CHC is closely monitoring the state and federal response to COVID-19—and we are working with our members to preserve and protect access to affordable housing:

California situation:

• Governor Newsom announced this week that 2.3 million Californians have applied for unemployment assistance since the coronavirus emergency began. This is more than the total number of claims filed in all of 2019—and will continue to impact the ability of lower-income households to pay rent and purchase other necessities.
• Beginning this Sunday, unemployed Californians will receive an additional $600 as part of the federal CARES Act on top of the weekly amount they receive from unemployment insurance (which maxes out at $450 per week in California).
• The Judicial Council of California also took action this week on the state’s recent eviction prohibitions, ruling that eviction orders “threaten to remove people from the very homes they have been instructed to remain in.” The Judicial Council unanimously adopted temporary emergency rules that include suspending all evictions, regardless of cause, unless they are necessary for public health and safety. The new rules will remain in effect until 90 days after the current state of emergency is ended.

Federal action:

• Congress continues to negotiate over the details of the next wave (Phase 4) of stimulus spending. The Trump Administration sought quick action this week on a $250 million loan package of small businesses, but the effort stalled when Senate Republicans refused to include additional support sought by Democrats for hospitals, states, and cities.

State policy activity:

• CalHFA released guidance on requesting a hardship accommodation for monthly mortgage payments.
• CHC and a group of affordable advocates delivered a letter this week to the Newsom Administration highlighting a number of “immediate actions” the state can take to mitigate the impacts of COVID on affordable housing access.
• “Lower-income Californians are likely to bear the brunt of the economic impacts of this expanding crisis—with significant numbers of workers expected to lose their jobs and find themselves unable to pay for rent, health care, and other necessities,” the letter says. “We must work together—housing providers, local, state, and federal governments—to protect affordable housing and lower-income tenants.”
• In the near term, the letter identifies several ways the state can help affordable housing properties weather the shock of lost rental income—including providing forbearance on mortgage payments and relaxing rules on use of cash reserves, among other recommendations.
• While these actions can support affordable housing in the short-term, the CHC letter also highlights the need for the state to consider more comprehensive, longer-term support for affordable housing—including a major new rent payment assistance effort to help lower-income households keep up with rent payments during and after the crisis.