Raise the Roof - a coalition of community, labor, and faith groups working to bring good jobs, immigrant protections, and affordable housing to the City of Concord and Contra Costa County - has teamed up with the Bay Area Equity Atlas to create a new analysis of the coming wave of evictions looming over local residents. The Bay Area Equity Atlas report found that 12,000 renter households, including 10,400 children, are at imminent risk of eviction if the County fails to take further action. An additional 9,500 households could be at risk of eviction once the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program ends at the end of July. Read the full analysis and methodology. The full press release is available in English and Spanish.

Contra Costa saw a 65% weekly increase in COVID-19 infections as of July 7th, the worst surge among the six Bay Area counties coordinating to fight COVID-19. It also has the worst unemployment rate, at 13.6% as of May 2020. This is a dangerous situation for the one-third of households that are renters, since they’re more likely to be essential workers or out of work, lacking income and savings, and unable to pay rent. Still, Contra Costa has weaker emergency tenant protections than each of the other six counties, except Marin. Contra Costa can only thrive if its renters thrive - the Supervisors have the power to help keep renters housed and healthy.

On July 14th, the Board of Supervisors will review Contra Costa County’s eviction moratorium. EBHO and Raise the Roof Coalition call on the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors to:

• Extend the moratorium until 90 days after the current state of emergency ends.
• Prohibit evictions for non-payment of rent due to COVID-19 by converting missed rent to consumer debt, as is the case in Alameda and San Francisco Counties.
• Increase financial assistance and legal services for low-income tenants in order to keep residents housed and safe.
• Commit to longer-term proven solutions such as local rent control, a rent and eviction registry, and just cause eviction protections for tenancies not covered by AB 1482. 

We ask residents of Contra Costa County and community organizations that work in the county to contact the Board of Supervisors and let them know how important it is to stabilize the community by keeping thousands of residents in their homes. You can use the email template we developed or send an email directly. Their contact information is below. 

Contact the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors

The Board of Supervisors will meet on Tuesday, July 14th at 8:30 am. The agenda is here and the eviction moratorium is scheduled to be item D.9. You can watch the meeting on Comcast Cable 27, ATT/U-Verse Channel 99, WAVE Channel 32, or live online at www.contracosta.ca.gov.