A proposed statewide moratorium may be stalled as Legislature prepares to recess due to novel COVID-19 outbreak.
Fourteen California cities and counties have either issued a ban on evicting renters facing economic hardships due to the novel coronavirus outbreak or are considering doing so, according to the California Apartment Association.
Los Angeles, Culver City and San Francisco have adopted orders forbidding eviction of tenants who can’t pay their rent due to COVID-19, CAA reported.
Long Beach, San Diego and Santa Ana are considering similar bans, according to CAA and a Santa Ana news release. Elsewhere in California, bans are being considered by San Jose, Fresno, Hayward, Oakland, Sacramento, the city and county of San Mateo in the county of Santa Cruz.
An Anaheim spokesman said, “we are watching the issue closely.“
Schools, restaurants, bars, stadiums, theaters and other businesses have shuttered, leaving service workers without jobs, at least temporarily.
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order Monday night authorizing local governments to ban evictions of renters and homeowners unable to pay their rent or mortgages because they are out of work or their business is down.
“People shouldn’t lose or be forced out of their home because of the spread of COVID-19,” Newsom said in a statement. “Over the next few weeks, everyone will have to make sacrifices, but a place to live shouldn’t be one of them. I strongly encourage cities and counties (to) take up this authority to protect Californians.”
The order also pushes banks and other lenders to hold off foreclosing on residential and commercial properties, a practice that would provide relief to landlords unable to pay their mortgages due to poor rent collections.
The order will be in effect through the end of May and could be extended. It doesn’t mean renters won’t have to pay rent, but it could mean delayed payments for some.
A CAA statement said the association will work diligently with local governments to ensure such bans “adopt reasonable measures for both rental property owners and renters.” Nicholas Dunlap, a past president of the Apartment Association of Orange County echoed that sentiment.
“We are trying to work with Anaheim, Santa Ana and other cities to help instill a sense of comfort and stability in these trying times,” Dunlap said. The organization also is educating members on how to protect themselves and still be compassionate, he said.
But some tenant advocacy groups said the order doesn’t go far enough since it continues to place the burden on California’s 540 cities and counties to pass anti-eviction policies.
“Really bad,” Leah Simon-Weisberg, legal director for the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment told the Bay Area News Group. “Very disappointing.”
Local action would be moot if a proposed statewide ban on evictions and foreclosures were to pass. But a measure to do that by Assembly member Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, remains stalled because the state Legislature is about to start a three-week recess.
Ting’s staff asked the Legislative Counsel’s office for language last week but have yet to hear back from them, said Nannette Miranda, Ting’s spokeswoman.
“It’s just a matter of when the Legislature can come back and act on it,” Miranda said.
An emergency proclamation on the Santa Ana City Council agenda for Tuesday, March 17, would allow the creation of eviction relief for residential tenants if not implemented by the state.
Anaheim’s first preference is to see a unified statewide policy, a statement released by city spokesman Mike Lyster said.
“It is a fluid, evolving situation, so we are watching over the very near term to see if there are additional developments from Sacramento,” the Anaheim statement said.
San Jose has moved to enact a moratorium of at least 30 days on evictions against residents who can show that they cannot pay rent because of a loss of income related to COVID-19.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti have issued similar moratoriums on evictions. And the Oakland City Council said it would send a letter to Alameda County Superior Court asking the court to halt ongoing eviction cases and refrain from taking new cases.
On Monday afternoon, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, which carries out evictions, said it would suspend evictions temporarily because of the coronavirus. The San Francisco Sheriff’s Office said it also would postpone evictions.
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