Sacramento County bans evicting renters impacted by coronavirus. Here’s when it starts

Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved renter protections Wednesday that would prevent landlords from evicting residential tenants who can’t pay rent because they’ve experienced financial hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The vote, held during a special meeting Wednesday, comes one day after the board rejected the same version of protections under an emergency ordinance. That emergency ordinance would’ve taken effect immediately, but required a four-fifth vote.

The temporary ban on evictions approved Wednesday is a regular ordinance that required a simple majority and would take effect at the earliest May 1. Supervisors Sue Frost and Susan Peters voted against the ordinance Wednesday.

Under the new law, tenants living in unincorporated parts of the county who can prove they’ve lost significant income because of the coronavirus pandemic cannot be evicted because they can’t pay rent.

Tenants would have to notify their landlords before rent is due that they cannot pay the full rent amount because of a covered reason, and instead pay as much rent as they can. Renters would then have up to 120 days, or roughly four months, after California’s state of emergency declaration is removed to pay back the deferred rent.

Tenants would have to provide documentation to landlords that they’ve lost income because:

▪ They were sick with, or caring for a family member sick with COVID-19.

▪ They experienced a layoff, loss of hours or other income reduction resulting from COVID-19 or the state of emergency.

▪ They were complying with a recommendation from a government agency to stay home, self quarantine or avoid congregating with others during the state of emergency.

▪ They needed to miss work to care for a home-bound school-age child.

Cities and counties across California have begun temporarily halting evictions out of fear that a wave of renters – having lost their jobs or wages – could suddenly become homeless even as Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered residents to stay at home except for essential purposes.

County counsel Lisa Travis told the board Wednesday that the intent of emergency ordinances being passed by local governments in California isn’t “enforcement action against landlords,” but rather protections for renters.

“These are unusual circumstances,” Board Chair Phil Serna said Tuesday. “I don’t see how we can simultaneously order people to stay at home if they find themselves in a position where they become homeless and therefore expose themselves more to the virus.”

Peters told the board that any ban on evictions amid the coronavirus pandemic should come down from the state, rather than cities and counties passing ordinances as a patchwork. Peters and Frost both expressed concerns that small landlords, particularly retired individuals reliant on rental income, would be hurt by the measure.

“I do believe we have a public health crisis, but we also have a public economic crisis and I think we should take both into account, and I think this ordinance doesn’t do that,” Peters told the board Wednesday.

The California Apartment Association said in a press release Monday that it “urges rental property owners and managers to act with compassion in dealing with residents who face coronavirus-related hardships in all locations, regardless of whether a moratorium on evictions is in place.”

The county’s regular ordinance will come before the supervisors again April 1 for a second reading and if approved would apply to tenants before May 1 rent due dates.