Update: Sacramento adopts ban on some evictions during coronavirus outbreak. How it will work
The Sacramento City Council on Tuesday unanimously adopted an emergency moratorium on evictions to protect renters financially impacted by the coronavirus.
The eviction ordinance will go into effect immediately. It will cover renters who are unable to pay rent due to any of the following reasons:
▪ Renters who are sick with COVID-19 or caring for a household or family member who is sick with the virus
▪ Renters who were laid off, lost hours at work, or had income reduced in any way as a result of the coronavirus or the state of emergency
▪ Renters complying with the recommendations from government agencies to stay home, self quarantine and avoid congregating
▪ Renters who need to miss work to care for a home-bound school-age child
In order to take advantage of the protections, renters must:
▪ Notify their landlord in writing before the day the rent is due that they have a covered reason for a delayed payment
▪ Provide landlords with verifiable documentation to support the covered reason
▪ Pay the portion of the rent the tenant is able to pay
Gov. Gavin Newsom Monday issued an executive order empowering cities to adopt such moratoriums. San Francisco and San Jose had already adopted moratoriums last week. Sacramento announced plans Thursday to adopt one, which came to fruition Tuesday.
The protections only apply to residential tenants, but the council plans to update it to include commercial tenants.
“Many small businesses, retail tenants, restaurants, they are panicking because they are often operating on small margins,” Councilman Steve Hansen said.
Renters will have up to roughly four months after after the state emergency declaration ends to pay the deferred rent. The declaration is currently set to end May 31, meaning the rent would be due around Sept. 31.
Councilman Rick Jennings asked if the grace period could be extended.
“While it seems like it’s generous, it also seems that those who are behind because of the coronavirus and are catching back up, four months to pay past rent and current rent may be more than they can handle,” Jennings said.
City officials landed on four months as a middle ground between cities that allowed rent to be paid within two months and others that allowed six months, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, Councilman Eric Guerra said. Tenants and landlords can also work out their own timelines, which may be more lenient, he added.
Councilman Larry Carr said the city should also adopt protections to help landlords from being foreclosed on.
“We’re pulling the string in one spot and it has impacts across the board,” Carr said.
Mayor Darrell Steinberg asked staff to look into whether the state is handling that issue and report back.
Steinberg suggested the city also consider offering rental assistance down the road.
“Whether through the federal stimulus or state relief package or as part of a larger philanthropic effort to aid working people, this is something we have to look at here to fill the gaps,” Steinberg said. “But this is a good start, an important start, it sends the right signal.”
Tenants should contact the city if they believe their landlord is violating the ordinance, said Kelli Trapani, a city spokeswoman. Landlords in violation could face fines of up to $25,000.
The council also Tuesday approved an item to waive penalties for late utility payments and suspend shutoffs due to nonpayment, which the Sacramento Municipal Utility District is already doing. The council also approved an item to push back expiration dates for land use entitlements for developers.
The city is Wednesday launching a $1 million economic relief fund for small businesses affected the virus. The fund will provide zero-interest loans of up to $25,000 per business. The city will start accepting applications at 5 p.m. Wednesday at bottom of this web page.
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 4:10 PM.
