California To Pay Off <br />All Past Due Rent , Accrued Amid Pandemic.<br />According to a report by 'Newsweek,' <br />California will pay residents' past due rent <br />accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic.<br />Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the <br />goal was to give renters a clean slate.<br />The Associated Press reports <br />that the state's $5.2 billion <br />from Congressionally-<br />approved aid packages is <br />enough to pay off overdue rent.<br />However, 'Newsweek' points out that just <br />$32 million out of $490 million in requests for rental assistance have been covered so far.<br />It also remains unsettled whether California will continue to ban evictions for unpaid rent beyond June 30.<br />Landlords point to the state's economic recovery as a reason not to extend <br />the eviction moratorium.<br />According to 'Newsweek,' while employment among middle and <br />high-wage jobs has increased...<br />... employment rates for people <br />making under $27,000 a year are <br />down over 38% since January 2020.<br />The stock market may be fine, we may be technically reopened, but people in low-wage jobs, which are disproportionately people of color, are not back yet, Madeline Howard, senior attorney for the Western Center on Law and Poverty, via 'Newsweek'.<br />Housing advocates have asked the state to <br />keep the eviction ban until unemployment <br />rates among low-income workers has <br />returned to pre-pandemic levels
