Santa Ana renters will see a few more months of protections from evictions as a local coronavirus pandemic lands hits to local businesses and slashes people’s income.
An executive order signed by City Manager Kristine Ridge Friday evening extends a citywide order that bans landlords from serving their tenants with eviction notices until Sept. 30.
Here’s a copy of the order.
The move comes after Voice of OC reported this past week about renters — many of whom were undocumented — warning that their landlords had already ramped up harassment as the original July 28 ban expiration date approached, and activists feared a looming wave of eviction notices was on the horizon.
City officials first put the protections in place on March 19 amid the financial difficulties facing residents during the pandemic, a move bolstered by a statewide mandate from Gov. Gavin Newsom.
On June 30, the city again extended that ban through the end of July.
Landlords under the order can’t legally evict tenants who’ve shown financial hardship during the pandemic for non-payment, nor can they charge late fees.
But the extended citywide order doesn’t legally waive tenants’ unpaid rent, and tenants are left with up to six months following expiration of the order to repay any back rent due.
Brandon Pho is a Voice of OC staff writer and corps member at Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at bpho@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @photherecord.