City to contract for first-ever eviction protection program

Nov. 25—Citing a continued struggle to protect its most vulnerable residents from unlawful evictions, the city of Bakersfield is instituting a first-of-its-kind Eviction Protection Program.

Funded with $350,000 through the city's Measure N tax, the pilot program will contract an organization by next year to provide education and mediation on rental rights — two functions that officials and advocates agree are largely absent from the process.

Similar iterations can be seen at the city, county and federal level: the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a "Right to Counsel" ordinance in July for unincorporated areas; the city of Fresno is more than a year into its EPP, with decent results; and the Evictions Protections Act of 2023, introduced by U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, if passed, would establish a program through the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The right candidate, according to Bakersfield Department of Economic Development Director Jenni Byers, is an organization willing and able to teach residents, through community forums and workshops, about tenant and landlord rights, from the moment you move in to the moment you leave, whether by choice or force.

These rights, Byers said, are likely unknown to the average tenant. With the passage of Assembly Bill 1482 in 2019, the state expanded tenant rights, outlining what is a just cause for eviction, and included a 10% cap on annual rent increases.

"So when you talk about these different rules and these different ways you can be legally and illegally (evicted), does the community really know, do they really understand what it is they need to do if they receive that eviction notice?" Byers said.

This, paired with overlapping moratoriums during the pandemic, resulted in record-low levels of evictions. Yet, eviction cases soared in the past year across California, after the last protections of a statewide moratorium ended.

Despite having one of the longest eviction bans in the nation due to COVID-19, California eviction rates have been on a steady rise. In Kern County, there were 1,303 eviction filings in 2020, 1,620 in 2021, 3,206 in 2022, and 863 in the first three months of 2023, according to county court filings.

About half of those, on average, have resulted in default judgments, as many tenants — especially those without legal status — don't know their rights or how to navigate the eviction process and will often self-evict and not respond to a summons. Some refuse to appear in court, out of fear it could lead to deportation — a common trend in Bakersfield, said Sandra Plascencia, a policy advocate with Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, who helped develop the application to the program.

"The court process is incredibly hard to navigate," Plascencia said. "A lot of folks don't know how to respond or what to do, especially if they don't have an attorney guiding them."

According to the California Apartment Association, the moratoriums gave property owners little room to fight back against tenants unwilling to pay rent, resulting in outstanding rental debt shouldered overwhelmingly by landlords.

As of September, an estimated 605,000 California households owed a total of $1.8 billion in unpaid rent, according to The National Equity Atlas.

Yet advocates have warned Bakersfield city officials in past meetings that landlords routinely violate the California Tenants Protections Act, which caps annual rent increases at 10% per year on housing built after 2008 and prohibits malfeasance, like improper eviction and general harassment.

Meanwhile, an estimated 3.2 million Californians are cost-burdened — meaning more than a third of their paycheck goes to rent — and 99% of renters cannot afford an attorney in the event their landlord refuses to make repairs, stalls code compliance or wants to evict them, legally or not.

Sometimes people are so thankful to have a place to move into, Byers said, they will sacrifice things like heat, or endure mold or a broken stovetop to avoid any disputes.

"Fear keeps people living in deplorable conditions," Byers said. "We have to remove that stigma."

The topic is among the mainstay discussions held at the city's perennial homelessness and housing committee meetings. Officials believe the expiration of state and local moratoriums, along with inflation and end of pandemic-aid programs, such as CalFresh, have also played their parts.

State and national studies published in the past year, through the University of San Francisco and Housing Policy Debate, found that housing costs and eviction filings, respectively, are two of the largest drivers of people moving into shelters.

"We are definitely seeing an inflow of homelessness through evictions," Byers said.

That's why there is also a component, Byers said, for remediation services, in which the same organization can act as a mediator between tenants and landlords, as well as provide free legal aid for low-income tenants, regardless of their immigration status.

And while the process to get the program has taken longer than expected, Plascencia said the city "can't wait for it to get started."

"There should be that education component, as well as accountability and enforcement," Plascencia said. "And that comes through attorneys."

The surge in eviction filings falls now on legal aid organizations statewide, such as the Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance, who are tasked with representing qualifying low-income tenants despite historically being understaffed and underfunded.

Bakersfield City Manager Christian Clegg has said in past council meetings that GBLA has a long waitlist and "cannot serve all the individuals who are requesting their service," though GBLA has since denied the existence of a waitlist.

"Because GBLA is at such a capacity, very understaffed, a lot of times they're not able to ensure that the city of Bakersfield has their housing needs met," Plascencia said. "I think GBLA does as much as they can, with the tools that they're given."

Due to requirements in its funding, GBLA also operates within the federal government's definition of fair housing, which limits unfairness to discrimination, or acts that occur as a result of discrimination.

"But you aren't always evicted as an act of discrimination," Byers said. "Sometimes you're evicted for something else."

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability continues to refer people to GBLA, Plascencia said, though in following up with residents has found that while the organization answers their calls, many people are told "they weren't able to assist my case."

"Once we follow-up with them, their response is very much like, 'they answered my call, but they weren't able to assist my case,'" Plascencia said. "So a lot of times folks do call but they're not able to get the assistance that they need."

It's a case similar, she added, to the 211 referral service run by Community Action Partnership of Kern. "They either don't get through, they're on hold for hours or they get put on a waitlist for a very long time," she said.

At the city's last Homelessness and Housing Committee meeting on Oct. 24, several service providers said they often lack the staff necessary to meet the demand of those on the verge of homelessness.

Louis Gill, the chief program officer at Community Action Partnership of Kern, said six staff members began the year answering 1,100 calls in a month. As of October, that number jumped to 2,400 calls. Between January and September, Gill said, CAPK has made a 75% increase in referrals for individuals and 30% increase for families.

"That does not seem to be in any way abating," Gill said at the meeting.

Meanwhile, each of the city and county shelters are regularly at or near capacity. This results in waitlists to enter a shelter, as those staying there await affordable housing to finish construction. Officials routinely report they've used up funding for rental assistance ahead of schedule, and often are in need of more.

With a lot at stake over the program, officials said they will measure its success, and its future, by how many people they assist, how many attend the educational workshops, and how many they prevent from being evicted.

"We'll see how far this money gets, and how quickly it's spent," Byers said.

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability said it would like to see a phased expansion of the program in the future, with attorneys providing legal aid on a routine basis, inclusion of a right to counsel in the city's housing element, and additional funding in next year's city budget.

"I think it would make sense for the city to just add it on," Plascencia said, adding they will push for additional funding.