New Laws Protect Renters in Unincorporated Santa Barbara County — Here’s What Businesses and Residents Should Know
In the last several months, laws governing evictions have rapidly changed in response to Coronavirus. The County of Santa Barbara passed local protections for tenants struggling to pay rent because of Coronavirus and the fallout from Coronavirus on March 24th, and, on April 6th, California stopped almost all evictions for several months. This article explains what this means for renters who live outside of city limits in Santa Barbara County.
California’s Pause on Evictions
On April 6, 2020, the California Judicial Council issued a new law that suspends any eviction for any reason during California’s Coronavirus/COVID-19 State of Emergency.
Under the law, all eviction lawsuits in California are stopped until 90 days after the State of Emergency ends or until the law is changed or repealed by the California Judicial Council. The only exception is that renters can be evicted much more quickly to protect “public health and safety” — such as in homes or commercial spaces that have been condemned or where a renter staying in the space would be dangerous for themselves, their neighbors, or the community. Under this law, many foreclosures are also stopped until 90 days after the State of Emergency is lifted.
For a more detailed explanation of this new law, please see the Western Center on Law and Poverty’s summary or review the law itself, published by the California Judicial Council.
What Does This Mean for Local Tenants?
Under the California law, renters will not be kicked out of their homes or businesses for any reason (except to protect public health and safety) by the courts or the County Sheriff. Landlords can still give renters notice that they will be evicted and can file eviction lawsuits. Once a landlord files a lawsuit, the California law simply stops the legal process until 90 days past the State of Emergency.
At this time, it’s not clear when the State of Emergency will end, but eviction lawsuits won’t go forward for some time. For example, if the State of Emergency ended July 31st, an eviction lawsuit couldn’t go forward until October 29th at the very earliest, and, because several steps have to happen between an eviction lawsuit going forward and a renter actually getting removed from their home or business, tenants won’t actually be removed from their rentals until after that time.
Renters don’t have to do anything to be protected by the California law, because the law automatically puts eviction lawsuits filed with the courts on hold. The California law, however, doesn’t do much to help renters who can’t pay rent stay in their homes or businesses. It doesn’t allow tenants to postpone rent payments and avoid getting evicted — it just puts evictions off until a later time.
The Santa Barbara County Ordinance, however, helps residents in unincorporated areas avoid eviction altogether. Under the County Ordinance, if a tenant has lost a large amount of money because of Coronavirus or it’s impacts, can’t pay rent, and follows certain steps to notify their landlord, they can essentially wait to pay rent without any penalty.
For tenants that can’t make rent this month, the County Ordinance is worth looking into. The law is constantly changing, but at this time, the Ordinance does more than the state-wide stop on evictions for tenants who qualify. Under the Ordinance, tenants can pause rent payments while the Ordinance is in effect, and, as long as they follow the rules in the Ordinance, and pay back the rent due, they won’t be evicted at all. In addition, if their landlord takes any action to try to evict them, the landlord can be fined up to $500 by the County. The state-wide law doesn’t allow renters to postpone rent payments and avoid getting evicted, nor does it include a penalty for landlords who try to illegally evict a tenant — it just puts evictions off until a later time.
Read on for a breakdown of the Ordinance and what tenants in unincorporated Santa Barbara County must do to be protected by it.
The Santa Barbara County Ordinance
The Ordinance protects many people who rent in unincorporated areas in Santa Barbara County. It covers tenants in the County who rent properties outside of any city, including renters on the Gaviota Coast, in Cuyama Valley, in Summerland, and in rural Santa Ynez. To determine if they rent within city limits or live in unincorporated parts of Santa Barbara County, tenants can view maps of the boundaries for each city at Santa Barbara County’s Incorporated Cities webpage.
The Ordinance applies to both commercial and residential tenants. Residential tenants include renters in homes, apartments, or other living spaces. Under the law, commercial tenants include anyone renting a space for business or “income producing purposes” —which can include office space, greenhouses, restaurants, shops, etc. The law also specifically protects subletters - though, because the Ordinance requires tenants to notify the landlord, it only really helps subletters that a landlord knows about and has approved.
Under the Ordinance, landlords can’t take any action to evict any tenant who has lost a large amount of money and can’t pay rent because of Coronavirus or the impacts of Coronavirus. That means that people who have been hit hard from the virus and everything we’re collectively doing to deal with the virus — including local, state, and federal government stay at home orders, business and school closures, etc. — can use the protections provided by this law.
The Ordinance specifically lists workers who have lost their jobs, or who have lost paid work hours. It includes people who have lost large amounts of money because a store, restaurant, office, or business has closed, had to reduce hours, or has lost business because of Coronavirus. It applies to anyone who stays home to take care of a child whose school is closed because of Coronavirus or a family member that has Coronavirus. It also specifically protects people who have large medical expenses because of Coronavirus that aren’t covered by insurance.
The Ordinance is meant to protect as many tenants as possible, so, it can help anyone who has lost a large amount of money because of Coronavirus or the fallout from Coronavirus and can’t pay rent, even if their particular situation isn’t listed in the law itself. People who, for example, stay home to care for small children who can’t go to daycare or their nannies, people who care for someone who has a suspected case of Coronavirus, people with health issues who can’t work because they are at higher risk of contracting Coronavirus or suffering serious complications from Coronavirus, can also use the eviction protections included in the law if they can’t make rent.
Tenants aren’t automatically allowed to pay rent later — they must take specific steps to be able to postpone paying rent without their landlords filing an eviction action. Renters who qualify for eviction protection must tell their landlord in writing that they can’t make rent and give their landlord proof that they can’t pay because they’ve lost a large amount of money due to Coronavirus or it’s impacts.
The Ordinance doesn’t say what type of proof is required, but pay stubs, bank statements, medical bills, lay off letters, business profit and loss statements, doctor’s notes, etc. can be good evidence, depending on a renter’s situation.
The Ordinance also doesn’t explain if there’s a deadline by which a tenant must send this information to their landlord. To be safe, however, renters should tell their landlords that they can’t pay rent as soon as they can. This is both kind and smart — it gives landlords the opportunity to plan in advance and also prevents them from serving eviction notices or starting eviction proceedings.
The Ordinance doesn’t specifically say that renters can notify their landlords via text or email and qualify for protection from eviction. To ensure they’re able to stay in their homes or business rentals, a tenant should send their landlord a letter in the mail in addition to sending a text or an email.
If a renter qualifies for protection and follows these steps, they can postpone paying rent without their landlord taking any action to evict them or filing an eviction lawsuit. Landlords can’t give tenants a three day notice, file an eviction lawsuit, cut off essential services, such as turning off water or power or refusing to fix issues with the rental, or take any other action to make a tenant move.
If a tenant complies with the requirements of this Ordinance, eviction notices from a landlord have no legal power and, if a landlord goes so far as to file an eviction lawsuit, a tenant can raise the Ordinance as a defense to the eviction in court — though under the new California law, eviction lawsuits will be postponed for at least three months.
The Santa Barbara County Ordinance went into effect on March 24, 2020 and stays in effect through July 28, 2020 or until the Santa Barbara County COVID-19/Coronavirus emergency ends, whichever is sooner. Renters may wish to check the County website or contact the County near the end of July to see if this time frame has changed.
The Ordinance doesn’t mean that tenants don’t owe rent. The law isn’t entirely clear as to when renters will need to pay back rent — tenants may wish to contact the County to see if the County Board of Supervisors has set a deadline for paying back rent.
Landlords who disobey this law can be fined up to $500. (See S.B. County Mun. Code, § 44–2(7).)
Renters (and landlords) who have questions about these local ordinances or the new California rule should contact a local housing rights/landlord tenant attorney, legal service organization, or local housing rights non-profit. Although physical offices are closed, California Rural Legal Assistance and Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County are open and can be contacted via phone for low-income tenants facing eviction. Residential renters can also reach out to the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), which, among other things, advocates for housing justice and helps tenants navigate housing issues, and the Independent Living Resource Center, a disability advocacy non-profit that, in addition to other services, helps people with disabilities secure and retain housing.
Elise Cossart-Daly is an anti-discrimination, civil rights, and environmental lawyer in Santa Barbara County, California. She advocates for women, people of color, people with disabilities and health conditions, and other marginalized community members on many issues, including housing rights, at Cossart-Daly Law, A.P.C. Cossart-Daly Law, A.P.C. provides reduced fees for lower and middle income clients, non-profits, and small POC, women, or lgbtq owned businesses.
This article is not intended to serve as legal advice and is not an offer to represent you. It reflects current law as of May 30, 2020.
Please note that the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors passed an Ordinance to protect tenants impacted by COVID-19 on March 24, 2020, and then altered the original Ordinance with a new law on May 19, 2020.
