Rent Moratorium extended

The City of Santa Monica has extended its eviction moratorium to September 30 for residential tenants, and August 31 for "some" commercial tenants.

The rent moratorium, which went into effect on March 14th, tracks a City of Los Angeles rent moratorium. Landlords in both cities have threatened to withhold property taxes, an important source of municipal revenue, if they cannot collect rents from tenants.

Separately, the housing default rate has risen in California. Sources differ on how much. A boom in re-financing real estate also has arisen nationwide, as the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates to zero.