Last year, AB 3088 was passed by the CA legislature and signed by the governor. Among its many provisions is a ban on evictions for nonpayment of rent due to COVID-19-related financial difficulty. This post will explain how that provision of the law works, and what tenants need to prepare in order to successfully contest an eviction notice that their landlord may give them.
1. What kinds of evictions are still allowed?
AB 3088 only prohibits tenants from being evicted for nonpayment of rent due to COVID-19-related financial difficulty. This means that other legal reasons for a landlord to evict a tenant are still allowed, such as:
- Eviction to recover possession – when a landlord evicts a tenant to use the property for themselves or a family member
- Eviction for breaking the lease agreement for non-rent reasons, such as nuisance or criminal activity
- Eviction due to the expiration of a lease
Tenants should be careful to take detailed notes of any times a landlord or other tenants complains about things such as noise, trash, or other reasons a landlord could use to evict a tenant. Landlords may attempt to use these reasons as excuses to evict tenants who are behind on rent due to COVID-19. Also make sure to review your lease agreement and know when your lease expires.
2. How do I show that I am behind on rent due to COVID-19?
If a landlord attempts to evict a tenant for non-payment of rent, AB 3088 requires that tenants sign, under penalty of perjury, a declaration that they cannot pay rent due to COVID-19-related financial hardship. This document should be treated as an official court document – you are signing under oath, and can be prosecuted if you are not truthful in your declaration.
The legislature has required that:
- Your landlord must give you a copy of the declaration to sign with the eviction notice.
- The declaration must be the exact language that the state requires (see below).
- If your landlord does not give you the declaration, they cannot evict you for non-payment of rent.
The declaration must contain the following language:
“I am currently unable to pay my rent or other financial obligations under the lease in full because of one or more of the following:
1. Loss of income caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. Increased out-of-pocket expenses directly related to performing essential work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
3. Increased expenses directly related to health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
4. Childcare responsibilities or responsibilities to care for an elderly, disabled, or sick family member directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic that limit my ability to earn income.
5. Increased costs for childcare or attending to an elderly, disabled, or sick family member directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
6. Other circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic that have reduced my income or increased my expenses.
Any public assistance, including unemployment insurance, pandemic unemployment assistance, state disability insurance (SDI), or paid family leave, that I have received since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic does not fully make up for my loss of income and/or increased expenses.
Signed under penalty of perjury:
Dated:”
While your landlord is required to provide a copy of this declaration to sign with their Notice to Pay Rent or Quit, it is good to keep copies of your own on hand to provide to your landlord and the court. These forms are available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, and Vietnamese at the following link:
https://housing.ca.gov/tenant/forms.html
3. If I successfully defend against an eviction due to COVID-19 rental debt, do I still owe the money?
Although a landlord is prevented from evicting a tenant for non-payment of COVID-19 rental debt, tenants must pay 25% of their rent owed from September 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. You do not need to pay this rent each month – the entire amount could be paid on June 30, 2021.
If you do not pay the 25% of your rent during this period, after June 30, 2021 you may be evicted.
It is also important to know that even if you cannot be evicted for your COVID-19 rental debt, you can still be sued for it in civil court – you could have a judgment entered against you for owing the debt, and that debt can affect your credit and be assigned to debt collection companies.
4. Are there any resources to help me pay my COVID-19 rental debt?
Yes! SB 91, which was signed into law earlier this year, creates a Rental Assistance Payment Program to help people pay their COVID-19 rental debt.
For landlords who choose to participate in the Rental Assistance Payment Program, tenants can apply for their landlord to be reimbursed for 80% of their rent which went unpaid between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021. The landlord must agree to waive the remaining 20% of unpaid rent for that specific time period.
However, landlords are not required to participate. Eligible tenants whose landlords choose not to participate in the program may receive 25% of unpaid rent between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021.
Tenants who wish to apply for assistance should click HERE to be redirected to the state of California’s application website.
https://housing.ca.gov/covid_rr/program_overview.html#renter
5. In conclusion:
If you sign the declaration that your non-payment of rent is due to COVID-19 financial distress, you cannot be evicted for not paying your rent.
Your landlord must provide this form to you along with their eviction notice, but you should sign and print one out for yourself.
However, if you do not pay 25% of the total rent you owe before June 30, 2021, your landlord can evict you on this basis.
Although you cannot be evicted for this debt, you still owe the money to your landlord, you can be sued for that money, and a judgment can be entered against you.
The Rental Assistance Payment Program can help you pay COVID-19 rental debt – see the link above to apply.
As always, if you have any questions or comments, please email andrew.chen@ccwro.org.
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