The Burbank Eviction Ordinance (20-2, 942), which protected against both residential and certain commercial evictions will sunset on September 30, 2020. It has already been replaced by AB 3088 that creates new regulations and does not include protections for commercial tenants. On October 6, the City Council will consider an extension of the Ordinance that would provide eviction protections for certain commercial tenants retroactively to September 30, 2020.
On August 31, 2020, Governor Newsom signed into law AB 3088, the Tenant, Homeowner, and Small Landlord Relief and Stabilization Act of 2020, effective immediately.
Prior Executive Orders had allowed local governments to limit evictions for renters impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. AB 3088 requires that local jurisdictions not extend residential Eviction Orders after September 30, 2020; therefore, Burbank’s Ordinance will sunset on that day.
This means up until the signing of AB 3088 on August 31, 2020, local ordinance rules will be in place and afterward AB 3088 will regulate residential evictions.
On September 23, Governor Newsom issued executive order 80-20 that extended the ability for cities to impose their own restrictions regarding commercial evictions only. (E.O. N-28-20, Paragraph 2 and E.O. N-71-20, Paragraph 3) through March 31, 2021.
Meaning that although residential evictions must fall under AB 3088 regulations, as of September 23, 2020, commercial evictions can be regulated by local government. On September 29, the Burbank City Council directed staff to bring back an extension of the prior Burbank Eviction Ordinance with respect to only commercial evictions for review.
AB 3088:
This Act provides long-term protections to residential renters including:
- On or before September 30, 2020, a Landlord must provide tenants who have missed a rental payment during the protected time period (March 1, 2020 to August 31, 2020) a notice of their rights. (§1179.04 (a))
- Landlords are prohibited from evicting a tenant for non-payment of rent or other charges that came due between March 1, 2020, and January 31, 2021, due to COVID, except as follows and certain regulations must be met if an eviction is to be implemented as listed below:
a. Requires a Landlord to give a 15-day notice to pay rent or quit, which must include an explanation of the current law and inform the tenant if they didn’t pay rent due to COVID, the tenant must provide the Landlord a declaration of such on the form mandated by the statute and provided by the Landlord, before seeking to evict for any unpaid rent or other charges due between March 1, 2020, and January 31, 2021.
b. If the tenant returns the declaration, the tenant may not be evicted for non-payment of rent between March 1, 2020 and August 31, 202
c. As to non-payment of rent from September 1, 2020, and January 31, 2021, if the tenant returns the declaration (and documentation, if required for a high-income resident); and, (2) by January 31, 2021, pays 25 percent of the rental payments due between September 1, 2020, and January 31, 2021, then tenant may not be evicted.
- Extends “just cause” protections under AB 1482 to all tenants until February 1, 2021, with limited exceptions.
- Prohibits any unlawful detainer actions for non-payment of rent or other charges (regardless of when due) prior to October 5, 2020.
- Prohibits unlawful detainer actions against tenants with COVID-19-related financial distress for non-payment of rent and other charges due between September 1, 2020 and January 31, 2021 until February 1, 2021.
- All unpaid rent is still owed to the Landlord, who may sue in small claims court for unpaid rent and receive a civil judgment against the tenant.
Burbank Ordinances:
The Burbank Eviction Ordinance does not forgive the payment of rent, but rather acknowledges a tenant is still obligated to pay any missed rent as a deferred payment. If the City Council extends the eviction moratorium on October 6, 2020, then commercial tenants will continue to be protected from evictions and the grace period to start paying rent is delayed.
Under AB 3088 there is a distinction between eviction protections and owing the Landlord past due rent and other financial obligations. Repayment of residential rents due between March 17, 2020, and August 30, 2020, will be governed by the City’s local Ordinance as written below:
- Burbank’s current Ordinance specifically states that “Tenants, (residential and commercial) who do not pay their rent due to COVID-19 as provided Urgency Ordinance No. 20-3,942 will have up to six months through March 31, 2021, to repay any back due rent (Six Month Grace Period). Thus, tenants who are currently in the arrears and meeting the Ordinance criteria for repayment of rent provisions under the ordinance will have until March 31, 2021, to pay any back rent due without penalty.”
- If the outstanding rent has not been paid within the six-month grace period, beginning on April 1, 2020, the Owner may charge and collect interest, late fees or other penalties allowed in the lease for any rent payments still owing. These fees were not allowed between March 17, 2020 and April 1, 2020.
- An Owner may not recover rent from their residential tenant that is delayed for reasons stated in Urgency Ordinance No. 20-3,942, if the Owner has already obtained compensation for the rent through federal or state or local government relief funds or other programs that provide such compensation.
- The current Eviction Ordinance affords both residential and commercial tenants protections that could be used as an affirmative defense in an eviction proceedin
Additional information on AB 3088, the Tenant, Homeowner and Small Landlord Relief and Stabilization Act of 2020, can be obtained from the State website https://covid19.ca.gov/housing-and-homelessness/.
The City encourages residential and commercial tenants to pay any portion of the rent they can afford, to speak with the landlords and if possible, work out a repayment plan.
