On August 31st, 2020, the CAA approved Assembly Bill No. 3088, known as the Tenant, Homeowner, and Small Landlord Relief and Stabilization Act of 2020. AB No. 3088 will go into effect immediately, but it does not relieve tenants, homeowners, or landlords of their financial and contractual obligations. Specifically, AB No. 3088 seeks to limit the harm created by the Covid-19 pandemic by preventing unpaid rental debt from serving as a justification for eviction or foreclosure during this unprecedented time. If you are a California tenant, this bill may contain important provisions which impact you. If you are facing eviction, as a result of Covid-19 induced financial distress or some other reason, it is important for you to understand how AB No. 3088 impacts you, and what steps you can take to protect your housing.
What Californians Need to Know
You are protected if:
- The Covid-19 pandemic has limited, completely or partially, your ability to pay rent due to the financial hardships it has created, and you face eviction because of your inability to pay rent
- The Covid-19 pandemic will inhibit your ability to pay rent, in totality, between September 1, 2020 and January 31, 2021
You are not protected if:
- You have not suffered from financial distress as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic
- You are facing (or may face in the future) the possibility of eviction, for reasons unrelated to your ability to pay rent as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic
- The Covid-19 pandemic will inhibit your ability to pay rent, completely or partially, after January 31, 2021
- The Covid-19 pandemic will inhibit your ability to pay at least 25% of total rental payments due between September 1, 2020 and January 31, 2021. Failure to do so may result in justified eviction proceedings against you on or after February 1, 2021
Are you suffering from financial distress due to the Covid-19 pandemic?
Section 798.56 of the California Civil Code has been amended to provide additional protections for California tenants. Learn how these amendments impact your ability to protect yourself from eviction during this unprecedented time.
How do these amendments affect me:
- A 15-day notice to pay or quit is now required for landlords to serve on their tenants, instead of the previously required 3-day notice to pay or quit (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and judicial holidays)
- The notice must advise tenants that they cannot be evicted for their failure to comply with the notice, if the tenant delivers a signed declaration of COVID-19-related financial distress to the landlord on or before the date that the "notice to pay rent or quit" or "notice to perform covenants or quit" expires. Landlords must provide tenants with this paperwork at the time of service, along with the 15-day notice to pay or quit
- A tenant may deliver the declaration of COVID-19-related financial distress to the landlord by any of the following methods: (1) In person, if the landlord indicates in the notice an address at which the declaration may be delivered in person; (2) By electronic transmission, if the landlord indicates an email address in the notice to which the declaration may be delivered; (3) Through United States mail to the address indicated by the landlord in the notice. If the landlord does not provide an address, then it shall be conclusively presumed that upon the mailing of the declaration by the tenant to the address provided by the landlord, the declaration is deemed received by the landlord on the date posted, if the tenant can show proof of mailing to the address provided by the landlord; (4) Through any of the same methods that the tenant can use to deliver the payment pursuant to the notice if delivery of the declaration by that method is possible
- The notice must include the following text in at least 12-point font:
“NOTICE FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA: If you are unable to pay the amount demanded in this notice, and have decreased income or increased expenses due to COVID-19, your landlord will not be able to evict you for this missed payment if you sign and deliver the declaration form included with your notice to your landlord within 15 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and other judicial holidays, but you will still owe this money to your landlord. If you do not sign and deliver the declaration within this time period, you may lose the eviction protections available to you. You must return this form to be protected. You should keep a copy or picture of the signed form for your records.
You will still owe this money to your landlord and can be sued for the money, but you cannot be evicted from your home if you comply with these requirements. You should keep careful track of what you have paid and any amount you still owe to protect your rights and avoid future disputes. Failure to respond to this notice may result in an unlawful detainer action (eviction) being filed against you.
For information about legal resources that may be available to you, visit lawhelpca.org.”
How to claim Covid-19 related tenant hardship protection under AB No. 3088:
California tenants can obtain copies of the Declaration of Covid-19 Related Distress and the City of Oakland’s Area Median Income information by following the links provided below:
https://landlordtenant.dre.ca.gov/tenant/forms.html
https://www.oaklandca.gov/resources/rent-and-income-limits-for-affordable-housing
- Tenants seeking to claim eviction protection under AB No. 3088 as a result of an inability to pay rent, must inform their landlord that they have suffered Covid-19 related financial distress
- The Declaration of Covid-19 Related Distress is the only form required when seeking protection under AB No. 3088. Supporting paperwork is only necessary for those tenants whose annual income exceeds the Area Median Income. In such cases, tenants must include documentation of financial distress along with their Declaration of Covid-19 Related Distress form
I have provided the necessary documentation, what next?
- Once the required paperwork is filed and you qualify for protection under AB No. 3088, you will be safe from eviction between March 1, 2020 and August 31, 2020 as it relates to nonpayment of rent. Moreover, you will also be safe from eviction as it relates to nonpayment of rent between September 1, 2020 and January 31, 2021, so long as you pay at least 25% of the total rental payments due between September 1, 2020 and January 31, 2021.