Monrovia City Council Approves Commercial Eviction Moratorium

At Tuesday’s meeting, the Monrovia City Council adopted emergency regulations to prohibit commercial evictions for non-payment of rent and “no-fault” evictions. The ordinance took effect immediately and will remain in place through the local emergency proclamation ratified by the council on March 17.

During the local emergency, no commercial property owner or agentshall take any action, or threaten, to evict a tenant for:

• Nonpayment of rent, late fees, or other feesor charges, if the landlord knows that the tenant is unable to pay the same dueto financial impacts related to COVID-19.
• No-fault eviction unless immediatelynecessary for the health and safety of tenants, neighbors, or the landlord,which shall be confirmed by the City’s Building Official prior to any sucheviction, other than based on illness of the tenant or any other occupant.

Tenants must notify their landlord in writing of inability to payrent within seven days after the date that rent is due. Within 30 days afterthe date rent is due, tenants must provide written documentation to their landlordto support their claim of inability to pay all or part of the rent due. Underthe ordinance, within 30 days after rent is due, tenants must provide landlordswith documentation proving that the tenant has applied for applicable state andfederal aid programs. However, landlords “shall take action, or threaten, toevict a tenant solely because the tenant is unable to provide adequate documentationof financial impacts related to COVID-19 within the time provided by this Ordinanceif the tenant is unable to contact a bank, accountant or other financialrecord-keeper and continues to make good faith efforts to do so.”

Commercial tenants covered by the ordinance include businessesfinancially impacted by COVID-19. This includes a substantial loss of monthlybusiness income due to business closure, loss of compensable business, sales orfees, or extraordinary out-of-pocket expenses.

The ordinance also covers businesses experiencing the followingfinancial losses related to COVID-19:

• A key employee or manager of the tenant’sdiagnosis with COVID-19 or that person’s need to care for a household orimmediate family member who is diagnosed with COVID-19.
• Loss of business, fees or business incomeresulting from the “safer at home” order, a business closure, or other economicor employer impacts of COVID-19.
• Compliance with a recommendation or orderfrom the County Health Officer to close the business, stay at home, isolate,self-quarantine, or avoid congregating with others during the COVID-19 state ofemergency.
• Extraordinary out-of-pocket expenses relatedto diagnosis and testing for and/or treatment of COVID-19.
• The business owner, manager or key employees’need to provide additional child care as a result of school closures related toCOVID-19.

Tenants can submit written documentsfrom banks, employers, clients, health care providers and officials, timecards, medical or childcare bills, income statements, bank statements ordeposit records to show financial impact.

During the period of local emergency, all tenants should pay theportion of the rent which they are able to afford. Tenants are not relieved ofany liability for unpaid rent which landlords may seek after expiration of thelocal emergency. Tenants must pay all rent that is due within six monthsfollowing the end of this local emergency; if the rent is unpaid, a landlordmay charge or collect a late fee, or evict the tenant.

The ordinance prevents the enforcement of nonpayment evictionnotices, no-fault eviction notices, and unlawful detainer actions based on suchnotices, served or filed on or after the date on which a local emergency wasproclaimed on March 13.

On March 31, the council approved a similar eviction moratorium for residential properties.

Additionally, on Monday, the Judicial Council of California also approved 11 temporary emergency rules, including suspending the entry of defaults in eviction cases and judicial foreclosures.

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