COVID-19 Temporary Eviction for Nonpayment Moratorium Fact Sheet

Mayor’s Executive Order 8/25/20 (downloads as a pdf) was preempted by Assembly Bill 3088, but the federal moratorium (downloads as pdf) may allow the stronger protections of the Mayor’s Order to stand.

Under the Temporary Moratorium on evictions for nonpayment of rent a landlord cannot evict a tenant if all these requirements are met:

The rent payment first became due on or after March 13, 2020 until currently August 31, 2020. There is a 6 months extension to pay this rent, so not due until February 28, 2021. No late fees allowed.
The tenant was unable to pay rent because of the financial impacts related to COVID-19. (As usual for protecting oneself, the tenant should have documentation of this as much as they reasonably can.)
After the order expires (currently the end of August 2020), the tenant is required to pay the monthly rent as it becomes due.
Any payment plan a tenant agrees to cannot waive the tenant’s right to these eviction protections.
The housing does not fall under an exception for subsidized housing.

“Financial impacts” means a substantial loss of household income due to business closure, loss of work or wages, or increased expenses related to COVID-19. This may include needing to stay at home because the tenant is sick or needs to take care of a sick family member.

For purposes of the Order, the term ‘landlord’ encompasses master tenants, and the term ‘tenant’ encompasses subtenants. As a result, subtenants can invoke the aforementioned protections and processes with respect to unpaid rent owed to their master tenants.