This week in a 4-1 vote, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors voted to freeze evictions under the historic disaster-triggered renter protections. The County has yet to fully inform the public about these protections, and yet in a meeting on Feb. 11, the Board began considering carveouts to these new protections that will limit protections to only "directly impacted" areas.
Weakening tenant protections just weeks after a declared emergency excludes the voices of those most impacted, and ignores how people live and work in Sonoma County. For example, a worker may lose hours or an entire day of wages because of rain or flood, but will still have to pay rent in a neighborhood that may not be "directly impacted."
The eviction protections the County passed last year ensure that all impacted people will be protected from displacement regardless of where they live and work, and give residents support they need after a disaster strikes. Be it floods, fires, or a pandemic, the impact of these disasters goes beyond specific geographic borders directly impacted.
To weaken the protections now by limiting them to directly impacted areas will be catastrophic to working people. We ask the Board of Supervisors to uphold their responsibility to go to work for everyone in Sonoma County – those that must live and work in different neighborhoods, tenants, and those most impacted by disasters.
Your Rights Under the Emergency-Triggered Eviction Freeze.
To read the full ordinance from Sonoma County, click here. Please note, this is not legal advice. If you would like to speak to a lawyer, please contact Legal Aid of Sonoma County.
If you receive an eviction notice, do not panic and do not move out. You have rights under the law that you can put to use. Here are seven things to know:
The emergency eviction freeze applies to ALL areas of the County until thirty days after the resolution is no longer in effect.
NO landlord can evict you for no cause, meaning you can NOT be evicted for nonpayment of rent due to lost income because of the emergency.
If a landlord attempts to evict you, they must prove “just cause,” including threat to violence, removing their property from the rental market, or if the government requires vacancy of the unit by law.
If the landlord threatens an eviction for another reason, they must give you a warning notice of at least 10 days to give you time to fix the “violation.”
ALL tenants shall receive a legal “affirmative defense” to an unlawful detainer paperwork filed in the Courts by their landlord.
If you received an eviction notice due to nonpayment of rent during the eviction freeze, you must prove substantial loss of income or out-of-pocket expenses due to the local emergency. Remember that the eviction freeze does not prevent you from paying back rent.
Any eviction notice by your landlord MUST include written notice with SPECIFIC language from the County noting the emergency eviction moratorium to be valid:
"NOTICE: THE COUNTY OF SONOMA HAS ADOPTED A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON EVICTIONS DURING THE LOCAL EMERGENCY, WHICH IS NOW IN EFFECT. Except to protect the health and safety of other occupants of the property, or due to violence, threats of violence, or immediate withdrawal of property from the rental market, you may not be evicted during the Local Emergency declared by the County. This does not relieve you of the obligation to pay back rent. You may contact the County for additional information and referrals.”
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