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Regular-General Government # 55.
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| Board of Supervisors |
County Counsel |
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| Subject |
| Receive a staff update and provide direction regarding potential changes to the County's eviction moratorium ordinance, adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (No general fund impact) (Pogledich) |
| Recommended Action |
| Receive a staff update and provide direction regarding potential changes to the County's eviction moratorium ordinance, adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| Strategic Plan Goal(s) |
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Thriving Residents |
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Safe Communities |
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| Reason for Recommended Action/Background |
The purpose of this Board item is to review the County’s eviction moratorium ordinance, adopted on April 21, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (Attachment A), and receive Board feedback on potential changes to the ordinance.
The County’s ordinance applies to both commercial and residential tenancies in the unincorporated area. In general terms, it affords tenants an opportunity to avoid eviction for non-payment of rent for reasons associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. It also prohibits "no-fault" evictions (i.e., evictions occurring for reasons other than non-payment of rent) during the pandemic. Tenants have to follow certain procedures described in the ordinance to receive its protections, including meeting certain notice requirements. The ordinance extends the time to pay any unpaid amounts to 180 days after the termination of the local state of emergency.
After the County (and over 100 other jurisdictions) adopted its moratorium ordinance, the state adopted legislation that is similar in scope, but applicable only to residential tenancies: Assembly Bill 3088 and Senate Bill 91 are the most relevant legislative efforts and they provide eviction relief that is substantially similar to the County's ordinance. Attachment B to this staff report is a table that compares the ordinance with related provisions of state law. The table includes a column that describes the current status of the County’s ordinance, highlighting how state law has largely preempted some elements of the ordinance and, in particular, deems the repayment period under the County ordinance to commence on August 1, 2021 (thus superseding language in the ordinance that tied repayment to termination of the local state of emergency).
To respond to changes in state law and minimize the potential for landlord and tenant confusion, staff recommends:
- Ending protections afforded commercial tenancies effective June 30, 2021, unless Executive Order 03-21 (which provides the legal basis for such protections through June 30) is later extended. State law does not otherwise provide any protections for commercial tenants—AB 3088 and SB 91 apply only to residential tenancies.
- Conforming repayment provisions in the County's ordinance to state law, effectively requiring repayment to commence no later than August 1, 2021 and be completed within 180 days (calculated at January 27, 2022).
- Deleting or revising language prohibiting all “no fault” evictions. The Board included this prohibition to guard against the displacement of tenants generally, regardless of the reason, at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Presently, this restriction appears to significantly burden many landlords in their efforts to address property management and tenant situations having nothing to do with COVID-19. Even if this provision is deleted, tenants will still have substantial protection against COVID-19-related evictions through provisions of state law modified by AB 3088 and SB 91. The Board could also opt for a more moderate approach, preserving the provision to protect tenants that are awaiting state rental assistance payments (and who could otherwise be evicted on a "no fault" basis by landlords that do not want to wait for the state payments).
Further addressing “no fault” evictions, 2019 legislation (AB 1482) limits the grounds for evictions by requiring just cause for the termination of most residential tenancies. These protections are substantial. For example, AB 1482 restricts “no fault” reasons for evictions to situations where a landlord wants to move into a rental unit, if the landlord wants to remove the unit from the rental market, or if the landlord wants to demolish or substantially remodel the unit. In each instance of a no fault eviction, the landlord must provide the tenant with one month’s rent as relocation assistance.
Note that while the some significant elements of the County’s moratorium ordinance now appear preempted, many residential tenants unable to pay rent in full due to COVID-19 will receive substantial protection under state law so long as they pay 25% of any unpaid rent owed from September 1, 2020 or later by June 30, 2021. Such tenants receive eviction protection under state law until 2025, even though they can be sued on the debt starting on July 1 or August 1 (depending on the type of action filed).
Staff will provide a presentation during the Board meeting on the issues covered in this staff report and the accompanying table. Note that the CDC (federal) eviction moratorium will not be addressed, as greater protections are presently provided by state law. |
| Collaborations (including Board advisory groups and external partner agencies) |
| Legal Services of Northern California and various law firms representing property owners provided input considered in connection with this staff report. |
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