Page 58 - AAGLA-MAR 2022

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documentation/proof and must take tenant’s word for it. These “outs” have provided and continue to provide tenants with the ability to easily misuse the Los Angeles County eviction moratorium. These non-payment protections apply to all residential renters regardless of income.
Beginning June 1, 2022, and continuing through December 31, 2022 (Phase II), the non-payment protections found in the Los Angeles County eviction moratorium are slightly reduced. A residential tenant whose household income is at 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) or below and who is unable to pay due to COVID is protected from eviction if the tenant provides notice to the landlord as discussed above and self-certifies 1) their income level, and 2) their financial hardship. Again, the tenant is not required to provide any documentation or proof to establish either their income level or their financial hardship and how it is related to COVID. If the household income is above 80% of the AMI, the non-payment protections will no longer apply after June 1, 2022. However, and to reiterate, a tenant need only self- certify their income and the landlord cannot ask for proof.
During Phase III, non-payment protections, including self- certification, for renters earning 80% of the AMI or below will continue, but all other eviction protections would end at the end of Phase II.
No-Fault Evictions
Under the Los Angeles County eviction moratorium, most no- fault evictions continue to be banned. This means a landlord has no right to terminate a month-to-month tenancy for any type of no-fault reason, with very limited exceptions. Just don’t want to rent the property to the tenant? Too bad. Have other plans for the property, want to sell it, or remodel it? Too bad. Los Angeles County gives landlords no right to evict for any of these no-fault reasons. The exception to this rule has to do with owner or owner family-member move-ins.
Until May 31, 2022 (Phase I), the existing owner move- in requirements must be met that were put into law last year. These requirements included provisions such that an owner could only avail themselves of the owner move-
in exemption if the tenant had been and is able to pay rent and does not have financial impacts due to COVID, and the owner purchased the property on or before June 30, 2021. These two requirements (the purchase date requirement and the requirement that the tenant can only be displaced if the tenant has not been impacted by financial impacts related to COVID) are going away for Phase II beginning June 1, 2022.
Many other requirements for the owner move-in exemption that was previously enacted will remain throughout Phase II, effectively making it nearly impossible to evict for owner/family member move-in. Some of the requirements remaining in effect during Phase II include 1) the landlord/ family member must first seek to occupy a vacant unit if there are 3 or more units on the property and if there are no vacant units, the tenant being evicted has to be the most recent tenant, 2) the landlord must be a natural person and possess legal title to at least 50%, 3) the landlord may only terminate a tenancy if the landlord/family member is “similarly situated” to the tenant. Similarly situated means, for example, if the tenant or a household member is at least 62 years old, the landlord/family member must also be at least 62 years old. Another example of similarly situated is if the tenant or a household member has a disability, the landlord/ family member must also have a disability. These are just two examples of “similarly situated.” The landlord must also provide the tenant with a 60-day notice to terminate tenancy and must also provide notice to Los Angeles County. The landlord/family member must move into the property within 60 days of the tenant vacating the unit and must live in the unit for at least 36 consecutive months. The landlord must also pay relocation assistance to the tenant. This is not an exhaustive list of landlord requirements for owner move-in, so you can see that the requirements to meet this exemption to no-fault evictions are very strict and rigorous.
Nuisance, Unauthorized Occupants, or Pets
These special tenant protections are not changing. As crazy as it sounds, a landlord is not permitted to evict a tenant in Los Angeles County for nuisance or for unauthorized
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58 MARCH 2022 • WWW.AAGLA.ORG
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