Guide for Contra Costa tenants who can’t pay rent during COVID-19
Given the widespread economic effects of the COVID-19 crisis, Monument Impact in Concord, CA, has created a guide for tenants who are unable to pay their rent during this time, called “Help, I can’t pay April rent!” Tenant Guide.
The guide explains the Concord emergency temporary eviction moratorium (Urgency Ordinance), how to write a letter to your landlord, and that Concord tenants will have to repay the rent after the crisis has ended. The guide provides resources for rental assistance, lowering utility payments, and other forms of financial assistance.
The guide also addresses how Contra Costa County tenants who are not covered by local eviction moratoriums in their cities can contact Governor Newsom and the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors to advocate for urgently needed tenant protections on a state and countywide level.
Lost jobs
“Around the time Shelter-in-Place was ordered, folks were starting to lose their jobs,” said Lorena Cruz, Healthy Community Managing Consultant at Monument Impact. “We were receiving calls from members of Monument Impact and from outside community members, some even from Walnut Creek, regarding what kind of protections tenants had during the pandemic.”
“It will take a long time for our community to recover financially and no one should be burdened by this under these circumstances,” said Jennifer Morales, community organizer at Monument Impact. “This guide is for tenants to understand what tenant protections they have and don’t have during the pandemic of COVID-19. Unfortunately, many tenants do not have protections. We need greater action taken by Governor Newsom and the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors to protect everyone. We need Concord City Council to strengthen the Urgency Ordinance that outlines the eviction moratorium and lengthen the period of repayment.”
The tenant guides can may be accessed online in English and Español and will be updated as more news comes in.
For more information, visit the Monument Impact website