(CA Executive orders N-28-20 & N-37-20 and Chula Vista Ordinance #20-0118)
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 and provides verifiable documentation. “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. If Tenant does so, then Landlord cannot charge a late fee, serve notice, start an eviction or take any action to evict the tenant.
- For Residential and Commercial Tenants, this notice is required to be made within 30 days after the date the rent is due.
If the Tenant completes 1 above, then the rent is still owed to the Landlord, however, Tenant shall have 6-months from the expiration of the local emergency to pay the back rent that is owed. If Tenant fails to pay back all the rent by the 6-month period after the expiration of the local emergency, then the Landlord may serve notice and evict the tenant.
If the Tenant does not do 1 above, then the Landlord may give notice to evict the Tenant. When the courts reopen (currently set for April 3, 2020, but this date may be pushed back), and the notice period has expired, then an eviction may be filed with the court however the tenant will have 65 days to respond to the eviction.
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