The City Council has become a factory for bad housing policy. Last week the Council hurriedly passed legislation that would, in effect, extend the emergency ban on evictions for six months, a period that will extend into the winter eviction ban which lasts until February of 2021. But that’s not enough. Without any debate, on Monday at 2PM, the full Council will likely pass two more bills, one on eviction records and the other on forced loans for unpaid rent.

The first bill, CB 119787, is plain bizarre. It prohibits the use of any eviction during the emergency or the period that the emergency eviction ban is extended for 6 months. The obvious question is, “Why pass this when nobody is supposed to be evicted during that time due to non-payment?” Good question. My suspicion is that some Councilmembers are planning to widen the prohibition on use of past evictions to evaluate a person looking for a lease. This will increase risk and ultimately prices for housing. No housing providers were talked to or consulted on this or the second bill.

That bill, CB 119788, imposes a payment scheme that is a one size fits all solution without any consequences for non-payment. Worse, the scheme is basically a forced loan without interest for back rent. This doesn’t help pay operating expenses like utilities or taxes. Housing providers have to front the cash, waiting for it for as long as six months. What happens if a provider has numerous residents on these plans? The provider will have to find other sources of cash to cover expenses that will not go away.

If you’d like to weigh in on these proposals now is the time. It seems unlikely that the Council will do any outreach to housing providers between now and then. This is your chance to tell them what you think below.

Eviction Records and Payment Plans