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SB-847 COVID-19 relief: tenancy: grant program.(2021-2022)



Current Version: 06/16/22 - Amended Assembly

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SB847:v96#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  June 16, 2022
Amended  IN  Senate  April 28, 2022
Amended  IN  Senate  March 28, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 847

Introduced by Senator Hurtado

January 13, 2022

An act to add and repeal Chapter 17.1 (commencing with Section 50897.9) of Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to tenancy.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 847, as amended, Hurtado. COVID-19 relief: tenancy: grant program.
Existing law, the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act, until October 1, 2025, establishes procedural requirements and limitations on evictions for nonpayment of rent due to COVID-19 rental debt, as defined. Existing law, among other things, prohibits a tenant that delivers to a landlord or files with the court a declaration, under penalty of perjury, of COVID-19-related financial distress, as defined, from being deemed in default with regard to the COVID-19 rental debt, as prescribed.
Existing law, the State Rental Assistance Program, establishes a program for providing rental assistance, using funding made available pursuant to federal law, administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development.
This bill would, until January 1, 2025, create a grant program under the administration of the department and would require the department to, among other things, award a program grant, as defined, to a qualified applicant who submits a complete application, as defined, on a first-come, first-served basis, except that the bill would require the program department to provide grants to all tier one applicants, as defined, before processing the applications of other applicants, as specified. The bill would define “qualified applicant” to mean a landlord who has applied for rental assistance funds pursuant to the State Rental Assistance Program and satisfies certain criteria, including that the landlord has applied for rental assistance funds pursuant to the State Rental Assistance Program and either received a negative final decision, as specified, or the landlord has been notified that an application to the State Rental Assistance Program was submitted, as specified, but 20 days have passed without a final decision being rendered. specified. The bill would also establish a fund, the moneys in which would be available upon appropriation by the Legislature for the purposes of awarding program grants to qualified applicants.
This bill would require a complete application to include, among other things, a statement, signed under penalty of perjury, by the landlord verifying certain facts, including that the landlord acknowledges that a program grant constitutes constitutes, as specified, full satisfaction of the tenant’s obligation to the landlord with respect to the COVID-19 rental debt, as defined. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) As of July 2021, more than 1,800,000 property owners were behind on their mortgages. Many of these property owners are landlords. When federal mortgage forbearance ends, these landlords may be forced to remove their rental units from the market and sell them in order to avoid foreclosure.
(b) The State Rental Assistance Program (program) provides rental assistance only for tenants who make less than or equal to 80 percent of the area median income. There are still many landlords with tenants who are behind on their rent and who will not qualify for any form of government rental assistance because they earned too much money to qualify for the program.
(c) Although the program has been accepting accepted rental assistance applications for most of 2021, beginning in 2021 and ending on March 31, 2022, payment to landlords and tenants, especially small landlords who are in desperate financial straits, has been untenably slow.
(d) Some tenants have claimed a COVID-19 hardship and yet do not qualify for rental assistance. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act (CTRA) self-certification process allows only tenants to state their cases with no ability for landlords to challenge a self-certification of COVID-19-related financial distress. distress, except in cases in which a landlord had previous documentation indicating that the tenant qualified as high income.
(e) Upon the expiration of CTRA, tenants with rental debt who do not qualify for the program may face small claims civil judgments that will unnecessarily burden their financial stability.

SEC. 2.

 Chapter 17.1 (commencing with Section 50897.9) is added to Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
CHAPTER  17.1. COVID-19 Tenancy Grant Program

50897.9.
 As used in this chapter:
(a) “Complete application” means an application for a program grant that satisfies all of the provisions of Section 50897.11.
(b) “Covered time period” means the time period between March April 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021. March 31, 2022.
(c) “COVID-19 rental debt” means unpaid rent or any other unpaid financial obligation of a current or former tenant under the tenancy that came due during the covered time period.
(d) “Department” means the Department of Housing and Community Development.
(e) “Landlord” means any of the following or the agent of any of the following:
(1) An owner of residential real property.
(2) An owner of a residential rental unit.
(3) An owner of a mobilehome park.
(4) An owner of a mobilehome park space or lot. who rents a mobilehome or a portion of a mobilehome.
(f) “Program grant” means a grant of an amount equal to 100 percent of a COVID-19 rental debt owed to a qualified applicant.
(g) (1)“Qualified applicant” means a landlord who has applied for rental assistance funds pursuant to the State Rental Assistance Program and satisfies any of the following criteria:

(A)The landlord has applied for rental assistance funds pursuant to the State Rental Assistance Program and either of the following is true:

(i)

(1) The landlord has been notified of a negative final decision pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (r) of Section 50897.1.

(ii)

(2) The landlord has been notified pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (r) of Section 50897.1 that a completed application for rental assistance has been submitted by the landlord or the tenant, and both of the following are true: and a final decision on the application was not rendered before the effective date of the act adding this chapter.

(I)Twenty days have passed since the application was submitted.

(II)A final decision on the application has not been rendered.

(3) When the landlord submitted, or attempted to submit, a completed application before April 1, 2022, the landlord’s applicable rental assistance program had either stopped accepting applications or did not have sufficient funds to process the landlord’s application.
(4) When the landlord submitted a complete application before April 1, 2022, the tenant for which the landlord submitted a completed application had received the maximum assistance under the State Rental Assistance Program.

(B)

(5) The landlord has obtained obtained, before June 1, 2022, a civil money judgment against a tenant for COVID-19 rental debt.
(6) The tenant initiated an application for a rental assistance program that required the tenant to complete the tenant’s portion of the application, and the landlord was unable to complete the application due to no fault of the landlord.
(h) “State Rental Assistance Program” means the rental assistance program created by Chapter 17 (commencing with Section 50897), including Option A, Option B, and Option C grantees.

(2)(A)A landlord is a “tier

(i) “Tier one applicant” if the landlord is means a qualified applicant that is not any of the following:

(i)

(1) A real estate investment trust, as defined in Section 856 of the Internal Revenue Code.

(ii)

(2) A corporation.

(iii)

(3) A limited liability company in which at least one member is a corporation.

(iv)

(4) An owner who has requested more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in grants from the program.

(B)Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 50897.10, for the first 60 days after the date on which the program first accepts grant applications, the program shall process applications and provide grants for tier one applicants exclusively. Thereafter, the program shall provide grants to all tier one applicants before processing applications from other applicants.

(h)“State Rental Assistance Program” means the rental assistance program created by Chapter 17 (commencing with Section 50897), including Option A, Option B, and Option C grantees.

50897.10.
 (a) The COVID-19 Tenancy Grant Program is hereby created under the administration of the department.
(b) The (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the department shall award a program grant to a qualified applicant who submits a complete application on a first-come, first-served basis.
(2) For the first 60 days after the date on which the department first accepts grant applications, the department shall process applications and provide grants for tier one applicants exclusively. Thereafter, the department shall provide grants to all tier one applicants before processing applications from other applicants.
(c) (1) A Subject to Section 50897.12, a program grant awarded pursuant to this section shall be deemed to fully satisfy a all civil money judgment for COVID-19 rental debt that is the subject of the application with respect to which the grant was awarded. judgments obtained by the applicant against the tenant whose COVID-19 rental debt was the subject of the application, even if the landlord does not deposit a check from the program or otherwise fails to accept the grant. A tenant may file a motion to vacate a judgment deemed satisfied pursuant to this paragraph or that is satisfied by application of paragraph (2) or (3).
(2) When a program grant is awarded pursuant to this section, the department shall file each acknowledgment of satisfaction of judgment it receives pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 50897.11 with the applicable superior court.

(2)

(3) (A) A landlord who obtains a program grant pursuant to this section shall comply with Sections 724.030 and 724.040 of the Code of Civil Procedure and is subject to Section 724.050 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Procedure if a judgment is not satisfied pursuant to paragraph (2).
(B) An attorney who successfully obtains an order pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 724.050 of the Code of Civil Procedure on behalf of a judgment debtor whose civil money judgment for COVID-19 rental debt was satisfied by a program grant pursuant to this section shall be entitled, in addition to any other available remedies, to a reasonable attorney’s fees award of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) and not more than one thousand dollars ($1000).
(4) When a program grant is awarded pursuant to this section, the landlord shall cease all reporting to any consumer reporting agency, as that term is defined under of Title 15 of the United States Code Section 1681a regarding the tenant’s unpaid COVID-19 rental debt.

(3)

(5) A program grant awarded pursuant to this section shall be accompanied by a written statement informing the landlord of the landlord’s legal responsibilities and potential liability under paragraph (2). (3).
(6) A statement pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 50897.11 does not diminish any existing tenant protections that apply to the tenancy, including, but not limited to, just cause eviction protections under state or local law.

50897.11.
 An application for a program grant submitted to the department shall include all of the following:
(a) A statement under penalty of perjury verifying all of the following:
(1) That the landlord is a qualified applicant.
(2) That the landlord acknowledges that a program grant will constitute full satisfaction of the tenant’s obligation to the landlord with respect to the all COVID-19 rental debt. debt, unless the landlord returns the amount of the program grant pursuant to Section 50897.12.
(3) That the amount requested in the application is the actual amount of COVID-19 rental debt owed by the tenant.
(4) (i) That the landlord agrees, unless the landlord returns the amount of a program grant pursuant to Section 50897.12, not to terminate any tenancy for which the landlord is seeking a grant award except on the basis of an at-fault just cause, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 1946.2 of the Civil Code, for a period of two years commencing on the date of the application.
(ii) That the landlord further agrees, unless the landlord returns the amount of a program grant pursuant to Section 50897.12, to require, as a condition of any voluntary transfer of an ownership interest in the property, whether for consideration or otherwise, that the transferee also agrees to be bound by the requirement of clause (i) for the remainder of the two year period after the transfer is completed.
(b) The following evidence, as applicable:
(1) Proof that a landlord applied to the State Rental Assistance Program.
(2) Proof of a final decision rendered by the State Rental Assistance Program.
(3) (A) A copy of a any civil judgment obtained by the landlord against the tenant. tenant for COVID-19 rental debt.

(c)An agreement, signed by the landlord, not to terminate any tenancy for which the landlord is seeking a grant award except on the basis of an at-fault just cause, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 1946.2 of the Civil Code, for a period of ___ years commencing on the date of the application.

(c) For each civil judgment described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), a fully executed Acknowledgment of Satisfaction of Judgment on Judicial Council Form EJ-100.

50897.12.
 (a) A landlord who receives a program grant pursuant to this chapter shall return the amount of that grant to the department if the landlord receives money from the State Rental Assistance Program for the tenant and property for which the program grant was awarded.
(b) A landlord who returns the amount of a program grant pursuant to this section shall not be subject to the provisions of this chapter.

50897.13.
 (a) The COVID-19 Tenancy Grant Program Fund is hereby established within the Treasury.
(b) Moneys in the fund shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of awarding program grants to qualified applicants pursuant to this chapter.

50897.14.
 (a) The department may adopt, amend, and repeal rules, guidelines, or procedures necessary to administer the provisions of this chapter.
(b) The adoption, amendment, or repeal of rules, guidelines, or procedures authorized by this subdivision are exempt from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

50897.15.
 This chapter shall remain in effect until January 1, 2025, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 3.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.