San Diego City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera proposed a “no-fault” eviction moratorium Wednesday to assist residents during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The measure would prohibit “no-fault” evictions until 60 days after the end of the declared state of emergency from COVID-19.
“We must take action to prevent homelessness and avoid lives from being disrupted by the economic and emotional trauma of evictions,” said Elo-Rivera. “This moratorium will prevent renters in good standing from being unnecessarily evicted and forced to relocate during a housing crisis that has been compounded to the breaking point by the pandemic.”
The moratorium on “no-fault evictions” would create protections to prohibit landlords from evicting residents from their homes, despite no wrongful behavior from the tenant, according to Elo-Rivera’s office.
The Legal Aid Society of San Diego, which provides free civil legal assistance to low-income clients, including protection against eviction and housing instability, reported “no-fault” evictions as comprising the largest percentage of housing-related issues for which San Diego households are requesting assistance.
The Southern California Rental Housing Association criticized the plan, saying that with increasing employment and continued COVID assistance there’s no need for a moratorium.
“This turn of events is particularly disheartening since SCRHA has been asking the mayor and councilmembers to reevaluate the moratorium they passed well over a year ago. SCRHA contends that current circumstances and the availability of rental assistance have lessened the need for such restrictions,” the association said in a statement.
The proposed moratorium will appear before City Council in its April 4 meeting.
