Late last night, Governor Newsom signed into law an urgency bill, AB 3088, that provides additional protections against evictions for those affected financially by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a statewide law and is effective immediately.
Highlights of the law include the following restrictions:
- Past due rents from March through August do not have to be repaid right away if you are unable to do so. Landlords will not be able to sue for nonpayment of these rents until March 2021.
- For rents due between September 1, 2020 through January 31, 2021, tenants must pay at least 25% of the monthly rent in order to be protected from eviction. Landlords will be able to sue for any unpaid rent during this time period starting on February 1, 2021.
- Increases, until February 1, 2021, the time that tenants must respond to a demand to pay rent or other charges from three business days to 15 business days.
- Landlords who sue for uncollected rents must use the small claims court process.
This law was meant to assist nearly 4 million Californians who are at risk of evictions due to non-payment of rent. It was also considered a compromised law as landlords feared additional months of non-payment would cause them to not be able to pay their mortgages and face foreclosure themselves.
To read the law, go to: https://bit.ly/34XvnEv
