Napa County Municipal Code Ch. 8.90 Temporary Prohibition of Evictions Related to the Covid-19 Pandemic

The purpose of this chapter is to temporarily prohibit residential evictions of any tenant who can demonstrate that their failure to pay rent is due to a substantial loss of income or substantial out-of-pocket medical expenses related to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic or any local, state, or federal government response to the pandemic. This chapter also encourages owners and tenants to agree in writing to a payment plan for past-due rent, and sets deadlines for payment in the absence of an agreement.

(Ord. No. 1457, § 3, 6-23-2020)

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:

"Owner" means any person, acting as principal or through an agent, providing residential real property for rent, and includes a predecessor in interest to the owner.

"Residential real property" means any dwelling or unit that is intended or used for human habitation.

"Substantial loss of income" means a reduction of income due to any of the following: (a) job loss or temporary layoff, (b) a reduction in the number of compensable hours of work, (c) a store, restaurant, office, or business closure, (d) a decrease in business income caused by a reduction in operating hours or consumer demand, or (e) the need to miss work to care for a minor due to school closure, or to care for a quarantined family member.

"Substantial out-of-pocket medical expenses" means medical expenses not reimbursed or covered by insurance or any other program, which exceed 10% of the monthly take-home pay of the tenant responsible for the medical expenses.

"Tenancy" means the lawful occupation of residential real property and includes a lease or sublease.

(Ord. No. 1457, § 3, 6-23-2020)

A. Owners of residential real property in the incorporated or unincorporated areas of the county shall not issue a three-day notice to pay rent or quit under Code of Civil Procedure Section 1161(2), or otherwise pursue termination of a tenancy for failure to pay rent, after the tenant demonstrates within seven days of the rent due date through documentation or objectively verifiable means that the failure to pay rent is due to a substantial loss of income or substantial out-of-pocket expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic or any local, state, or federal government response to the pandemic. For the purposes of this Ordinance, adequate documentation of lost income or out-of-pocket medical expenses shall include but is not limited to letters from employers citing COVID-19 pandemic or related government action as the basis for termination of employment or reduced work; employer paycheck stubs; bank statements; letters or notifications from schools or childcare facilities in which the tenant has a dependent enrolled regarding COVID-19 related closures that substantially affected the tenant's income; or a sworn statement by the tenant attesting to the lost income or out-of-pocket medical expenses, including facts sufficient to demonstrate that loss, and attesting to their inability to gather the documentation described above.

B. Prohibited action to terminate a tenancy under section 8.90.030(A) includes conduct that constitutes constructive eviction under state law.

C. An owner issuing a three-day notice to pay rent or quit shall include a copy of the language from this section with the notice.

D. This chapter may be asserted as an affirmative defense in an unlawful detainer action for failure to pay rent, if the unlawful detainer action was filed on or after March 4, 2020.

E. The temporary prohibition of evictions imposed by this section shall remain in effect through September 30, 2020, unless extended by the board of supervisors.

(Ord. No. 1457, § 3, 6-23-2020; Ord. No. 1460, § 3, 7-28-2020)

A. This chapter shall not apply to evictions ordered by a court or a government agency for reasons unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic.

B. This chapter shall not apply within any incorporated area of the County whose legislative body exempts itself from the provisions hereof.

(Ord. No. 1457, § 3, 6-23-2020)

A. This chapter shall not relieve a tenant of liability for unpaid rent.

B. A tenant who demonstrates failure to pay rent is related to the COVID-19 pandemic pursuant to section 8.90.030(A) shall pay past-due rent by the extended deadlines set forth in the following table. Any rent that was not due on the first day of the month shall be paid by October 26, 2020, or within one hundred eighty days from the date such rent payment was due, whichever occurs last.

C. An owner and a tenant may agree in writing to a payment plan for past-due rent, in which case the deadlines for payment in section 8.90.050(B) shall not apply. Such an agreement shall include a provision disclosing the tenant's right to a repayment schedule in accordance with section 8.90.050(B).

D. It is unlawful for an owner of residential real property in the incorporated or unincorporated areas of the county to issue a three day notice to pay rent or quit under Code of Civil Procedure Section 1161(2), or to otherwise pursue termination of a tenancy for failure to pay rent, if the tenant is making timely payments in accordance with this section.

(Ord. No. 1457, § 3, 6-23-2020; Ord. No. 1460, § 4, 7-28-2020)

An owner shall not impose or collect late fees for rent that became due between March 4, 2020, through the expiration of the temporary prohibition on evictions provided by section 8.90.030(E).

(Ord. No. 1457, § 3, 6-23-2020)

This chapter shall not prohibit an owner from providing written notice to a tenant of agricultural land, solely for the purpose of preventing an automatic extension of a lease for one year pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 1161(2).

(Ord. No. 1457, § 3, 6-23-2020)