COUNTY OKS ADDITIONAL EVICTION PROTECTIONS

San Diego County’s Board of Supervisors voted for additional rent protections Tuesday aimed at the prevention of widespread evictions.

The action limits eviction to tenants who are an imminent health or safety threat, or nonpayment of rent. The county’s law goes beyond statewide protections that still allow for “just cause” evictions for things like lease violations. It still requires a second vote at the May 4 meeting to take effect.

The vote was 3-2. It had originally failed because it was an emergency ordinance that required four votes. After it failed, Supervisor Nora Vargas — who introduced the ordinance — changed it to a non-emergency item that requires three votes to pass, and will require another public hearing.

It was opposed by a local landlord group, the Southern California Rental Housing Association, who argued good residents would be forced to suffer problematic neighbors.

The ordinance was written to say a landlord could not evict a tenant if they plan to rehabilitate the property or move into it themselves — both of which are allowed under the law right now.

Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer proposed amendments to allow evictions for “repeated and prolonged” nuisances and allow people who own two or fewer homes to evict renters if they want to move back in. Both amendments will likely be refined in time for the supervisors’ next meeting.

Vargas argued state laws did not go far enough and people could still be evicted for things as simple as remodels to a unit.

“State laws actually have loopholes and evictions are still happening in San Diego County,” she said. “Tenants

“We simply want to stay at home and stay safe.” Claudia Vicente • Renter in support of county ordinance

are still being evicted during this global pandemic.”

More than 200 people called into the meeting, which featured a mix of renters, small landlords and community activists. Many callers said they still faced eviction despite all the state protections in place. But, landlords argued they had made many sacrifices during the pandemic and stricter rules by the county would add an undue financial burden on them.

Small landlord Art Moses, who rents one condo in downtown San Diego, said he has worked with his tenant throughout the pandemic after she lost income. But, he argued the county was creating a situation that would drive small landlords out of business.

“The cost to maintain the property hasn’t decreased,” he said. “It’s difficult for me to understand why this board is considering this new measure.”

Renter Claudia Vicente said her landlord wanted to evict her for nonpayment of rent, but she has children and is worried she will be kicked out. For that reason, she asked the supervisors to pass the additional protections.

“We simply want to stay at home and stay safe,” she said, “and get back to how things were before quickly.”

Supervisor Jim Desmond noted that many of the people who called into the meeting said they couldn’t pay rent because they lost jobs, but state law already prevents eviction of tenants who have an income loss due to COVID-19. He also wanted a broader range of interests consulted for the ordinance.

“It’s a large blanket that doesn’t include the landlord’s input,” he said.

Desmond and Supervisor Joel Anderson voted against the ordinance. Vargas, Lawson-Remer and Chair Nathan Fletcher voted yes.

The ordinance may only last until the summer, or end sooner. It is set to expire 60 days after the governor’s stay-at-home order ends. About eight hours before the supervisors’ vote, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a plan to end the color-coded system by June 15. So, it is likely the ordinance will end around then or two months after.

San Diego County is set to move from the red tier to the second-least-restrictive orange tier today. Yellow is the least-restrictive tier and

allows for most indoor businesses to open.

Rent is not forgiven in the ordinance. Under state rent relief efforts, most renters facing hardship from COVID-19 can get 80 percent of rent paid if the landlord forgives up to 20 percent.

The supervisors’ action took a step beyond the typical rent relief program in that it limits rent increases until July 1. It says rent cannot be increased more than the Consumer Price Index, or CPI (a measure of inflation), until the ordinance ends. The CPI rate for San Diego County was 1.7 percent annually as of January.

This caused less concern for the landlord groups because rent increases have slowed during the pandemic. Average San Diego County rent for all housing types, around $1,909 a month, was up 3.3 percent in a year as of the fourth quarter, real estate tracker CoStar said.