Updated as of March 27, 2020 at 10:00 a.m.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has ordered that all prior emergency orders, which included protections for both residential and commercial tenants, are extended through April 19th. As for residential tenants, the Mayor further clarified that no residential tenant may be evicted for nonpayment, no-fault and unlawful detainer actions, or if any member of the household is ill, in isolation or under quarantine, until 60 days after the order expires. As before, the Mayor’s recent order does not excuse a tenant’s obligation to pay rent.
A copy of the order is available here.
Updated as of March 24, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.
The emergency order in effect in the County of Los Angeles prohibits evictions of commercial tenants in unincorporated areas of the county. To determine whether the order applies to your property, please reference the full list of unincorporated areas here.
The County of Santa Cruz has also implemented its own moratorium.
Santa Ana is one of the first Orange County municipalities to implement an eviction moratorium, which provides protection for commercial and residential tenants and suspends foreclosures on both types of properties.
Updated as of March 20, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.
Although changing rapidly, most California jurisdictions have begun implementing moratoriums on the eviction of commercial tenants. Protections are generally tied to a tenant’s inability to pay rent as a result of the effects of COVID-19. While these tenant safeguards do not excuse the payment of rent entirely, they instead allow for some period of deferment.
As of March 20, 2020, the following jurisdictions are among those in California that have implemented moratoriums (which may be extended) on the eviction of commercial tenants:
Although most municipalities in Orange County haven’t enacted moratoriums yet, news reports indicate discussions are in process.Sacramento and San Jose are also considering offering protections to commercial tenants after doing so for residential renters.
Other Noteworthy Moratoriums:
- Federal Government has suspended foreclosures on any mortgages backed by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, or the Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”) for 60 days (through at least April).
- New York has announced a 90-day moratorium (through at least June 20) on evictions for residential and commercial tenants.
- Various cities across the country have enacted moratoriums on residential and/or commercial evictions. In some cases, courts have halted eviction proceedings (i.e., Massachusetts).
As a general note, local governments have been swift in enacting protections for residential renters, with safeguards for commercial tenants following soon thereafter.
Given that the above list is not exhaustive, please reach out to the attorneys at Greenberg Glusker if you have any questions or require assistance with respect to either residential or commercial moratoriums that may affect your property.
