Application of New Laws as it pertains to City of San Diego Tenants
(CA Executive orders N-28-20 & N-37-20 and SD Ordinance #21177)
Effective dates: March 12, 2020 to May 31, 2020
- A Residential or Commercial Tenant does not have to pay rent if the Tenant gives Landlord written notice (e-mail or text ok) that the Tenant is unable to pay rent because Tenant has suffered a substantial decrease in household or business income due to financial impacts related to COVID-19. “Financial Impact” includes business closure, loss of work hours, loss work, substantial out-of-pocket medical expenses, taking care of family member who is sick with COVID-19, tenant has COVID-19, missed work because taking care of child due to school closure or complying with local, state, federal authorities.
- For Residential Tenants, this notice is required to be made within 8 days from the date the rent is due.
- For Commercial Tenants, this notice must be made on or before the rent is due.
- If a Commercial Tenant properly notifies the Landlord as stated in paragraph 1 above, then the Commercial Tenant has 7 days after the due date to provide verifiable documentation of the Financial Impact that the tenant or his/her household has suffered. If Tenant does so, then Landlord cannot charge a late fee, serve notice, start an eviction or take any action to evict the tenant.
- If a Residential Tenant properly notifies the Landlord as stated in paragraph 1, then the Residential Tenant must provide verifiable documentation of the Financial Impact that the tenant or his/her household has suffered by the time the back rent is due. If Tenant does so, then Landlord cannot charge a late fee, serve notice, start an eviction or take any action to evict the tenant.
If the Tenant completes 1 & 2 or 1 & 3 above, then the rent is still owed to the Landlord, however, Tenant shall have 6 months from March 25, 2020 to pay the back rent that is owed. If the Tenant moves out before September 25, 2020 then all the unpaid rent is due upon move out. If Tenant fails to pay back all the rent by September 25, 2020, then the Landlord may serve notice and evict the tenant. However, the tenant will have 65 days to respond to the eviction.
If the Tenant does not do 1 & 2 above, then the Landlord may give notice to evict the Tenant. However, the Courts are currently closed and are not accepting any filings (the Courts are currently set to reopen April 3, 2020, but this date may be pushed back). When the courts reopen, then Landlords may evict tenants who are not protected by these New Laws.
Please Note: The New Laws are vague and conflict in certain areas. The above is our opinion on how the New Laws would be interpreted by a court of law. If you have specific questions on how the New Laws may impact your tenants please feel free to contact our office. We strongly advise you to contact our office prior to serving any notice to pay rent on your tenants.
Simone & Associates