Sacramento City Council approves a temporary moratorium on tenant evictions relating to hardships caused by COVID-19

Our local elected leaders, responding to calls from tenant advocates to provide relief to renters experiencing hardship related to our current public health situation, enacted an ordinance aimed at preventing renter displacement.

Last night, the Sacramento City Council approved a temporary moratorium on tenant evictions relating specifically to COVID-19. Keep in mind, this applies to all residential rental units within the city limits of the City of Sacramento.

Details of the new ordinance:

• Effective Immediately, but not retroactively applied if tenant was already delinquent in rent
• Moratorium applies to evictions due to nonpayment of rent due to COVID-19
• Tenant was sick or caring for COVID-19 family member 
• Tenant experience layoff or other income reduction associated with COVID-19 
• Tenant’s compliance with a recommendation from a government agency to stay home, self-quarantine, or avoid congregating 
• Tenant needed to miss work to care for a home-bound school-aged child 
• Tenant must do all of the following: 
• Notify landlord in writing before rent is due that the tenant has a valid reason for delayed payment 
• Provide verifiable documentation of a covered reason 
• Pay the portion of rent the tenant is able to pay 
• Tenant has 120 days after the termination of the Sacramento County public health emergency order to pay landlord all unpaid rent. 
• Landlord and Tenant may voluntarily agree to an alternate timeline for payment of rent due in arrears. 

Here is a link to a Delay in Payment Notification Form provided by the City of Sacramento.

The County of Sacramento has not taken similar action as of now, nor have the other cities within Sacramento County.