On June 8, the Marin County Board of Supervisors will consider adopting an urgency ordinance that continues to bar residential evictions in unincorporated areas of Marin through September 30 for people economically impacted by and during COVID-19. The proposal extends protections from January 2021 that are due to expire June 30.
Planners from the Marin County Community Development Agency (CDA) worked with the Board’s Housing Subcommittee – Board President Dennis Rodoni and Supervisor Damon Connolly – to create updated language that prevents evictions for nonpayment of rent from tenants affected by virus-related losses of income. Unlike previous actions, the urgency ordinance applies only in the unincorporated areas of the county; some local cities and towns are considering similar actions.
Marin County received more than $26 million in emergency rental assistance from federal and state sources throughout the pandemic. An online application period is open for Marin renters and landlords who have experienced economic hardship during COVID-19. Funds will be channeled directly to landlords to cover past rent and utilities.
A disproportionate representation of the 1,200 local households waiting on additional assistance are BIPOC residents, who comprise more than two-thirds of Marin’s rental demographic. The extension of the eviction moratorium would provide the county and its partners time to review applications and issue payments to insure stability for local renters and landlords.
Marin County’s severe shortage of affordable housing leaves many low-income workers at high-risk for homelessness, and in turn, less equipped to mitigate the risks associated with the coronavirus. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s “Out of Reach” Study for 2020, the annual income needed to afford a one-bedroom in Marin County was $108,800.
“It is a County priority that these funds are distributed in an equitable manner, ensuring that those most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic are served with dignity, respect, and compassion,” Leelee Thomas, CDA planning manager, said in a statement. “Those most in need of pandemic-related rental assistance are often those for whom barriers to access such an emergency relief program are the highest, so we’re working to eliminate those barriers.”
More documents and information for renters and landlords related to the eviction moratorium can be found on the County’s Renter and Landlord Resources webpage.
