HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-04-06 Ordinance 5495
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Ordinance No. 5495
Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Relating to a Temporary
Moratorium on Residential Evictions Related to
the COVID-19 State of Emergency
The Council of the City of Palo Alto ORDAINS as follows:
SECTION 1. Findings and Declarations. The City Council finds and declares as follows:
A. On March 4, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a State of
Emergency due to the threat of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”).
B. On March 9, 2020, Santa Clara County reported there were 43 cases of persons
testing positive for COVID-19, an increase of 23 confirmed cases in 5 days. The County also
experienced its first death due to the virus. Due to the increased threat and evidence of
community transmission of the virus, the County Public Health Officer issued an order
prohibiting mass gatherings attended by 1,000 persons until March 31, 2020.
C. On March 12, 2020, due to the escalating increase in cases and community
spread of COVID-19 in Santa Clara County, City Manager Ed Shikada, acting as the Director of
Emergency Services, issued a Proclamation of Local Emergency. The City Council ratified the
issuance of the proclamation on March 16, 2020.
D. On March 13, 2020, the County Public Health Officer issued a new order
mandating a countywide moratorium on gatherings of more than 100 persons and a conditional
countywide moratorium on gatherings between 35-100 persons. Most school districts
throughout the San Francisco Bay Area also announced closures for three weeks commencing
the following week on March 16, 2020.
E. On March 15, 2020, Governor Newsom directed the closing of all bars,
nightclubs, brewpubs, and wineries in the state, and called for residents age 65 and older to
self-isolate, to increase social distancing and protect persons most vulnerable to COVID-19. At
the same time, he emphasized the plight of the thousands of unsheltered persons in the state
as a top public health concern.
F. On March 16, 2020, the public health officers for the six Bay Area counties,
including Santa Clara County, took the unprecedented and dramatic step of issuing “shelter-in-
place” orders directing county residents to shelter at home for three weeks beginning March 17
(the “Shelter-in-Place Order” or “Order”). The Order limits activity, travel, and business
functions to only the most essential needs. The Order requires all businesses other than
“essential businesses”, as defined, to cease activities at facilities located in the county. Three
days later, on March 20, the Governor issued a shelter-in-place order for the entire state.
G. Following prior guidance and recommendations of public health officials and
experts over the past month, Californians in particularly impacted areas like Santa Clara County
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had already begun observing enhanced social distancing practices, including increased telework
on a voluntary basis. Under the county health orders that became effective on March 17, 2020,
and were updated on March 31, the vast majority of city residents and workers are not able to
report to work and many businesses have closed. As a result, restaurant, retail, tourism, and
hospitality business has significantly declined and will continue to decline with mandatory
closures now in effect for many businesses and most workers required to work remotely at
home if they are able to work at all. Workers have been impacted by lost wages and layoffs.
Parents have had to miss work to care for home-bound school-age children.
H. Many tenants have experienced sudden income loss, and further, more severe
income impacts are anticipated. The loss of wages caused by the effects of COVID-19 may
impact tenants’ ability to pay rent when due, leaving tenants vulnerable to eviction.
I. Providing tenants with short-term protection from eviction due to the inability to
pay rent will help avoid increasing the homeless population and stabilize the rental housing
market by reducing displacement. This need is even more acute while in the middle of a
growing pandemic with in-home sheltering mandated to reduce the community spread of
COVID-19, the threat of overburdening of the health care system and resulting fatalities.
J. During this state of emergency, and in the interests of protecting the public
health and preventing the transmission of the coronavirus, it is essential to avoid unnecessary
displacement of tenants. Prohibiting evictions on a temporary basis is needed until the spread
of the virus can be minimized and the emergency restrictions lifted.
K. On March 24, 2020, the day after the Council first considered and approved this
Ordinance, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors adopted an urgency ordinance
prohibiting tenant evictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic that it applied as an emergency
action throughout the county, including in cities such as Palo Alto. The county’s ordinance
provides substantially similar protections as this Ordinance. The county’s ordinance did not
foreclose cities from adopting their own ordinance, nor supersede already adopted ones, but
instead stated that the most protective provisions would apply. The county’s ordinance is in
effect through May 31, 2020, as may be extended.
SECTION 2. Title
This Ordinance shall be known as the “COVID-19 Eviction Moratorium Ordinance”.
SECTION 3. Definitions
A. “Affected Tenant” shall mean a Tenant who has, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,
or declaration of the County Public Health Officer, or other local, State or Federal
Authority, suffered a substantial loss in income through their employment as a result of
any of the following: (1) job loss; (2) a reduction of compensated hours of work; (3)
employer’s business closure; (4) missing work due to a minor child’s school closure; or
(5) other similarly-caused reason resulting in a loss of income due to COVID-19.
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B. “Covered Reason for Delayed Payment” includes, but is not limited to, any of the
following: (1) Tenant lost household income as a result of being sick with Coronavirus, or
caring for a household or family member who is sick with Coronavirus; (2) Tenant lost
household income as a result of a lay-off, loss of hours, or other income reduction
resulting from Coronavirus or the state of emergency; (3) Tenant lost household income
due to compliance with a recommendation from a government agency to stay home,
self-quarantine, or avoid congregating with others during the state of emergency.
D. “Landlord” means an owner, lessor, or sublessor who receives or is entitled to receive
rent for the use and occupancy of any Rental Unit, and the agent, representative, or
successor of any of the foregoing.
F. “Rental Unit” means a structure or the part of a structure that is used as a home,
residence, or sleeping place by one person who maintains a household or by two or
more persons who maintain a common household, and which household pays rent for
the use and occupancy for periods in excess of seven days whether or not the
residential use is a conforming use permitted under the Palo Alto Municipal Code.
G. “Tenant” means a residential tenant, subtenant, lessee, sublessee, or any other person
entitled by written or oral rental agreement, or by sufferance, to use or occupancy of a
Rental Unit.
SECTION 4. Applicability
This Ordinance applies to Affected Tenants in any Rental Unit and Landlords of Affected
Tenants. This Ordinance applies to nonpayment and certain no-fault eviction notices and
unlawful detainer actions based on such notices, served or filed on or after the date of
introduction of this Ordinance.
SECTION 5. Prohibited Conduct
A. During the term of this Ordinance, no Landlord shall take actions to evict a Tenant for
nonpayment of rent or for a no-fault cause for eviction, as those causes are defined in
Civil Code Section 1946.2(b)(2)(A)-(B) and (D), if the Tenant demonstrates that as a
result of the COVID-19 pandemic, or declaration of the County Public Health Officer, or
other local, State or Federal Authority, including government-recommended
precautions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tenant has suffered a substantial
loss in income through their employment as a result of any of the following: (1) job loss;
(2) a reduction of compensated hours of work; (3) employer’s business closure; (4)
missing work due to a minor child’s school closure; or (5) other similarly-caused reason
resulting in a loss of income due to COVID-19 (collectively referred to as “Covered
Reasons for Delayed Payment”).
B. A Landlord who knows 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
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quit notice, or otherwise seek to evict for nonpayment of rent.
C. A Landlord knows of the Tenant’s inability to pay rent within the meaning of this
Ordinance if the Tenant notifies the Landlord in writing of lost income and inability to
pay full rent, and provides documentation to support the claim. For purposes of this
section, “in writing” includes email or text communications to a Landlord or the
Landlord’s representative with whom the Tenant has previously corresponded by email
or text. Any medical or financial information provided to the Landlord shall be held in
confidence, and only used for evaluating the Tenant’s claim or enforcing this provision.
D. A Landlord’s failure to comply with this Ordinance shall render any notice of termination
of tenancy, where termination would be in violation of this Section, void. Any notice of
termination of tenancy served on a Tenant while this Ordinance is in effect must contain
the reason for termination of tenancy. Any notice of termination served on a Tenant
must also include a copy of this Ordinance as well as notice of Tenant’s rights under
County Ordinance No. NS-9.287 on a form approved by the County Office of Supportive
Housing if the County Ordinance is in effect at the time.
SECTION 6. Continuing Obligation to Pay Rent; 120-Day Payback Period
A. Nothing in this Ordinance shall relieve the Tenant of liability for the unpaid rent, which
the Landlord may seek after expiration of the Proclamation of Local Emergency ratified
and declared by the City Council on March 23, 2020 (the “state of emergency”). A
Landlord may not charge or collect interest, a late fee, or penalty for rent that is delayed
for the reasons stated in this Ordinance.
B. Tenants who were afforded eviction protection under this Ordinance shall have up to
120 days after the City of Palo Alto proclaims the termination of the state of emergency,
to pay their Landlord all unpaid rent. During that 120-day period, the protections
against eviction in this Ordinance apply for such Tenants.
SECTION 7. Affirmative Defense to Eviction; Penalties and Remedies
A. Affirmative Defense. Each Landlord that seeks to terminate a tenancy of an Affected
Tenant must comply with this Ordinance. Non-compliance with any applicable provision
of this Ordinance shall constitute an affirmative defense for an Affected Tenant against
any unlawful detainer action under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1161, as
amended.
To assert this affirmative defense, an Affected Tenant shall have notified their Landlord
prior to the notice of termination of tenancy expiring that they are an Affected Tenant
and establish that, as a as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic or declaration of County
Public Health Officer, or other State or Federal Authority, suffered substantial loss of
income caused by any of the following: (1) job loss; (2) a reduction of compensated
hours of work; (3) work closure; (4) missing work due to a minor child’s school closure;
or (5) other similarly-caused reason resulting in a loss of income due to COVID-19, and
has provided written documentation or other objectively verifiable proof of the same.
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The following documents shall create a rebuttable presumption that the Affected
Tenant has met the documentation requirement set forth above, however, they are not
the exclusive form of documentation demonstrating impacts to income due to COVID-
19:
1. Letter from employer citing COVID-19 as a reason for reduced work hours
or termination;
2. Employer paycheck stubs;
3. Bank statements.
B. Civil Remedies.
1. Any Landlord that fail(s) to comply with this Ordinance may be subject to civil
proceedings for displacement of Affected Tenant(s) initiated by the City or the
Affected Tenant Household for actual and exemplary damages.
2. Whoever is found to have violated this Ordinance shall be subject to appropriate
injunctive relief and shall be liable for damages, costs and reasonable attorneys'
fees.
3. Treble damages shall be awarded for a Landlord's willful failure to comply with
the obligations established under this Ordinance.
4. Nothing herein shall be deemed to interfere with the right of a Landlord to file
an action against a Tenant or non-Tenant third party for the damage done to said
Landlord's property. Nothing herein is intended to limit the damages recoverable
by any party through a private action.
SECTION 8. Severability
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held
to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such
decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City
Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each and every section,
subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard
to whether any portion of the Ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or
unconstitutional.
SECTION 9. Environmental Review
The Council finds that the Ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) pursuant to Section 15601 of the CEQA Guidelines because it can be seen with certainty
that there is no possibility that the Ordinance will have a significant effect on the environment.
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SECTION 10. Effective Date
This Ordinance shall be effective on the thirty-first day after the date of its adoption and shall
remain in effect until the 121st day after the City Council proclaims the termination of the state
of local emergency ratified and declared by the Council on March 23, 2020, as extended.
SECTION 11. Avoidance of Inconsistencies
To avoid inconsistencies, the City Manager may suspend any part of this Ordinance in the event
that the President of the United States, United States Congress, Governor of the State of
California, or California State Legislature adopts any order or legislation that is inconsistent with
the actions directed in the Ordinance.
INTRODUCED: March 23, 2020
PASSED: April 6, 2020
AYES: CORMACK, DUBOIS, FILSETH, FINE, KOU, TANAKA
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTENTIONS: KNISS
NOT PARTICIPATING:
ATTEST:
____________________________ ____________________________
City Clerk Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED:
____________________________ ____________________________
Assistant City Attorney City Manager
____________________________
Director of Planning & Development
Services
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