Q. I lost my job due to the Covid Pandemic, and now find that I am having difficulty paying my rent. I am worried about being evicted from the home my wife and I are renting. Is there any advice you can offer?
A. Yes. Governor Newsom just signed Legislation (AB 832) on June 28, 2021, extending eviction bans in California through September 30, 2021. Here is the announcement from the Governor’s Office.
PRIOR HISTORY:
Prior history of eviction moratoriums: County and State-wide eviction moratoriums were previously extended to the end of the year, at a minimum. Further, the Federal Government, acting through the Center for Disease Control (“CDC”), has just issued a nationwide halt to all residential evictions throughout the country until July, 31, 2021, for eligible renters. [See the update in the References section, below]. The qualifications for this relief differ slightly with regard to each set of emergency orders, but qualifying under at least one Emergency Order (“EO”) should be relatively easy for most folks.
Here is a more detailed breakdown of local and state laws passed in 2020 and 2021.
Alameda County’s Emergency Order: Under Alameda County’s EO, a landlord may not evict a tenant for failure to pay rent between March 24 and September 30, and also grants the tenant a full year to pay the overdue rent. The moratorium now runs through December 31 “or 60 days after the state of emergency is lifted”, whichever is later. Of note is that some cities, notably Oakland, have their own moratoriums, with even stronger tenant protections.
State of California EO: On August 31, 2020, Governor Newsom signed an EO protecting tenants from eviction and property owners from foreclosure due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis. The Order offers eviction relief which varies slightly depending upon when the rent arrearages accrued: (1) for a COVID-19 hardship that accrued between March 4 and August 31, 2020, the tenant must provide a declaration of hardship; and (2) for one that accrues between September 1, 2020, and January 31, 2020, the tenant seeking relief must pay at least 25% of the rent due in order to avoid eviction. Landlords must provide their tenants with notice of their new rights under the Act and must provide hardship declaration forms. This bill (AB 3088) also extends anti-foreclosure protections to homeowners under the Homeowner Bill of Rights Act.
Federal CDC Nationwide EO: Under its authority to control the spread of COVID-19, the CDC has also just issued its own moratorium on residential evictions, and the ban has nationwide effect. Its order, just issued a few days ago, is effective immediately, and prevents the eviction of tenants through the end of this year. To qualify for this relief, the tenant just sign a declaration as to income: a single tenant must declare that he/she earns no more than $99K a year, while couples filing taxes jointly must declare that they earn less than $198K per year. They must also declare that they cannot pay their rent in full; that, if evicted, they would become homeless or be forced to move into congregate housing; and, that they made an effort to receive government assistance. Note: a previous federal eviction moratorium granted as part of the CARES Act ended in late July, 2020, and only applied to federally-funded or mortgage backed housing. Now, the newly issued CDC Order applies to all residential housing throughout the country.
As soon as available, we hope to have the requisite Emergency Orders and Declaration forms available for download by accessing this article on our website.
So, to your question: you have at least three layers of government moratoriums, County, State and Federal, to look for help.
References:
UPDATE: 6/28/2021: California just extended its eviction ban to September 30, 2021. To compare with the national CDC Issued ban, go to this site.
PRIOR HISTORY:
On January 29, 2021, California’s Governor Newsom signed Legislation extending the statewide eviction moratorium through June 30, 2021. It also protects tenants’ credit, and creates a state rental assistance program to allocate $2.6 billion in federal rental assistance dollars to assist struggling tenants and small property owners. See this article on the Moratorium.
Update as of May 5, 2021. Further, on March 29, the Center for Disease Control extended the eviction moratorium nationwide through June 30, 2021. However, on May 5, 2021, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. held that the CDC’s order exceeded its authority, but later granted a Stay of its own order pending appeal. Read more in the 05.07.2021 Justice in Aging release on topic here.
UPDATE as of 1/25/2021: Foreclosure and eviction moratoriums: The CDC extended the federal eviction moratorium through March 31, 2021, preventing renters from being evicted for non-payment of rent. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also extended foreclosure and eviction moratoriums until February 28, 2021. See, also, the link in this reference. Thank you to Financial Planner, Miguel Delgado, CFP [with David White & Associates in San Ramon], for bringing this recent development to our attention, and the same with regard to the next reference pertaining to Rental Assistance.
UPDATE as of 1/25/2021: Rental assistance: Under a program passed in December, states will begin disbursing $25 billion in rent assistance to help tenants pay rent and utilities. Funds can be accessed locally through housing groups, 211/311 information lines, and local representatives.
CDC Ban as it appeared in the Federal Register. Scroll down to Attachment “A” for the wording of the necessary CDC Declaration;
Governor Gavin Newsom signs statewide eviction ban and foreclosure protections; California’s “Tenant, Homeowner, and Small Landlord Relief and Stabilization Act”; Text of California’s AB 3088: for the necessary recitals for the Declaration, scroll way down to § 1179.02(d) of the amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure.
“A Guide to Oakland’s Moratorium”.
“Resources for Advocates Assisting with Eviction Prevention”, by National Center on Law & Elder Rights.