On March 16, 2020, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-28-20 (the “Order”), to help protect Californians from losing their homes or businesses as a result of the statewide measures taken to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, while also strengthening local governments’ discretion to take the steps they deem necessary to support their local economies. The Order broadly impacts municipalities, public and private utility providers, landlords, individuals, and businesses in several ways.

First, the Order grants local governments full authority to suspend or limit all residential and commercial evictions during the emergency period, where the eviction is either (1) due to non-payment of rent or a foreclosure due to a substantial decrease in household or business income (whether through layoffs, reduced working hours, or a downturn in business), or (2) due to substantial out-of-pocket medical expenses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic or any documented local, state, or federal government response to the pandemic.

The Order will suspend enforcement of the California Code of Civil Procedure provisions governing judicial foreclosures, unlawful detainers, and any other state law used to evict residential or commercial tenants, where a local government has imposed a limitation on enforcement of those provisions, and only to the extent of that local government’s limitation. Importantly, the Order does not relieve any tenant of the obligation to pay rent, or restrict a landlord’s ability to collect rent due.

Further, the Order extends the time period of California Penal Code section 396, subdivision (f), to May 31, 2020. That section makes it unlawful to evict a residential tenant after a declaration of a national, state, or local emergency for 30 days following the declaration, and rent to another person at a price greater than the evicted tenant could be charged.

Additionally, the Order directs the California Public Utilities Commission to monitor measures taken by municipal and other utility providers to implement customer service protections in response to COVID-19 for critical utilities, including electric, gas, water, internet, landline telephone, and cell phone service, and to report these measures on a weekly basis.

Finally, the Order requests that public housing authorities extend deadlines for applicants to document their eligibility, that certain state agencies work with financial institutions to identify ways to provide Californians relief from the threat of foreclosure, and that banks and other mortgage holders implement an immediate moratorium on foreclosures and evictions for homeowners impacted by COVID-19 related costs.

The full text of the Order may be found here.

If you have any questions or concerns, you are welcome to contact the offices of Churchwell White at (916) 468-0950 or email Douglas White at Doug@whitebrennerllp.com, Barbara Brenner at Barbara@whitebrennerllp.com, or Nubia Goldstein at Nubia@whitebrennerllp.com.