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Amendment of the California COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act and COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act

Assembly Bill 2179 (“AB 2179”) was approved by the Acting Governor of the State of California on March 31, 2022 and took effect immediately. AB2179 extends notice requirements and eviction procedures enacted by the California COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act (“CTRA”) and California COVID-19 Recovery Act (“Recovery Act”). 

California’s rental assistance program stopped taking applications on March 31, 2022. The stated purpose of AB 2179 is to give the rental assistance program more time to process pending rental assistance applications. Landlords are not required to apply for rental assistance for amounts due April 1, 2022 or later.

The notice requirements and eviction procedures of AB 2179 apply only to notices for non-payment served between April 1, 2022 and June 30, 2022 for amounts that came due before March 31, 2022. The special procedures of the CTRA and Recovery Act do not apply to amounts that came due on or after April 1, 2022.

Please note that other laws may provide tenants with additional protections from eviction and require additional notices and/or procedures.

A.  Change to Notices that Demand Amounts That Came Due During the Transition Time Period. Any Notice to Pay Rent or Quit or Notice to Perform Covenant or Quit served on or after April 1, 2022, and before July 1, 2022, that demands unpaid rent or any other unpaid financial obligation of a tenant under the tenancy that came due during the transition time period (i.e., between September 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021) must include specified updated text in at least 12-point type. The updated text includes information regarding the CTRA and Recovery Act.

B.  Change to Notices that Demand Amounts That Came Due During the Recovery Period. Any Notice to Pay Rent or Quit or Notice to Perform Covenant or Quit served on or after April 1, 2022, and before July 1, 2022, that demands payment of COVID-19 recovery period rental debt (i.e., a rental debt of a tenant under a tenancy that came due between October 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022) must include specified updated text in at least 12-point type. The updated text includes information regarding the Recovery Act.

C.   Extension of Additional Requirements for Unlawful Detainer Actions. On or after October 1, 2021, and before July 1, 2022, in an unlawful detainer action pertaining to residential real property and based, in whole or in part, on nonpayment of rental debt that accumulated due to COVID-19 hardship (which means rent or other financial obligations of the tenant that came due during the time period between March 1, 2020, and March 31, 2022), all of the following shall apply:

(a)      Requirements for Issuance of Summons. A court shall not issue a summons on a complaint for unlawful detainer that seeks possession of residential real property based on nonpayment of rental debt that accumulated due to COVID-19 hardship unless the plaintiff, in addition to any other requirements provided by law, also files any of the following:

(1)      Verification Landlord Completed an Application for Government Rental Assistance but the Application Was Denied. Both of the following: (A) A statement verifying, under penalty of perjury, that before filing the complaint, the landlord completed an application for government rental assistance to cover the rental debt demanded from the defendants in the case, but the application was denied; and (B) A copy of a final decision from the pertinent government rental assistance program denying a rental assistance application for the property at issue in the case.

(2)      Verification Landlord Completed an Application for Government Rental Assistance but Tenant Has Not Completed an Application. A statement, under penalty of perjury, verifying that all of the following are true: (A) Before filing the complaint, the landlord submitted a completed application for rental assistance to the pertinent government rental assistance program to cover the rental debt demanded from the defendants in the case; (B) Twenty days have passed since the later of the following: (i) The date that the landlord submitted the application; (ii) The date that the landlord served the tenant with the three-day notice underlying the complaint; (C) The landlord has not received notice or obtained verification from the pertinent government rental assistance program indicating that the tenant has submitted a completed application for rental assistance to cover the rental debt demanded from the defendants in the case; and (D) The landlord has received no communication from the tenant that the tenant has applied for government rental assistance to cover the unpaid rental debt demanded from the defendants in the case.

(3)      Verification Tenancy Was Initially Established on or After October 1, 2021. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the rental debt demanded from the defendant in the complaint accumulated under a tenancy that was initially established on or after October 1, 2021. A tenancy is initially established when the tenants first lawfully occupy the premises. The following do not initially establish a tenancy: (i) The renewal of a periodic tenancy; (ii) The extension of an existing lease or rental agreement; or (iii) The execution of a new lease or rental agreement with one or more individuals who already lawfully occupy the premises.

(4)      (NEW) Verification That a Determination Is Not Pending for Government Rental Assistance. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that a determination is not pending on an application, filed prior to April 1, 2022, for government rental assistance to cover any part of the rental debt demanded from the defendants in the case.

(b)      New Court Form. A statement under penalty of perjury described above must be made on a form developed or revised by the Judicial Council of California for this purpose if the Judicial Council determines that this requirement is necessary to accomplish the purpose of the statement.

(c)      Requirements for Entry of Judgment.

(1)      In an action filed before April 1, 2022, a judgment shall not issue in favor of the plaintiff unless the court finds, upon review of the pleadings and any other evidence brought before it, that both of the following are true: (A) Before filing the complaint, the plaintiff completed an application to the pertinent government rental assistance program for rental assistance to cover the rental debt demanded in the complaint; and (B) The plaintiff’s application for rental assistance was denied because of lack of eligibility, lack of funding, or the application remained incomplete due to the tenant’s failure to properly complete the portion of the application that is the responsibility of the tenant for 15 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and other judicial holidays, after the landlord properly completed the portion of the application that is responsibility of the landlord.

(2)      In an action filed on or after April 1, 2022, and before July 1, 2022, a judgment or default judgment shall not issue in favor of the plaintiff unless the court finds, upon review of the pleadings and any other evidence brought before it, that one of the following is true: (A) Both of the following: (i) Before April 1, 2022, the plaintiff completed an application to the pertinent government rental assistance program for rental assistance to cover that portion of the rental debt demanded in the complaint that constitutes rental debt that accumulated due to COVID-19 hardship. (ii) The plaintiff’s application for rental assistance was denied because lack of eligibility, lack of funding, or the application remained incomplete due to the tenant’s failure to properly complete the portion of the application that is the responsibility of the tenant for 15 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and other judicial holidays, after the landlord properly completed the portion of the application that is responsibility of the landlord; or (B) A determination is not pending on an application, filed prior to April 1, 2022, for government rental assistance to cover any part of the rental debt demanded from the defendants in the case.

(d)      Service of Verification on Tenant. In addition to the summons, the complaint, and any other required document, the plaintiff must serve the defendant with copies of the statement and final decision (if any) filed with the court pursuant to paragraph (a), above.

(e)      Tenant’s Right to Contest Whether Requirements Have Been Met. If the defendant contests whether the plaintiff has met these requirements, the plaintiff shall bear the burden of proving to the court that the plaintiff has met those requirements.

D.  Partial Preemption of Local COVID-19 Moratoriums. AB 2179 extends local government preemption provisions of the CTRA, which restricts the ability of cities and counties to enact or modify laws adopted after August 19, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to protect tenants from eviction, to June 30, 2022. If a local law in effect on August 19, 2020, required a repayment period to commence on a specific date after August 1, 2022, or conditioned commencement of the repayment period on the termination of a proclamation of state of emergency or local emergency, the repayment period is deemed to begin on August 1, 2022. Also, the specified period of time during which a tenant is permitted to repay COVID-19 rental debt may not extend beyond August 31, 2023.

The law firm of Wallace, Richardson, Sontag & Le, LLP represents landlords, property management companies, institutional and private lenders, employers and insurance companies throughout the State of California in real estate, business and employment litigation. The information provided herein is for general interest only and should not be relied upon or construed as legal advice.

April 4, 2022 | Landlord-Tenant Law |