Confused by local, state and federal eviction protections? Here's what it means for you

A new state law, AB 3088, took effect on Aug. 31, 2020 and provides new protections for tenants who have lost income due to the Covid-19 2020. The City of Sacramento also has an eviction protection ordinance that remains in effect until Sept. 30.

The new federal order from the Centers for Disease Control does not apply in California because state law provides greater protections.

Here’s what it all means for tenants in Sacramento:

Amount of Rent Due – To be protected from eviction, tenants must pay 25% of the rent due as of September 1, 2020 and each month thereafter. However, the deadline for making the 25% rent payments for the months of September through January is January 31, 2021, rather than the Jan. 28 deadline that was in the City ordinance.  The full amount of rent is due for the month of February, 2021 and each month after that.

COVID-19 Declaration – Before a landlord can evict a tenant for failure to pay rent, the landlord under state law must serve the tenant with a 3 Day Notice to Pay or Quit. The landlord is now also required to provide the tenant with a COVID-19 declaration form, which must be signed under penalty of perjury and returned within a 15-day period (excluding weekends and holidays).  No income verification documentation is required to be provided to the landlord unless the tenant is a high-income earner, making over $100,000 or 130% of the county median income.  

Back Rent Payment Due Date – Tenants that were unable to pay the full amount of rent for the months of March through August 2020 have until January 31, 2021 to pay the back rent. Under the City’s ordinance, no late fees are owed for late payments for these months.

Back Rent Collection - If a tenant submits to the landlord the declaration of a COVID-19 financial impact form, back rent owed from March through August 2020, and from September 2020 through January 2021, can only be collected through a small claims court process — not eviction.  

Evictions Can Still Proceed – A landlord can file an unlawful detainer complaint against a tenant to start the eviction process if the tenant violated the lease prior to March 1, 2020, or if the tenant violated the lease afterwards for a cause other than non-payment of rent. 

The courts opened on September 2, 2020 to process evictions; however, eviction complaints for non-payment of rent (i.e., where there is no COVID-19 financial impact) cannot be filed any sooner than October 5, 2020. Starting in February 2021, a landlord can evict a tenant for non-payment of rent for that month and thereafter even if the tenant still has a COVID-19 financial impact.

Landlords can still evict tenants based on “just cause” and “no fault” provisions, which are set forth in both the City’s Tenant Protection and Relief Act (Ordinance No. 2019-0025) and in the state law AB 1482 which became effective on January 1, 2020.  Also, AB 3088 provides that if the landlord is selling the rental property, a tenant who signed a COVID-19 declaration form can only be evicted before February 1, 2021 if the new owner will reside in the property.

Learn more by visiting the state’s Housing is Key website https://landlordtenant.dre.ca.gov/

If you have questions, feel free to contact the City’s Tenant Protection Program at: 916-808-8121 or via email at tpp@cityofsacramento.org.

The City also offers free mediation services for landlords and tenants impacted by COVID. For more information, please contact the Sacramento CARES Mediation Program at 916-850-9010.