New State legislation will protect tenants from eviction

New State legislation will protect tenants across California from eviction and property owners from foreclosure due to the economic impacts of COVID-19.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on August 28 signed the legislation, which protects tenants from eviction (before Feb. 1, 2021) for non-payment of rent due to a coronavirus-related hardship occurring between March 4 – August 31. For such hardship accruing between September 1 and 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 can’t be the basis for an eviction. Landlords may begin to recover this debt on March 1, 2021. Landlords who do not follow the court evictions process will face increased penalties under the act.

To help rental owners comply with the numerous regulations included in the legislation, the California Apartment Association (CAA) launched a comprehensive website with numerous online resources to aid rental owners in navigating this new law. The website includes: 

• Video overview of the bill
• Executive summary of the bill 
• Comprehensive overview of the bill 
• Different forms, notices, and agreements landlords need to use to comply with the bill 
• Information on the income-eligibility provisions in the bill 

For more information, visit the CAA website.