BEVERLY HILLS - Rent Moratorium (05/06/20)
The City of Beverly Hills has passed Ordinance No. 20-0-2806, which provides additional protections and amends a prior ordinance.
During the period of local emergency declared in response to COVID-19, a landlord in the City of Beverly Hills who is notified that a residential tenant cannot pay some or all of the rent temporarily due to substantial financial impacts related to COVID-19 shall not endeavor to evict a tenant for nonpayment of rent. To qualify for this assistance, the tenant must notify the landlord in writing within 7 days after the date the rent is due that the tenant cannot pay full rent. Furthermore, within 30 days after the date rent is due the tenant must provide written documentation to the landlord using this form.
The full Ordinance can be found here.
MAIN POINTS
There is a moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rent by residential and commercial tenants during the period of local emergency in either of the following situations: (1) for nonpayment of rent if the tenant demonstrates substantial financial impacts, or (2) for a no-fault eviction, unless necessary for the health and safety.
A landlord receives notice of a tenant's inability to pay rent if the tenant, within seven (7) days after rent is due, notifies the landlord in writing, and
Within thirty (30) days after the date the rent is due, provides written documentation to the landlord to support the claim, using the form provided by the City. A copy of both the seven-day notice and the documentation to support the claim shall also be provided by email to the City's Rent Stabilization office.
There is a temporary moratorium imposed on annual rent increases authorized by Sections 4-5-303(c) and 4-6-3 of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code.
Effective May 6th, 2020 - Rent Moratorium
Section 1.
The City Council of the City of Beverly Hills does adopt the recitals and the following emergency regulations which shall take effect immediately:
1. A temporary moratorium on eviction for non-payment of rent by residential tenants substantially impacted by the COVID-19 crisis is imposed as follows:
a. During the period of local emergency declared in response to COVID-19, no landlord shall endeavor to evict a tenant in either of the following situations:
(1) for nonpayment of rent if the tenant demonstrates that the tenant is unable to pay rent due to substantial financial impacts related to COVID-19, or
(2) for a no-fault eviction, unless necessary for the health and safety of tenants, neighbors, or the landlord, other than based on illness of the tenant or any other occupant of the residential rental unit.
A landlord who receives notice that a tenant cannot pay some or all of the rent temporarily for the reasons set forth above shall not serve a notice pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1161(2), file or prosecute an unlawful detainer action based on a 3-day pay or quit notice, or otherwise seek to evict for nonpayment of rent.
A landlord receives notice of a tenant's inability to pay rent within the meaning of this Ordinance if the tenant,
within seven (7) days after the date that rent is due, notifies the landlord in writing, of lost income or extraordinary expenses related to COVID-19 and inability to pay full rent due to substantial financial impacts related to COVID-19, and
within thirty (30) days after the date the rent is due, provides written documentation to the landlord to support the claim, using the form provided by the City.
A copy of both the seven-day notice and the documentation to support the claim shall also be provided by email (or if email is not feasible by mail along with notification by telephone) to the City's Rent Stabilization office.
For purposes of this Ordinance, "in writing" includes email or text communications to a landlord or the landlord's representative if that is the method of written communication that has been used previously, or correspondence by regular mail, if that is the method of written communication that has been used previously and the parties have not agreed to use email or text messaging.
Any medical or financial information provided to the landlord shall be held in confidence, and shall be used only for evaluating the tenant's claim.
b. Nothing in this Ordinance shall relieve the tenant of liability for the unpaid rent, which the landlord may seek after expiration of the local emergency, and which the tenant must pay in full within one year of the expiration of the local emergency.
One year after the end of the emergency, unless if the rent is paid in full, a landlord may charge or collect a late fee for rent that is delayed for the reasons stated in this Ordinance; or a landlord may seek rent that is delayed for the reasons stated in this Ordinance through the eviction or other appropriate legal process.
No fee for the late payment of rent shall be charged by a landlord during the period of the emergency or one year after the end of the emergency.
If a landlord makes an accommodation with respect to rent forbearance from a tenant pursuant to subsection 1.a, and the tenant is in conformance with the tenant's obligations under that subsection, then the landlord shall not make a negative report to a credit bureau so long as the tenant remains in compliance with those obligations.
c. For purposes of this Ordinance, "financial impacts related to COVID-19" include, but are not limited to, lost household income or extraordinary expenses as a result of any of the following:
(1)being sick with COVID-19, or caring for a household or family member who is sick with COVID-19;
(2) lay-off, loss of hours, or other substantial income reduction resulting from business closure or other economic or employer impacts of COVID-19 including for tenants who are salaried employees or self-employed;
(3) compliance with a recommendation from a government health authority to stay home, self-quarantine, or avoid congregating with others during the state of emergency;
(4) extraordinary out-of-pocket medical expenses related to COVID-19; or
(5) child care needs arising from school closures related to COVID-19.
d. For purposes of this Ordinance, "no-fault eviction" refers to any eviction for which the notice to terminate tenancy is not based on alleged fault by the tenant, including but not limited to, eviction notices served pursuant to
Code of Civil Procedure sections 1161(1), 1161(5), or 1161b,
use by landlord or relatives as specified in Beverly Hills Municipal Code Chapters 5 and 6,
demolition or condominium conversion,
major remodeling, and
the Ellis Act, which is called withdrawal of residential rental structure from the rental market in the Beverly Hills Municipal Code.
e. During this emergency, any notice served by a landlord on a tenant under Section 4-5-513 or Section 4-6-6 L of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code is hereby tolled.
f. This Ordinance applies to nonpayment eviction notices, no-fault eviction notices, and unlawful detainer actions based on such notices, served or filed on or after the date on which a local emergency was proclaimed on March 15, 2020.
g. For purposes of this Ordinance, including residential and commercial tenancies, "substantial" shall be defined as a material decrease of monthly income, the incurring of extraordinary expenses related to COVID-19, or any other circumstance which causes an unusual and significant financial impact on the tenant.
h. Because some tenants may not be aware of this Ordinance's provisions, the Deputy Director of the Rent Stabilization may extend the seven (7) day deadline for notifying the landlord for up to thirty (30) days.
2. If a landlord disagrees with the residential tenant's assertion regarding:
(1) whether a substantial financial impact exists;
(2) whether the substantial financial impact is related to COVID-19; or
(3) the amount of rent that the tenant will pay, then the landlord shall notify the tenant of the disagreement in writing within ten (10) days of receipt of the written documentation from the tenant.
The residential tenant may file a written appeal to the City, on a form provided by the City, within ten (10) days of receipt of the landlord's written determination and shall provide a copy of the appeal to the landlord.
Appeals will be heard by the Standing Committee of the City Council appointed to hear disruptive tenant hearings or other Members of the City Council as designated by the Mayor, to make a final determination of the dispute, until fifteen (15) days after the Rent Stabilization Commission is appointed and sworn into office, in which case the Rent Stabilization Commission shall make a final determination of the dispute.
If the Rent Stabilization Commission cannot render a decision by a majority vote, then the Standing Committee or other Members of the City Council, as designated by the Mayor, will make a final determination of the dispute.
Final Decisions of the Subcommittee, Council Members designated by the Mayor, or the Rent Stabilization Commission are subject to judicial review filed pursuant to Section 1094.6 of the California Code of Civil Procedure.
The hearing procedures shall be established by the City Attorney.
3. A temporary moratorium on eviction for non-payment of rent by commercial tenants substantially impacted by the COVID-19 crisis is imposed as follows:
a. During the period of local emergency declared in response to COVID-19, no landlord shall endeavor to evict a commercial tenant in either of the following situations:
(1) for nonpayment of rent if the commercial tenant demonstrates that the commercial tenant is unable to pay rent due to substantial financial impacts related to COVID-19; or
(2) for a no-fault eviction unless necessary for the health and safety of tenants,neighbors, or the landlord,other than based on illness of the tenant, the tenant's family or any of tenant's employees.
A landlord who receives notice that a commercial tenant cannot pay some or all of the rent temporarily for the reasons set forth above shall not serve a notice or otherwise seek to evict for nonpayment of rent.
A landlord receives notice a commercial tenant's inability to pay rent within the meaning of this Ordinance if the commercial tenant, within seven (7) days after the date that rent is due, notifies the landlord in writing of lost income or extraordinary expenses related to COVID-19 and inability to pay full rent due to substantial financial impacts related to COVID-19, and within thirty (30) days after the date the rent is due, provides written documentation to the landlord to support the claim.
For purposes of this Ordinance, "in writing" includes email or text communications to a landlord or the landlord's representative if that is the method of written communication that has been used previously, or correspondence by regular mail, if that is the method of written communication that has been used previously and the parties have not agreed to use email or text messaging.
Any medical or financial information provided to the landlord shall be held in confidence, and only used for evaluating the commercial tenant's claim.
Nothing in this Ordinance shall relieve the commercial tenant of liability for the unpaid rent, which the landlord may seek after expiration of the local emergency, and which the commercial tenant must pay within one year of the expiration of the local emergency.
One year after the end of the emergency if the rent is unpaid, a landlord may charge or collect a late fee for rent that is delayed for the reasons stated in this Ordinance; or a landlord may seek rent that is delayed for the reasons stated in this Ordinance through the eviction or other appropriate legal process.
No fee for the late payment of rent shall be charged by a landlord during the period of the emergency or after the end of the emergency.
b. For purposes of this Ordinance, "financial impacts related to COVID-19" include, but are not limited to, a tenant who lost substantial business income or has extraordinary expenses as a result of any of the following:
(1) being sick with COVID-19, or caring for a household or family member who is sick with COVID-19;
(2) income reduction resulting from business closure or other economic or employer impacts of COVID-19;
(3) compliance with a recommendation from a government health authority to stay home, self-quarantine, or avoid congregating with others during the state of emergency;
(4) extraordinary out-of-pocket medical expenses related to COVID-19; or
(5) child care needs arising from school closures related to COVID-19.
c. This Ordinance shall not apply to any commercial tenant that is a publicly traded entity, an entity that is listed on the Fortune 1000, or any entity that employs more than 500 employees or any commercial tenant that owned by another entity that is publicly traded, listed on the Fortune 1000 or combined with the commercial tenant and other subsidiaries employs more than 500 employees.
As used in the preceding sentence, the term "owned" shall mean ownership of a majority of the ownership interest of the commercial tenant.
This exemption shall not apply to a franchisee or similar small business owner who is the responsible tenant on the lease unless such small business owner meets the criteria of this exemption.
(1) Any commercial tenant covered by the exemption set forth in this subsection c, and who otherwise complied with this ordinance, shall have until 10 days, after the tenant has received notice as provided below, to pay all forborne rent that became due since March 16, 2020.
The landlord shall not charge a late fee or interest in connection with such unpaid rent.
If a commercial tenant fails to pay all forborne rent within 10 days after the tenant has received written notice delivered by certified mail with return receipt, overnight courier service, or by any other delivery method and provides written evidence of receipt, the landlord may charge a late fee or interest from that date.
d. A dispute as to whether the commercial tenant has demonstrated facts sufficient to result in a temporary payment reduction or other legal remedy shall be determined according to civil law.
Section 2.
In addition to the requirements of the Governor's Executive Order and the requirements of the Los Angeles County Department of Health order, the following regulations related to businesses, located in the City of Beverly Hills are adopted in order to implement recommended practices as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic:
a. Business located in the City with self-service unwrapped food items such as buffets are prohibited.
b. Enforcement of City codes and regulations may be relaxed as City staff deems appropriate in connection with commercial signs and banners displayed on or adjacent to restaurants, bars or other businesses that are permitted to remain open pursuant to this Ordinance.
c. The City shall provide for additional loading zones near businesses that are authorized to be open in order to facilitate curbside pickup.
Section 3.
During the period of local emergency declared by the Director of Emergency Services on March 15, 2020 and affirmed by the City Council on March 16, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a temporary moratorium is hereby imposed on the annual rent increases authorized by Sections 4-5-303(c) and 4-6-3 of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code.
This moratorium on rent increases shall be applied to any rent increase scheduled to take effect on or after March 15, 2020. Nothing in this Ordinance shall alter the date of annual rent increases in future years.