California Gov. Newsom signs COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act (AB3088)

[Kyle J.]

Gov. Gavin Newsom late Monday signed the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act of 2020, legislation that prohibits the eviction of renters with genuine COVID-related hardships but reopens the unlawful-detainer process for tenants who cause problems at the property.

This new law isn’t ideal, but it’s quite a bit better than the other bill that was being considered (AB1436), which was dubbed the “free rent” bill. 

Here’s the link to the full story on this new law which takes effect immediately:

CAA: Gov. Newsom signs COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act

[Kyle J.]

For any California landlords that are following this new law, I attended the webinar today on this new law put on by the compliance/legal counsel from California Apartment Association.  It was very informative.  

Basically, the new law only applies if the tenant doesn't pay rent or "other charges" (e.g. utilities, pet rent, damage charges, etc).  However, if it's for anything monetary like that, you now have to serve a 15-day notice (instead of the previous 3-day notice), which does not include weekends or holidays, and serve the tenant with a new informational notice of their rights under this new Tenant Relief Act (which must include a blank declaration of COVID-19 related financial distress).

If the tenant then submits the declaration back to the landlord within the 15 days claiming they are unable to pay, it triggers the eviction protections under the Tenant Relief Act and they cannot be evicted for non-payment.  The unpaid amounts simply become consumer debt that can only be collected in small claims court.  

The landlord is not allowed to ask for proof of their claim (unless they're considered a "high income" earner, which in most counties means they make over $100k/yr).

This significantly changes the law for California landlords, so if you have any tenants that do not pay rent between now and January 31, 2021, I highly suggest you seek the advice of competent legal counsel before proceeding against the tenant.  (It's also retroactive if you already have an eviction in progress for non-payment of rent or other charges.)  I've only just covered the highlights here.  There's quite a bit more that I didn't cover because there's simply not enough time/space.