San Diego City Council recently announced it is considering an almost $62 million program in assistance to renters impacted by the pandemic.

The program, which the council would be considering on Tuesday, would provide each household that's medically or financially affected by the virus, up to $4,000 for support.

Financial aid for renters would be coming from funds that are already allotted to the city from the "CARES, Relief and Economic Security, or COVID-19 Aid, Act." Specifically, San Diego City received $248 million from the legislation which it can use to assist in recovery initiatives.

According to Chris Ward, the councilman who proposed the development of the program, the funds can be used for various things. However, he added, "keeping people in their homes" during the global health crisis "should be a top goal."

Presently, Ward said on Monday, helping renters who have gone unemployed and may even lose their homes as they can no longer pay back rent will be among their most significant priorities. 

As the councilman said, the program will benefit San Diegans explaining, "We cannot position" thousands of them to the edge of losing their homes.

The Eviction Moratorium

In relation to the program, the city had already passed an eviction moratorium for the prevention of renters from being evicted from their home should they fail to pay rent because of the COVID-19 crisis.

While the moratorium may be helpful, according to reports, "in the short term," it may also mean that some of the San Diegans hardly hit by the pandemic will owe huge amounts of money when it is over.

This would be the city's first try at local direct loan relief although other cities such as Los Angeles, as well as the entire states such as New Jersey, have considered similar proposals.

Meanwhile, the program of San Diego would be intended for families earning 60 percent or below of the area median income of the county, roughly $92,000 each year prior to the COVID-19 struck. The said amount is equivalent to around $69,300 for every family with four members.

According to city staff, this program could potentially back up to 15,000 households in San Diego. It is more possible that there would be a need for the city to prioritize San Diegans with the lowest income since an estimate of 60,000 families, reports indicate, "are getting 30 percent of the area median income."

Possible Change in the Proposal

According to the staff report, there is a possibility for much of the proposal to change once it gets to the city council on Tuesday. However, for now, as stated in the report, the allowable maximum amount for a one-time payment is $4,000.

The proposal is made as groups of activists in Dan Diego have planned "around rent strikes," in which renters would need not to pay back what they owe. Activists said that renters who have low income could not pay back a huge amount of "rent they owe if and when they" return to their respective works.

Meanwhile, the proposal of Ward calls for money to be distributed by the San Diego Housing Commission and directly paid to the landlords. 

The councilman explained that if an eligible renter owes below $4,000, the amount left in the money could be returned to the fund to allocate for other renters.

Check these out!