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Evictions Now Banned Thru Jan. 31… But Only if You Pay 25% of Rent

Missed rental payments are not forgiven (just deferred to 2021) and cannot be the basis for an eviction.
By - posted 9/1/2020 No Comment

Thanks to SF Gate for letting us know the details of California’s latest eviction relief bill which was signed by Governor Newsom late on Monday – about 1 day away from eviction protections expiring.

Under the legislation, no tenant can be evicted before February 1, 2021 as a result of rent owed due to a COVID-19 related hardship accrued between March 4 – August 31, 2020, if the tenant provides a declaration of hardship according to the legislation’s timelines.

For a COVID-19 related hardship that accrues between September 1, 2020 – January 31, 2021, tenants must also pay at least 25 percent of the rent due to avoid eviction.

Tenants are still responsible for paying unpaid amounts to landlords, but those unpaid amounts cannot be the basis for an eviction. Landlords may begin to recover this debt on March 1, 2021.

The bill also extends anti-foreclosure protections in the Homeowner Bill of Rights to small landlords.

Statewide COVID-19 Tenant and Landlord Protection Highlights

  • Californians who haven’t paid rent between March 2020 and January 31, 2021 cannot be evicted for missed payments due to coronavirus – but must pay at least 25% of the rent owed starting September 1, 2020.
  • Missed rental payments are not forgiven (tenants will still owe rent) – payments are just deferred
  • Tenants must sign document (under penalty of perjury) that they can’t pay due to financially hardship caused by the pandemic
  • People with income of at least $100,000 need to provide proof they cannot pay

Additional legal and financial protections for tenants include:

  • Extending the notice period for nonpayment of rent from 3 to 15 days to provide tenant additional time to respond to landlord’s notice to pay rent or quit.
  • Requiring landlords to provide hardship declaration forms in a different language if rental agreement was negotiated in a different language.
  • Providing tenants a backstop if they have a good reason for failing to return the hardship declaration within 15 days.
  • Requiring landlords to provide tenants a notice detailing their rights under the Act.
  • Limiting public disclosure of eviction cases involving nonpayment of rent between March 4, 2020 – January 31, 2021.
  • Protecting tenants against being evicted for “just cause” if the landlord is shown to be really evicting the tenant for COVID-19-related nonpayment of rent.