8.24.030 Prohibition on evictions stemming from coronavirus pandemic losses.
A. Through May 31, 2020, or such later date as the governor may provide by executive order, an owner of residential or commercial real property shall not evict a tenant for failure to pay rent or evict a tenant through foreclosure if the tenant demonstrates that the failure to make required payments is directly related to a substantial loss of income or substantial out-of-pocket medical expenses associated with the coronavirus pandemic or any local, state, or federal government response to the pandemic.
B. In order for this section to apply, a tenant must demonstrate through documentation or other objectively verifiable means:
1. Substantial loss of income from (a) job loss; (b) layoffs; (c) a reduction in the number of compensable hours of work; (d) a store, restaurant, office, or business closure; (e) a substantial decrease in business income caused by a reduction in opening hours or consumer demand; (f) the need to miss work to care for a home-bound school-age child or a family member infected with coronavirus; or (g) other similarly caused loss of income that resulted from the pandemic; or
2. Substantial out-of-pocket medical expenses related to the pandemic.
C. This prohibition shall also apply to an owner's action that constitutes constructive eviction under California law. An owner's failure to comply with this chapter shall render any notice of termination of tenancy void. This section may be asserted as an affirmative defense in any statutory cause of action that could be used to evict or otherwise eject a residential or commercial tenant. Terminations that are required to comply with an order issued by a government agency or court requiring that the real property be vacated are excepted from this prohibition. An owner's failure to comply with this chapter does not constitute a criminal offense but will subject an owner to civil fines and penalties as set forth in this code.
D. Nothing in this chapter shall relieve a tenant of the obligation to pay rent or otherwise make required payments, nor restrict an owner's ability to recover such payments.
E. This chapter shall be liberally construed to provide the broadest possible protection for tenants in the city of Montague. (Ord. 20-01 § 1, 2020)