Not renewing lease during Covid in California

[Damir Seferovic]

Hi everyone,

Looking for some clarity on what I can do here in California.  I have a tenant whose lease expires on March 1. He has been with me for 3 years now. He has had a few months in the past when he has been late with rent but it has really intensified this past year and he has been paying partial rent and not on time for the majority of the pandemic period. He's an accountant in a church (currently not able to operate) as well as freelance photographer, so as a result, his income has dried up. I'm aware of current laws in terms of collecting that unpaid rent but he also has not sent a single hardship declaration. 

But what I'm really wanting to understand is whether I can simply not renew the lease for no reason. In my lease documents I specify that as one of the stipulations. I thought I could use his rent delay as the reason for not renewing, but with Covid tenant protections I'm not sure if I can do that (I know that I can't evict him, yet). So again, just wanted to know if I can simply not renew the lease.

Would appreciate any thoughts/suggestions you may have.

Much appreciated.