As the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to grow, hundreds of Californians continue to face work hardships as 1 million jobs have already been lost due to virus-related shutdowns.

In an attempt to help Californian renters, Gov. Gavin Newsom has given renters a 60-day period to figure out how to pay rent while facing work slowdowns or loss during the current pandemic.

How Does the Moratorium Work?

The order bans all residential evictions until May 31 if a tenant is unable to pay his or her rent due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. However, tenants need to be able to demonstrate documentation showing they have suffered economic hardship due to the outbreak and are required to declare in writing to the landlord within seven days of the rental due date that they cannot pay all or part of their rent due to COVID-19. The tenant also remains obligated to repay the full rent in a “timely manner” and can be in danger of eviction if rent is not repaid after the moratorium is lifted.

Who Qualifies?

The new order lists a series of justifiable reasons to miss rent payments. These reasons include being sick with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19, experiencing a layoff, loss of hours or other income reduction because of the outbreak, or even because a tenant needed to miss work to care for a child whose school was closed.

The new moratorium order applies directly to residential tenants only, not commercial tenants.

At MGR, we understand this is a difficult time, we hope you find this quick summary on new government mandated eviction moratorium useful. If you have any questions, please contact any one of our MGR representatives or contact your property manager via our Tenant Portal.