And perhaps decades, if federal and state elected officials don’t pass significant financial relief for renters.
“I’m living on a song and a prayer,” says Maria Sulprizio, a tenant in Los Angeles who’s racked up thousands in back rent. “How can I pay that back?”
Going into 2020, California’s 17 million renters had been increasingly slammed by the state’s ongoing housing affordability crisis. In 2019, according to Zillow, Los Angeles renters paid a staggering $39.1 billion to landlords. In San Francisco, renters handed over $16.4 billion, and San Diego renters shelled out $10.3 billion. Nearly 54 percent of California tenants are rent burdened.