The Judicial Council of California Thursday declined to further delay eviction court hearings. The protections were put into place in early April to protect people in financial difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic but will end next month, unless Governor Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers act quickly. The proposal to end the bans on September 1st was approved in a 19-to-one vote. California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye urged the legislative and executive branches of state government to do something to avoid a "looming" housing crisis. The Judicial Council first halted eviction hearings in April of this year, but a lawsuit on behalf of some landlords made the case that they had exceeded their authority and essentially created new law. The legal action forced reconsideration of the judicial moratorium.
Governor Newsom said on Wednesday that he hoped the Judicial Council would extend the protections, but that he was ready to work with the Legislature to come up with a long-term solution if that didn't happen. Lawmakers are working on at least a couple of proposal right now, but they have yet to reach agreement on how best to reimburse property owners who are losing income due to missed rent payments.
Approximately 100 California cities and counties have approved moratoriums on evictions during the pandemic, but that's just shifted the pain to landlords, according groups like the California Apartment Association and the California Business Properties Association. They want executive action or legislation that does more than just provide free rent to tenants. President Trump last week signed a series of executive orders intended to discourage evictions in addition to providing enhanced unemployment benefits.
Meantime, advocates for low-income and minority groups are concerned that an end to eviction protection will result in a large number of people being tossed out onto the street in the coming months. Many of those people, they claim, are classified as essential workers and have been risking their health serving others during the pandemic.