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"When eviction protections are lifted, how will people afford to pay accumulated rent?"
San Francisco Chronicle
May 22, 2020

In “Stabilizing Shelter: Rent and Mortgage Cancellation at State and Federal Levels,” a brief released earlier this month, researchers at UC Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute referred to the Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act of 2020, a bill proposed by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. Among other things, the act establishes relief funds for landlords and lenders, and it would be retroactive to April 1.

“We worry about repeating what happened after the Great Recession where communities of color were really devastated, but some corporations were able to take advantage and really profited,” Nicole Montojo of the Othering & Belonging Institute said.

 

"UC Berkeley researchers say rent, mortgage cancellation is necessary in pandemic"
The Daily Cal
May 8, 2020

Researchers at the UC Berkeley Othering & Belonging Institute released a research brief that suggests rent and mortgage cancellation policy is necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Authored by the California Community Partnerships Team, the brief analyzes the recent housing and economic situations related to the COVID-19 pandemic and presents arguments in favor of creating policy that cancels rent and mortgage payments.

The brief intends to bring attention to the “urgent need” for government action to mitigate these pandemic-induced effects, as well as structurally improve the extensive inequities in housing, according to Nicole Montojo, a housing research analyst at the Othering & Belonging Institute.