3 DAY NOTICE TO PAY RENT OR QUIT DURING THE COVID “RECOVERY” PERIOD

3 DAY NOTICE TO PAY RENT OR QUIT DURING THE COVID “RECOVERY” PERIOD

By: Tanner N. Puryear, Esq.

November 9, 2021

As many of you now know, the eviction moratorium in California has ended. Single-family homes are no longer subject to the “Tenant Protection Act” which required a “just cause” reason to legally evict a tenant from their home. Furthermore, notices for failure to pay rent are no longer required to be fifteen days. A three-day notice is once again accepted under the law; however, the “three-day” timeframe is deceiving, as the courts will not allow an unlawful detainer eviction to move forward any sooner than twenty days after the “three-day” notice is served.

The State of California has defined “COVID-19 recovery period rental debt” as rental debt that became due between October 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022.

During the “recovery” period, a court will not issue a summons on a complaint for an unlawful detainer that seeks possession of residential property based on nonpayment of rent that accumulated due to COVID-19 hardship unless the landlord first files a statement under penalty of perjury, that before filing the complaint, they completed an application for government rental assistance to cover the rental debt demanded from the defendants in the case, and the application was denied. A copy of the final decision from the pertinent government rental assistance program denying the rental assistance application must also be filed.

Alternatively, if a landlord has not received notice from the state indicating the tenant has submitted their completed application, or if they have not heard from the tenant regarding the same, a statement under penalty of perjury may be filed verifying that all of the following are true:

1. Before filing the complaint, a completed application for rental assistance was submitted and;

2. Twenty days have passed since the application was submitted or twenty days have passed since the tenant was served with the underlying three-day notice to quit.

Unless these steps are followed a court will not allow an unlawful detainer action to move forward for failure to pay rent during the COVID-19 “recovery” period.

In summation, although the moratorium is over, there are still quite a few hoops that a landlord needs to jump through in order to evict for failure to pay rent.

The information presented in this article is not to be taken as legal advice. Every person’s situation is different. If you are facing a legal issue of any kind, get competent legal advice in your State immediately so that you can determine your best options.


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