SAN DIEGO (CNS) -- San Diego City Council President Georgette Gomez said Monday she will propose extending the city's COVID-19-related eviction moratorium through next March.
Gomez will ask for council support at Tuesday's scheduled council meeting to extend the deadline until March 31, according to a statement from her office.
The city's current moratorium, which prohibits landlords from evicting renters and small businesses that are unable to cover their rent or lease payments due to financial hardship brought about by the pandemic, is slated to expire Sept. 30.
Gomez says the pandemic's impacts have not yet declined enough to warrant lifting the moratorium this fall, particularly with $600 weekly federal unemployment benefits set to expire at the end of the month.
"When we passed the eviction moratorium in March, I hoped that six months would be enough for renters and small businesses to recover from the economic effects of COVID-19, or that our federal government would provide sufficient relief," Gomez said. "Unfortunately, the pandemic is not subsiding, unemployment remains high, many businesses are still struggling, and the federal government's response has been woefully inadequate. It is absolutely critical that we give San Diegans more time."
San Diego's eviction moratorium has been extended twice since the beginning of the pandemic. The latest extension was approved last month by a 5-4 council vote.
The city council has also approved $15.1 million in relief for renters, as well as nearly $19 million in relief for small businesses.