-controlled homes, not to remove contracted housing services from existing tenants,” said Brad Hirn, a senior organizer of the group. “The problem becomes even more troubling when we see some of SF’s largest real estate investment firms using ADUs to segregate services and exacerbate long-term renters displacement.”

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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) – San Francisco supervisor Rafael Mandelman proposed an ordinance on Tuesday that would prohibit landlords from breaking leases by depriving tenants of amenities such as storage, parking, bike storage or laundry.

The proposed regulation would require landlords to provide a just cause for the removal of existing facilities, Mandelman said, and would effectively extend the same remedies that apply to unlawful evictions to cases of illegal removal of housing services.

Mandelman said landlords removed such services when converting garages and common spaces into new rental units known as additional housing units, or ADUs.

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He said he drafted the ordinance after hearing an increase in such cases over the past few months reported to his office by tenants in District 8.

“Adding one or two or more new units to existing buildings can be a great way to increase the number of homes in our neighborhoods, but adding new homes shouldn’t come at the expense of current tenants,” Mandelman said. “It’s not okay to take away storage rooms, parking lots, bike rooms or laundry that people have relied on for years and that have the right to continue to enjoy being part of their home.”

Mandelman said his office reached out to the San Francisco Housing Rights Committee – a tenant rights organization – which was aware of similar cases in at least 10 other residential buildings in the San Francisco area.

“Landlords should build ADUs to create new rent-controlled apartments, not to remove contracted housing services from existing tenants,” said Brad Hirn, a senior organizer of the group. “The problem becomes even more troubling when we see some of SF’s largest real estate investment firms using ADUs to segregate services and exacerbate long-term renters displacement.”

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San Franciscans can avoid the evacuation cliff looming ahead of other California renters if the expanded protection that Supervisor Dean Preston is proposing this week gets approval from the larger board of directors.

Under current law, tenants who have been financially affected by the pandemic are only allowed to pay a quarter of their rent and do not have to be evicted. However, this benefit expires on June 30th. With little appetite at the state level to expand protection under Senate Act 91, tenants and lawyers have been waiting eagerly for what has become known as the “eviction cliff” as the rent relief has still reached many needy people.

Under the laws introduced by Preston on Tuesday and announced on Wednesday, tenants in San Francisco could continue to pay 25 percent of their rent through the end of the year. The impending expiry of SB 91 means that local jurisdictions are again free to take their own eviction moratorium measures.

While Preston is not taking his passage for granted, Mayor London has ordered and extended Breed moratoriums on emergency clearing, while the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed laws based on those orders. On Tuesday, the supervisory authorities unanimously approved an extension of the evictions through no fault, as resulted from the move in and the renovation of owners, until September.

“People are still struggling with the pandemic and are only just finding their booth,” Preston told the examiner. “This is quite a big endeavor to get all of those funds out quickly. The last thing we need is that pressure on all evictions that take place while this is being sorted out. “

The legislation would give tenants more time to stay in their homes while rent relief is slowly distributed to landlords while maintaining public health, Preston said. One version of the legislation is an emergency law that can only last 60 days and one that is implemented through the standard board process and allows protection until December 31st.

In the first six months after the coronavirus shutdown alone, tenants in San Francisco have amassed an estimated $ 81 million to $ 196 million in unpaid rents, according to an October report by Budget and Legislative Analyst. The process for tenants to obtain rent relief from the state has been criticized as being slow, cumbersome and full of obstacles.

Elena Cruz, who has been unemployed since March, applied for relief under the state program but received no notifications about it. This week, she received a letter from her landlord saying she must move immediately to pay $ 18,000 in rent back or vacate her 18-year-old home, said Maria Jandres, organizer of the San Francisco Housing Rights Committee in the southeast.

“She has a lot of trauma,” said Jandres, translating from Spanish for Cruz. “We have already received these communications and will be in May. We really, really need to do something to make sure the Franciscans stay in their homes. “

Breed announced Monday that San Francisco’s emergency rental program will begin accepting applications starting Friday. The Mayor’s Housing and Community Development Office will be able to distribute a portion of $ 90 million received through government assistance to needy renters, but has a little over a month through June 30.

“This has been a year of challenges that we have not faced before and the economic consequences of the pandemic have been devastating for so many companies and employees,” Breed said in a statement. “This rent relief is critical to helping tenants and small home owners get back on their feet as we continue our economic recovery. It is absolutely vital that we keep people in their homes and this funding will help make that happen. “

Tenants who can provide evidence of financial difficulties can apply for three months ‘rent back and six months’ rent via sf.gov/renthelp.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been incredibly difficult for vulnerable renters and home owners struggling with missed rents and deferred mortgages,” said Charley Goss, manager of government and community affairs for the San Francisco Apartment Association. “Now that local rental assistance is available, it is vital that housing providers and their tenants in underserved communities can quickly and easily access and navigate the program.”

However, a political battle for additional rent relief has arisen. Proposal I, a property sales tax of more than $ 10 million, which was passed by voters in November, was used as rental aid and affordable housing. Approximately $ 10 million from the revenue has been approved for rent relief, with another additional budget pending approval.

Prop. I has raised $ 58.5 million since it went into effect in January, according to the Controller’s Office. While viewed as a very volatile source of income, it is expected to soar $ 800 million with the high profile sale of PG & E’s downtown headquarters.

Tenants and lawyers have asked Breed to use the funds as intended for the coming financial year. It has claimed that it would not approve any additional allocations until its budget is launched on June 1st.

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CONCORD (KPIX) – Contra Costa County’s housing lawyers warn property owners are using loopholes in the state’s eviction moratorium to force tenants out of their homes.

“It’s a myth that there is full protection and that there are no evictions,” says Kristi Laughlin, who works for the charitable path to living.

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The organization held a march and rally in support of Manuel Caballero and his family, who moved out of their Concord apartment on Friday evening.

“It’s very hard. My kids cried yesterday because we were moving. They said where are my clothes? Where are my stuff?” says Caballero, who worked as a wedding and event photographer until the pandemic.

Caballero says when his photo business dried up, he slipped back on his rent in August last year. He and his wife have four children between 12 and four months.

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The state’s eviction moratorium should have protected him from being forced out of his home for not paying rent. State lawmakers drafted the eviction moratorium to protect tenants from the financial consequences of the pandemic.

However, Caballero said the owners of his apartment had told him they were removing the property from the rental market, essentially depriving him of the protection of the state moratorium.

A lawyer representing the owners tells KPIX 5 that its clients have negotiated a settlement in which Caballero and his family agreed to leave the apartment by April 30th. The attorney says his clients are small mom and pop owners and Caballero’s inability to pay his rent jeopardizes their ability to pay their mortgage.

Caballero says he hasn’t found a new apartment for his family. Housing lawyers have raised money to temporarily stay in a hotel room.

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“You grew up there. My children were there for ten years, ”said Caballero.

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CONCORD (KPIX) – Contra Costa County is throwing a $ 75 million lifeline to tenants and landlords with a new aid program funded from federal funds made available to the state.

California’s $ 2.6 billion in COVID-19 rental relief funds will finally help ease the crisis for both renters and landlords. For many in the Bay Area, it is a chance to escape the mountain of debt caused by the pandemic.

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Concord’s Monument Corridor has many apartments and many residents like Hector Rodrigues. He hasn’t worked for a year and can’t pay the rent. Rodrigues now owes more than $ 7,000.

“They tell me to pay, pay, pay … but how can I pay?” he asked. “Nothing, there is nothing.”

Now the COVID Rental Relief program is officially open. Contra Costa County alone has $ 75 million to free workers from their rental debts, said Contra Costa District 3 supervisor Diane Burgis.

“I’m really excited that we have a program that helps people stay in their homes. that there is one less thing to worry about, ”she said

Russ Heimerich, who works with the California Business Consumer Services & Housing Agency, which manages Contra Costa’s program, explained how it works. People who make up to 80 percent of the local median income apply for help. If their landlords agree, the state will pay 80 percent of the amounts owed.

“And with that they will agree to award the remaining 20 percent,” said Heimerich. “As soon as you take that 80 percent, the slate will be wiped clean and you will be caught.”

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It would cover the debt due to COVID that arose between April 1st and March 31st. If landlords refuse the offer for any reason, the state would pay 25 percent of the amounts owed by the renter, which the law prevents eviction.

The state has also classified the rent owed as a “consumer debt,” which can only be recovered by filing a lawsuit. But Supervisor John Gioia says change makes an important difference in law.

“Now they could only get a judgment against you for unpaid rent, but you cannot be evicted,” he said.

Joshua Howard of the California Apartment Association told KPIX that it may not. He says most landlords seem excited about the chance to get back 80 percent of the amounts owed to them.

“Our member service team has been asking questions non-stop since Monday, which shows us that the program is very exciting,” said Howard. “A lot of interest from [property] Owners apply to regain this income that they lost in the past year. “

Contra Costa County uses the state program, but other counties and local jurisdictions may administer the program in different ways. Regardless of where Bay Area residents live, people can find out where to apply by visiting the state’s website at HousingIsKey.com or by calling 1-833-2122.

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Help is offered in more than 200 languages ​​and immigration status is not a problem with the program.

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