West Hollywood Update: City Amends Temporary Commercial And Residential Eviction Moratoriums

Press release from the City of West Hollywood:

January 25, 2021

The City Council of the City of West Hollywood, at its regular meeting on Tuesday, January 19, 2021, approved an Urgency Ordinance, which extends the City’s Commercial Eviction Moratorium and certain portions of the Residential Eviction Moratorium and clarifies certain provisions. Full text of the Urgency Ordinance is available here.

The Urgency Ordinance extends the timeline of the City’s Commercial Eviction Moratorium through March 31, 2021. Additional clarifications include the following:

1. In order to receive the protection of the ordinance the commercial tenant must demonstrate that the tenant’s business is closed or limited to prevent the spread of the virus and the tenant demonstrates lost income and inability to pay rent;
2. Notice to the landlord of inability to pay and documentation must be provided for each month that the tenant is unable to pay full rent (not one time for the moratorium period); and
3. Beginning February 1, 2021 businesses that are open and operating under the Health Orders without specific capacity or operating limitations from applicable Health Orders are required to pay a minimum 25 percent of rent.

The Urgency Ordinance extends the timeline of certain provisions in the City’s Residential Eviction Moratorium through March 31, 2021. A summary of residential eviction protection in the City if West Hollywood for nonpayment of rent due to COVID-19 is as follows, by date range:

• From March 16, 2020 to September 30, 2020 — Repayment period for deferred rent is October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021, pending any future timeline extensions under State law;

• October 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021 — As determined by State law, tenants must provide a declaration of hardship to their landlord within 15 days upon request from landlord and payment of 25 percent of the rent for the months within this period by January 31, 2021. Additional documentation may be required for high-income tenants.

• After January 31, 2021 — the State legislature is considering extending statewide eviction protection for tenants unable to pay rent due to COVID-19 through December 31, 2021. If these protections are not extended, the West Hollywood City Council directed that the local eviction protections be reinstated. More information will be available at the Monday, February 1, 2021 meeting of the West Hollywood City Council, pending action by the State legislature.

The City of West Hollywood’s residential eviction moratorium prohibits all other residential evictions during the period of local emergency, except evictions for the following reasons:

• Nonpayment of rent NOT due to impacts of COVID-19;

• Using the unit for an illegal purpose;

• Creating a dangerous and unsanitary condition; and

• An imminent and objectively verifiable threat to the health and safety of someone in the tenant’s household or in the property.

The City’s Urgency Ordinance extends the timeline of this Eviction Moratorium through March 31, 2021.

As background, the City of West Hollywood first approved its Residential Eviction Moratorium on in March 2020. The City amended that Moratorium and approved a Commercial Eviction Moratorium in April 2020. On September 1, 2020, Governor Newsom signed AB 3088 (COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act of 2020). Among other things this State law extended the period of protection from eviction to tenants for nonpayment of rent through January 31, 2021, so long as tenants comply with the Act’s requirements. Now, the City is awaiting a determination from the State legislature about whether statewide protections may be extended through December 31, 2021.

Under AB 3088, no tenant can be evicted as a result of rent owed due to a COVID-19 related hardship accrued between March 4, 2020 and August 31, 2020 if, upon notice from the landlord, the tenant provides a declaration of hardship according to the legislation’s timelines. For a COVID-19-related hardship that accrues between September 1, 2020 and January 31, 2021, tenants who receive a notice from their landlords must also pay at least 25 percent of the rent due before January 31, 2021, to avoid eviction. High-income tenants may also be required to provide additional documentation. AB 3088 reflects a statewide approach to residential eviction protection, while maintaining important and impactful local provisions; it provides specific provisions for cities with existing moratorium ordinances. The full text of the Act is available here. Following the enactment of AB 3088, the City of West Hollywood restated its related Urgency Ordinance for the purposes of conforming to state law.

The City of West Hollywood regularly updates its Renters Resources and Small Business Resources webpage areas as part of coronavirus information available on the City’s website at www.weho.org/coronavirus. At this webpage area, community members can find up-to-date details about relief available during the coronavirus crisis on a variety of topics.

For more information about the City of West Hollywood’s Commercial Eviction Moratorium, please contact Tara Worden, Business Development Analyst, at (323) 848-6429 or at tworden@weho.org. For more information about the City of West Hollywood’s Residential Eviction Moratorium, please contact Jonathan Holub, Acting Rent Stabilization and Housing Manager, at (323) 848-6301 or at jholub@weho.org. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, please call TTY
(323) 848-6496.

The City of West Hollywood has declared a local emergency in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Individuals are advised, at this time, to stay at home as much as possible and limit close interactions to those in your household. When in public for essential needs, community members should maintain your space with social (physical) distancing of at least six feet, and cover your face. Public Health officials recommend that everyone continue to follow physical distancing and infection control directives and wear a clean face covering that securely covers both your nose and mouth when in in public. Additionally, people 65 years old or older and all people of any age with underlying health conditions should remain at home whenever possible; people in these categories should only leave their residences to seek medical care, exercise, or obtain food or other necessities.

West Hollywood City Hall is currently closed to the public and has suspended all in-person transactions. Most public City buildings and facilities remain closed. City Hall remains accessible for business and essential services with transactions to be conducted by phone (323) 848-6400 and via the City’s website at www.weho.org.

City of West Hollywood coronavirus updates are available at www.weho.org/coronavirus and the City encourages community members to follow @wehocity on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and turn on notifications. For up-to-date news and events, follow the City of West Hollywood on social media, sign up for news updates at www.weho.org/email, and visit the City’s calendar of meetings and events at www.weho.org/calendar. Business community members may subscribe to the City of West Hollywood’s COVID-19 Business & Workforce weekly email newsletter by clicking here.

This press release was produced by the City of West Hollywood. The views expressed here are the author’s own.