City Council Adopts Ordinance to Lift Eviction Moratorium

The City Council successfully conducted the second reading of an ordinance that will end the city’s commercial and residential eviction moratorium which has been in place for more than two years due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“This ordinance sunsets the City’s existing eviction moratorium for residential and commercial tenants who experience financial impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to a city staff report.

The moratorium is being amended by deleting Section 4(d) (eviction moratorium) and Section 9 (sunsetting of ordinance) and replacing it with language which sunsets the eviction moratorium for commercial properties, at the time of publication; and for residential properties, on June 30.

Tenants are required to repay any back rent six months after the expiration of the emergency period.

Local activists called on the City Council to keep the moratorium in place.

“The previous discussions of this item over the past few weeks showed that the majority of council did not understand the eviction process,” said housing advocate Allison Henry. “It was clear that a walk-through of the eviction process may be useful. I worry many of you showed a disregard for a stem of homelessness that the end of our city’s eviction moratorium will cause. As a resident, housing task force member, and someone who interacts with council and staff, I was concerned and disappointed because there was no discussion about the data in the report. Data from the staff report shows people on the verge of homelessness. We know that tenants are still awaiting housing is key funds and may not get them. There are also people behind on rent that did not apply for Housing is Key because they did not know or did not qualify.”

Several nearby communities, including Glendale, have already lifted their moratoriums.

The moratorium also prohibited landlords from evicting business tenants for non-payment of rent if the tenant is unable to pay rent due to the financial impacts of COVID-19.

During the moratorium, a landlord could not impose or seek to recover late fees, pass-throughs, or interest for rent that is delayed or unpaid due to the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The moratorium also encouraged partial payment of rent if tenants cannot pay the full rent, and prohibits landlords from harassing or intimidating tenants who exercise their protections under the moratorium.

A total of 52 city and county jurisdictions in California enacted an emergency eviction moratoria in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from the Nolo website.

As of today, out of the total number, 10 jurisdictions have already lifted the moratorium on residential tenants while 18 jurisdictions have already lifted the moratorium issued with respect to commercial tenants.

Most local jurisdictions that currently have COVID tenant protections in effect have set the expiration of their eviction moratoria to coincide with the anticipated lifting of their local emergency, as per a city staff report.

According to city staff, the Office of the City Manager contacted several commercial real estate brokers in Pasadena and their overall observation is that the lifting of the city’s eviction moratorium will have a minimal impact.

“The brokers contacted felt that property owners and tenants have worked out their issues over the last two years and that there is not expected to be a significant impact should the eviction moratorium be lifted,” the report stated.