A number of constituents have reached out to our office regarding evictions and foreclosures, and we wanted to provide an overview on the actions that the state has taken.
Evictions: On April 6, 2020, the Judicial Council adopted Emergency Rules which effectively stop residential and commercial evictions for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis. This rule applies to all eviction cases and will be in effect until 90 days after Governor Newsom lifts the COVID-19 state of emergency, or if it is amended and/or repealed by the Judicial Council.
An exception to these protections, is if a court should find that an eviction “is necessary to protect public health and safety.” E.g. If there is a domestic abuser in the home who must be evicted to protect the health and safety of another tenant living in the same household.
Additionally, Governor Newsom also issued Executive Order N-37-20 on March 27, 2020, banning the enforcement of eviction orders for renters impacted by COVID-19 through May 31, 2020. This order prohibits tenants from being evicted for nonpayment if they were previously current on their rent. Tenants are required to declare in writing, no more than seven days after rent is due, they are unable to pay all or part of their rent due to COVID-19, while providing supporting documentation.
Foreclosures: Courts are prohibited from taking action on all foreclosure cases, regardless of the stage in the process. Additionally, all legal deadlines for filing foreclosure cases are postponed, while the period for exercising rights in a foreclosure cases have been extended. On March 25, 2020, the state Department of Business Oversight secured support from national banks, state banks and credit unions for temporary delays (up to 90 days) in mortgage payments and foreclosure sales and evictions for homeowners who have economic impacts from COVID-19 so please reach out to your lender to look at options.
Important Note: While these Emergency Rules effectively puts evictions and foreclosures on hold likely through the summer, they do not establish new tenant rights or defenses to an eviction, nor do they address requirements for providing documentation to landowners when tenants are unable to pay rent due to a loss of income as a result of COVID-19.