At last night’s city council meeting, the council enacted two urgency ordinances by voting unanimously to restrict commercial and residential evictions for non-payment of rent due to COVID-19 pandemic. This ordinance will remain in effect until the governor or the county public health officer repeals their coronavirus emergency declarations, or the city council repeals the ordinance by at least a 4/5 vote; whichever comes first.
This ordinance does not relieve a residential or commercial renter from the rent owed, but it protects the renter during the COVID -19 emergency declaration from being evicted for non-payment and allows the renter up to 60 days after the ordinance is lifted to repay all past due rent.
The residential renter must show that failure to pay rent on time was due to the COVID-19 pandemic such as loss of job, reduction in hours at work, being sick and quarantined, or taking care of a family member who is home sick or minor children unable to attend school and need supervision.
The commercial renter must prove that failure to pay rent on time was due to the COVID-19 pandemic such as a decrease in sales, closure of business ordered by the state or county, or workers unable to come to work due to the “Stay at Home” order and their own personal commitments.
“Not only has the coronavirus pandemic been a real health concern to many families in Cathedral City, it has also been a tremendous economic burden as well.” stated Mayor John Aguilar, “The council passed these ordinances unanimously as a way to provide our residents and business owners with an additional safeguard to help them navigate through this crisis.”
The council enacted these ordinances to prevent families who have suddenly lost significant income due to the coronavirus pandemic from becoming homeless and keep commercial buildings from becoming vacant and boarded up, both due to a recent and unprecedented collapse of the economy.
The council enacted these urgency ordinances to prevent workers from spreading the coronavirus by not following orders to “Stay at Home.” Individuals are often faced with weighing the Stay at Home order and the need to work and pay rent. These ordinances put public health in the highest priority and allows economics to be ironed out over time.
The emergency ordinance does not cover commercial or residential property located on tribal or tribal allottee lands as these parcels are governed by tribal governments.
To read both ordinances, please go to: https://www.discovercathedralcity.com/covid-19-info
