One of President Biden’s first acts as President was to approve an order for the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to extend the Eviction Moratorium that was set to expire on January 31, 2021. The order now expires March 31, 2021.
At the same time, Governor Newsom seeks to approve legislation to extend the California eviction moratorium (AB 3088) through June 30, 2021. Once AB 3088 (which is currently set to expire February 1, 2021) is extended, we will update this information.
Facts about the extended CDC Eviction Moratorium:
If your tenant gives you a CDC declaration at any time before or during the eviction process, the actual eviction cannot occur until after March 31, 2021. Some judges in the San Diego Superior Court interpret the CDC order to allow everything except the actual lockout to move forward, while other judges interpret this as a “stay” or delay of an eviction case until after the CDC order expires.
As a landlord, you are not required to provide the tenant with the CDC declaration, however the requisite declaration is available to tenants online, and is readily being handed out by tenant attorneys in San Diego.
The CDC moratorium allows landlords to file cases where the tenant is doing any of the following:
- Engaging in criminal activity while on the premises;
- Threatening the health or safety of other residents;
- Damaging or posing an immediate and significant risk of damage to property;
- Violating any applicable building code, health ordinance, or similar regulation relating to health and safety;
- Violating any other contractual obligation, other than the timely payment of rent or similar housing-related payment (including non-payment or late payment of fees, penalties, or interest).
The CDC order also appears not to apply to occupants being evicted following foreclosure of their property.
Violators of the CDC Order may be subjected to significant penalties, including fines, jail time, or both. If the violation does not result in death, then you may be subject to a fine of no more than $100,000 ($200,000 if the landlord is an organization).
If the violation results in death, then you may be subject to a fine of no more than $250,000 ($500,000 if the landlord is an organization).
The current CDC and CA State moratoriums only apply to residential tenancies. Please note, the City of San Diego is in the process of passing a local ordinance to protect commercial tenants from being evicted until “60-days past the state of emergency.”
Again, this posting will be updated as we receive further information.
