MarinIJ article by: Richard Halstead
Marin County and the Marin Community Foundation will distribute $3.2 million in emergency rental assistance and financial aid to small businesses in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The bulk of the financial assistance will go to tenants who are at the highest risk of eviction by the end of January.
Under AB 3088 — the Tenant, Homeowner, and Small Landlords Relief and Stabilization Act passed by the Legislature on Aug. 31 — rent unpaid between March 1 and Aug. 31 can be converted to civil debt if delinquent renters submit a sworn declaration that the pandemic was the reason for their nonpayment.
Tenants who fail to pay at least 25% of their rent between Sept. 1 and Jan. 31 will be subject to eviction. The remaining 75% of their rent during that period will be converted to civil debt.
Leelee Thomas, a Marin County planning manager, told supervisors Tuesday that an effort will be made to distribute the bulk of the financial aid to people who can’t afford to make that 25% minimum payment.
“Our goal is to use these funds to prevent evictions,” Thomas said.
