As missed rent payments and delinquent mortgages pile up across the state, California Democratic lawmakers Tuesday introduced a series of sweeping proposals aimed at shielding homeowners, renters and landlords from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A plan put forward by Sen. Toni Atkins, Democrat from San Diego and leader of the state Senate, would grant qualifying renters 10 years to repay missed payments directly to the state, which would in turn compensate landlords for the missed rent with tax credits that could be sold to pay mortgages and other bills.
A separate bill from Assemblywoman Monique Limon, Democrat from Santa Barbara, would allow California homeowners to request a forbearance on their mortgages for nearly a year while requiring mortgage servicers in most circumstances to tack on missed payments in monthly installments at the end of the loan.
Banks and mortgage servicers are concerned with how a protracted forbearance would affect their bottom lines, while landlord and tenant groups are united in their demands for state funds but have very different views of what strings should be attached to emergency rental help.
Limon’s bill would extend the ban on foreclosures to private mortgages, and allow borrowers up to nearly a year in temporarily waived mortgage payments with the forbearance extending beyond California’s declared state of emergency.
