Martinez, CA – At the Board meeting on September 29, 2020, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed an amended urgency ordinance to authorize a temporary prohibition on evictions of certain commercial tenants impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Today’s Urgency Ordinance No. 2020-26 supersedes Ordinance No. 2020-25. These prohibitions of commercial evictions and the specified exceptions last through November 30, 2020.
Contra Costa County’s Urgency Ordinance No. 2020-26 provides additional protections pursuant to the Governor’s Executive Order N-80-20, which extends, through March 31, 2021, the authority of local jurisdictions to suspend the evictions of commercial tenants for the non-payment of rent if the non-payment was a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Board of Supervisors extends our commitment to assisting commercial tenants, in addition to protections passed for residential tenants, that are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Supervisor Candace Andersen, Board Chair. “This is a temporary relief measure, not forgiveness of rent, to allow more time for equitable solutions to have the owed rent paid.”
Protections granted to certain commercial renters include:
- Through November 30, 2020, a landlord of commercial real property shall not terminate a tenancy for failure to pay rent if the tenant demonstrates that the failure to pay rent is directly related to a loss of income or out-of-pocket medical expenses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic or any local, state, or federal government response to the pandemic.
- Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this section limits a landlord’s ability to terminate a tenancy if the termination is necessary to protect the landlord’s health or safety or any other tenant’s health or safety.
- Through November 30, 2020, a landlord may not charge or collect a late fee for unpaid rent due from a commercial real property tenant who demonstrated loss of income or out-of-pocket medical expenses as required under this ordinance.
- A commercial real property tenant who demonstrated loss of income or out-of-pocket medical expenses as required under this ordinance or any prior urgency ordinances governing commercial evictions shall pay all past due rent no later than March 31, 2021, unless the landlord agrees to a longer repayment period.
Read the full document Ordinance No. 2020-26 (PDF). Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding this ordinance will be available and updated on the County website soon.
For information and resources, visit Contra Costa County at www.contracosta.ca.gov. For COVID-19 updates, visit Contra Costa Health Services at https://cchealth.org/coronavirus. If you have questions about the coronavirus, contact the multilingual Call Center at 1-844-729-8410, open daily from 8 am to 5 pm. For assistance after hours in multiple languages, please call 211 or 800-833-2900 or text HOPE to 20121.
