The City Council voted to draft an ordinance that sunsets the city’s commercial and residential eviction moratorium which has been in place since March 17, 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Mayor Victor Gordo recused himself from the vote because he owns local rental property. Gordo recused himself two years ago when the moratorium was initially considered.
The City Council voted 6-1 to craft the ordinance.
After the council adopts the ordinance and commercial and residential tenant protections in the City are lifted, landlords may begin court filings for eviction for non-payment of rent.
“Many landlords have not received rent for two years and have responsibilities like mortgages,” said Councilmember Gene Masuda. “The moratorium has caused financial and personal problems and frustrations.”
The commercial moratorium will sunset next month when the City Council adopts the ordinance and the residential moratorium will sunset on June 30. Tenants are required to repay any back rent six months after the expiration of the emergency period.
Several nearby communities, including Glendale, have already lifted their moratoriums.
“It is the correct thing to do now that the worst of the pandemic is past us,” said local realtor Robin Salzer. “People are back to work and back in school. The housing providers, mom and pop operators, will be grateful for the support and relief from our city leaders.”
The moratorium prohibited landlords from evicting residential tenants for non-payment of rent if the tenant is unable to pay rent due to the financial impacts of COVID-19, or for a no-fault eviction, unless necessary for health and safety reasons.
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.
“We have to be fair to the tenants. We have to be fair to the landlords. It will give our tenants sufficient time to pay back what they owe to the landlords,” said John Kennedy.
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 have enacted an emergency eviction moratoria in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from 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.
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One thought on “City Council Votes to Lift Evictions Moratorium”
This is the right thing to do with no one restricted from returning to work for months at this point. Landlords have not been made whole from having to give away housing for free. Whether the state will continue to assist or simply run out of money remains to be seen. The obvious choice from landlords will be to keep tenants and not make vacancies if they can be made whole. However, continuation is unsustainable.