Evictions & Rent Relief: resources for renters during COVID-19

This pandemic has impacted everyone, but unlike for homeowners, the help available for renters has been limited and scattered. To help tenants find information during this time, we’ve created a resource page for renters to help them find organizations supporting renters and their rights.

Most frequent questions are coming around evictions, a last resort dispute between a landlord and a tenant that can lead to dire circumstances. To complicate the already difficult process of eviction, there’s no uniform guideline -- the federal temporary moratorium on evictions expired at the end of July -- so each state, county, and city has their own unique guidelines that need to be followed.

A good resource tracking the various rules on evictions in California is maintained by the folks at Nolo, see their updated info here: California Eviction Moratoriums (Bans) and Tenant Protections.

Below are some eviction info for the top four largest cities in California.

Los Angeles

• L.A. County Temporary Eviction Moratorium full details. Summary:
• Countywide ban on evictions is effective through September 30, 2020; during the moratorium, tenants may not be evicted for COVID-19 related non-payment of rent, as well as no fault reasons, nuisance, unauthorized occupants or pets, if related to COVID-19
• LA County also has an income based Rent Relief Program for qualified residence, more details here.
  

San Diego

• City of San Diego COVID-19 Temporary Ban on Evictions full details. Summary:
• Landlords cannot take action to evict a tenant for not paying rent that was due on or after March 12, 2020, if the tenant is not able to pay because of the financial effects of COVID-19 -- this citywide temporary ban on evictions lasts through September 30, 2020.
  

San Jose

• Eviction Moratorium in San Jose full details. Summary:
• The moratorium is in effect through October 17, 2020 and only applies to residential evictions for nonpayment of rent due to impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak. There is no moratorium on lawful evictions for other just causes.
• Another resource is the COVID-19 Financial Assistance Program that provides temporary financial assistance and supportive services to low-income families and individuals who are at risk of becoming homeless

San Francisco

• SF temporary eviction moratorium. Summary:
• A landlord cannot evict a residential tenant for a missed rent payment (or late fee) that became due during the Eviction Moratorium until six months after the Mayor's Order expires (currently March 31, 2021), provided both (a) and (b) apply:
• a) The missed rent payment became due after March 13, 2020, but before the expiration of the Eviction Moratorium (currently September 30, 2020, but may be extended).
• b) The tenant was unable to pay rent because of financial impacts related to COVID-19.
• SF also has a temporary rent freeze through October 21, 2020, more details here.
  

We’ll continue updating our resource page with relevant information. If you have questions or want to share your story send us a note at community@goodcover.com.