Renters and tenants in CALIFORNIA just got some much needed eviction relief/protections!

[Progressive Law]

Gov. Newsom is supposed to sign on Monday.

Nonpayment Evictions

- Non-payment cases due to COVID cannot move forward until February 1

- Any notice to pay rent or quit must:

o Provide 15 days instead of 3 days

o Include a copy of a declaration of COVID-related financial distress (there will be 2 different versions, depending on the timeline below) that will be written out in this bill. The declaration will be a simple self-certification, with no documentation requirements for households who are not high-income. A high-income tenant may be required to provide some documentation of their loss if requested by the landlord in the notice. The landlord can request this additional documentation only if they have information in their possession that the tenant is high-income.

- If the tenant returns the signed declaration of COVID-related financial distress:

o Any unpaid rent that came due from March 1 through August 31 is permanently converted to consumer debt and cannot form the basis of an eviction

o For September through January, 2021, a tenant needs to pay 25% of their rent and the remainder is converted to consumer debt. This is an aggregate amount that can be paid in any installments/on any timeline the tenant chooses so long as it is paid by January 31. The remaining 75% of rent is converted to civil debt.

o Regardless of whether the tenant is able to pay the 25% of Sept-Jan rent, if they return the declaration, no eviction for nonpayment of COVID rental obligations can be filed prior to February 1st.

- For high income tenants (making over 130% of area median income for the county based on HCD’s 2020 income limits), if requested by the landlord based on income info the LL already has in hand (no fishing), they will need to provide documentation demonstrating lost income/increased expenses related to COVID. – If they provide documentation, they will also have the same protections.



Consumer Debt Resulting from Conversion of Unpaid Rent

- The bill will allow for landlords to file small claims actions notwithstanding both the monetary and corporate limits for small claims cases.

- The bill does not alter the ability of tenants to file a claim of defendant in the small claims action, which we believe will allow for defenses/discounts such as habitability issues, illegal rent increases, etc., as well as any other monetary claims the tenant may have against their landlord.

- The bill will require landlords to offset any direct financial assistance/payments they have received to compensate for the loss they are claiming.

- Actions to collect COVID-related rental debt through civil actions (small claims or otherwise) may not commence prior to March 1.



Interaction with Local Ordinances

- There will be limited preemption of local ordinances.

o Local ordinances as they stand right now will remain in place with a minor exception. For those ordinances which address repayment of unpaid rent, repayment must begin no later than March 1, 2021 and the repayment period can be no longer than March 31, 2022.

o Local jurisdictions can continue to amend or put in place eviction protections that do not deal with nonpayment of rent, and they can pass laws related to non-payment that take effect on or after Feb. 1.

o Any extension, renewal, amendment or new adoption of a provision in a local ordinance that addresses evictions for unpaid rent may not take effect prior to Feb. 1.



Masking/Consumer Protections

- All nonpayment evictions (including those where there is no COVID declaration by the tenant) filed between March 4, 2020 and January 31, 2021 are masked regardless of outcome.

- The bill replicates the masking statute with respect to actions seeking to recover COVID-related rent, such as small claims actions.



Other Issues

- Increased penalties for illegal lockouts and utility shutoffs - 10x current penalties

- The bill also includes some very limited foreclosure-related provisions.

- The eviction protections will apply to mobilehome residents as well.

- The bill amends the existing retaliation statue to make it clear that evictions not based on nonpayment when the tenant has COVID-income loss that are filed to skirt the nonpayment protections contained in this bill are covered by the retaliation statute.



Emergency Rule 1

- The bill does not extend Rule 1 except for non-payment cases. Non-payment cases cannot be filed prior to October 5. All other cases can resume Sept. 2nd.

[BigmanPigman]

1. Excellent news!

I hope he signs it Mon!

[intrepidity]

2. Good news, thanks! nt

[TruckFump]

5. That's what a security deposit is for and..

...the eviction moratorium is only for non-payment of rent. If there are tenants that are destroying property, IMO, that is different than not paying rent. I have some experience with rentals -- on both sides -- and a landlord has certain rights to enter rental property. It most likely varies from State to State and from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

[TruckFump]

4. I hope there is also a moratorium on rent increases.

So many landlords are such greedy pigs. I am so glad to see the moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rent.

[SpaceNeedle]

6. It should include property tax abeyance for middle class landlords

Otherwise many landlords would lose their homes. Their taxes and mortgages are not frozen but their rental income is stopped.

This relief is not necessary for corporate or professional landlords who own multiple properties but average people who just have one home and/or condo which they rent out.

[dickthegrouch]

7. This infuriates me

I put a substantial amount down on a house to be a rental property. I have never even been able to break even on it. I am losing $2000/month because my renters refuse to pay anything. This is coming out of my retirement funds.
I consider it grand theft.
The state just took away my right to recover my damages for another 6 months.
I felt bad for the renters at first, but then they started getting $600/week extra in unemployment precisely to be able to pay bills like this. They won’t even pay partial rent and let me cover the mortgage.
Forgiving my property taxes would be the first step.
Awarding me all costs and late fees and guarantees of interest from the renters in equal amount to that for the additional amount I have to borrow to maintain my own credit rating and finances would be nice.

[Progressive Law]

8. A person's health and safety outweighs your desire for rental income

If your health and safety is dependant on rental income from people who can;t pay you, then you are over leveraged.

[dickthegrouch]

9. Part of my letter to the Governor

Since the five adults in my property have presumably been receiving $600/week each, I think it would be far more equitable to us as small landlords to be able to easily request a garnishment of up to 25% of the unemployment pay to pay rent. This percentage could be reduced when the renters have caught up on their rent backlog.

When they have presumably been receiving collectively $12000/month, they can for sure afford to pay me the $2000 in rent per month.

Forcing me to shoulder some $24000 in debt until 2025 if I read the bill correctly, I'll likely be bankrupted, or dead, before I see the money.

[dickthegrouch]

10. I have never broken even

I have no desire for rental income, merely to cover my obligations. I could have invested in the lottery of the stock market. I chose to help a family in need, partly because of the contract involved. Now the State has rewritten that contract without my permission.

I'm using retirement funds. I am not over leveraged. I refuse to be taken advantage of by people who CAN AFFORD to pay.

[Xolodno]

11. That's why its called an investment.

Most cases, you'll come out ahead. But not always. You have to be prepared for a loss. I threw my stimulus check (I was screwed on the one income rules, but file jointly and was under the mark) straight into stocks of my choosing. My first, I sold at 90% profit. The second, a blue chip, at 30%. And two more are close to hitting my sell mark at over 70%. Damn, which I had more funds to invest.

With that said, I also invested into Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruises, I'm playing the roulette table, and I'm prepared for the losses.

And contrary to belief, real estate is not always a sound investment. I remember visiting my grandmother one year, the family had come into some money a long time ago and bought some apartments. She was happy that day, first time in five years they made a profit....and mind you, they were paid for.

My mom, who is disabled, depends on some family owned apartments to supplement her income. My father who was a contractor, paid the bare minimum into Social Security...he died well before he could collect, thus my mom gets a bare minimum. I'm sure the meager extra amount is going to shrink, but every bit counts.

Rather than venting and looking at the money you could have had over a long term...ask yourself, is this the time to sell out? Property values haven't taken too much of a tumble due to moratoriums (and in fact, you should have been looking at this option when unemployment started rising like a Fire Tornado in a California Brush Fire) and in some cases, actually rose, due to housing starts taking a shit.

Always be prepared to get out of a bad investment. And if you are going to take a serious hit, you made a bad investment.