California will pay residents' past due rent accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the goal was to give renters a clean slate. The Associated Press reports that the state's $5.2 billion from Congressionally- approved aid packages is enough to pay off overdue rent. However, 'Newsweek' points out that just $32 million out of $490 million in requests for rental assistance have been covered so far. It also remains unsettled whether California will continue to ban evictions for unpaid rent beyond June 30. Landlords point to the state's economic recovery as a reason not to extend the eviction moratorium. According to 'Newsweek,' while employment among middle and high-wage jobs has increased... ... employment rates for people making under $27,000 a year are down over 38% since January 2020. 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'. Housing advocates have asked the state to keep the eviction ban until unemployment rates among low-income workers has returned to pre-pandemic levels.

COVID 19 Pandemic Gov. Gavin Newsom Western Center on Law and Poverty