Tenants should make every effort to pay their rent in full in order to avoid eviction.
California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis on March 31, 2022, signed into law legislation (Assembly Bill 2179) that extends eviction protections for renters who applied for emergency rental assistance by March 31, 2022.
Under this new law, a renter cannot be evicted for nonpayment of rent if a court determines that they applied for government help to pay their rent by March 31, 2022, and the application has not been denied. To proceed with an eviction, a landlord would be required to file a statement under penalty of perjury that the determination on an application for rental assistance is not pending. This protection would remain in effect until June 30, 2022.
If you cannot afford your rent, or if you are being threatened with eviction, you should seek legal advice right away. I am a Real Estate attorney and broker licensed to practice law in the State of California since 1983. To find out more information, please visit The Law Office of Andrew H. Griffin, III by clicking here evictionservicessandiego.
Tenant Protections Related to COVID-19:
Tenants have limited protections related to COVID-19. Even if you think these protections apply to you, if you receive an eviction lawsuit, don’t ignore it! It is very important that you respond to the eviction case immediately.
- If you owe rent that was due after March 31, 2022, your landlord can file an eviction case against you. You should pay this rent immediately if you get a “three-day notice to pay rent or quit.”
- If you owe rent that was due between October 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022, and if you applied for rental assistance before March 31, 2022, your landlord should not be able to file an eviction case against you until July 1, 2022. Notify your landlord in writing that you have applied for rental assistance.
- Your landlord can file an eviction case against you if you did not apply for rental assistance by March 31, 2022, or if your application was denied.
- If you owe rent that was due between March 1 and August 31, 2020, and if you submitted this declaration to your landlord, your landlord should not be able to evict you for that unpaid rent. The declaration requires you to confirm that you can’t pay your full rent because of COVID-19. If you never sent this declaration to your landlord, send it now and save a copy.
- If you were unable to pay rent that was due between September 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021, your landlord will never be able to evict you for that unpaid rent if you submitted this declaration to your landlord and you paid at least 25% of your September 2020 to September 2021 rent by September 30, 2021. The declaration requires you to confirm that you can’t pay your full rent because of COVID-19.
- If you are in an eviction case about rent that accrued because of COVID-19 and you are approved for governmental rental assistance, you can ask the court to pause your eviction case while you are waiting for the rental assistance to pay your rent. If the rental assistance does not cover all the rent you owe, you will need to pay the rest to your landlord. Once your landlord receives all the rent you owe, you can ask the court to dismiss the eviction case so you can stay in your home.
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- Tenants who paid landlords at least 25 percent of any rent owed between September 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021, ORhave a completed application for emergency rental assistance on or before March 31, 2022, may be protected from eviction for nonpayment of rent.
- Landlords are required to provide a notice to tenants who have not paid one or more months of rent during this time period.
- Tenants are required to provide their landlord a Declaration of COVID-19-related financial distress within 15 days, excluding Saturdays/Sundays/other judicial holidays, of receiving notice from their landlord.
- Beginning November 1, 2021, for the Superior Court to process an Unlawful Detainer action (eviction) for unpaid rent accrued during the period October 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, the landlord must provide:
- Proof that an application for emergency rental assistance was submitted and denied, or
- If an eviction is court-approved, but the Sheriff has not yet initiated a lock-out, tenants may still submit to the court proof of rental assistance approval, and the court will determine within 5-10 days whether the rent can be paid and the eviction be avoided.
- Local ordinances may take effect July 1, 2022.
- Tenants may still be evicted for “just cause” throughout this time period, such as tenant lease violations, tenant criminal activity, or the owner withdrawing the property from the rental market.
- Tenants with disabilities are entitled to additional protections. For more information, please visit https://www.dfeh.ca.gov/housing/.
If you have any questions or if you need any other information, contact me at The Law Office of Andrew H. Griffin, III
.