San Francisco, along with most cities in the US, have enacted an ‘eviction moratorium’ due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  This means that residential and commercial tenants cannot be evicted during the coronavirus outbreak, including for non-payment of rent.  The eviction moratorium is currently effective through June 21, 2020 in San Francisco.  (Dates may vary in your city).

We reviewed the new ordinance with Tenants Rights Attorney and Housing Columnist Daniel Wayne.  All the information from the new order is listed bellow along with an example of how you submit a written notice to your landlord via email, in case you cannot pay your rent this month.  You can read San Francisco’s entire Executive Order at sf.gov.  If you are a small business, you can find the moratorium on commercial evictions here.

SF Mayor London Breed

Eviction Moratorium for Non-Payment

If, like many of us, you cannot work right now due to shelter in place or because you or someone you are responsible for has contracted COVID-19, you do not have to worry about being evicted, and you do not have to forgo buying food or medicine in order to pay your rent on time.

This does not mean that nobody has to pay their rent during shelter in place! 

If you can pay your rent, then pay it – or as much of it as you can. What this moratorium means is that your landlord cannot throw you out of your home for non-payment during this crisis.  This does not mean that your rent is waived or not due later – at least for now. San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston is working on a law that would create a waiver of the obligation to pay back rent but that is still a work in progress.

Make sure you read your lease agreement

To see if you landlord can charge you late fees or interest on your missed rent payments.  These are things that you will want to discuss over email, because it creates a ‘paper trail’ in case there is a dispute later on.

To qualify for the moratorium on rent payment you must satisfy ALL of the below requirements:

1. The rent you owe was due after March 13, and before the moratorium expires – currently April 22, 2020 but likely to be extended);
2. Your inability to pay rent is/was because of the financial impact of the COVID-19 crises.
3. You must tell your landlord that you can’t / couldn’t pay your rent due to the financial impact of COVID-19. within 1 month after the rent was due. (You can notify your landlord verbally or in writing, but it is recommended you do so in writing).
4. Provide your landlord written documentation showing that your inability to pay rent is due to the outbreak within seven days of notifying them.

Note that for each period where you don’t pay rent you will need to repeat steps 3 and 4.

Financial impact means any loss of income due to:

• Reduced work hours
• Temporary business closure or slowdown
• Layoffs
• Increased expenses

If you qualify, your rent is then not due until six months AFTER the moratorium expires (doing the math that means rent due during March 13 – April 22 would be due on October 22, 2020).

EVICTION MORATORIUM ON OTHER EVICTIONS TOO

While most people are concerned about their ability to pay rent, San Francisco actually put a moratorium on ALL evictions for the time being, with a few exceptions. That means that even those eviction notices for an owner-move in eviction or breaching your lease aren’t going to get you kicked out until this crises is over. The only evictions that courts are currently still processing are those related to violence / the threat of violence, health and safety issues and Ellis Act evictions. In other words, don’t freak out that you’re going to have to figure out how to move AND shelter in place at the same time.

Here is an email template you can use to write your own notice to your landlord regarding non-payment of rent:

Dear (landlord name),

I am writing to inform you that I will not be able to pay my rent of (amount) this month (dates of non-payment) due to the COVID-19 crises.   I have attached documentation here showing how I have been financially impacted by this crises.

(attachment a document like: proof of layoff, pay stub that shows reduced work hours, EDD receipt, a notice of your business’ closure ect.)

Sincerely,
(your name and address)