Eviction Moratorium to Expire, Tenant Protections at Risk

Renters in Castro Valley and other unincorporated areas financially impacted by COVID-19 could be at risk of eviction as soon as April 29 after the Alameda County’s Board of Supervisors let a pandemic-related moratorium expire and failed to pass new tenant protections at their Feb. 28 meeting.

Since the early days of the pandemic, landlords in Alameda County were restricted from evicting tenants who failed to pay rent if they lost jobs or suffered other hardships due to COVID-19. When California and Alameda County health officials removed the "state of emergency" status late last month, it put in motion the end of the moratorium. 

Unlike in Oakland and San Leandro, which have their own protections, landlords in Castro Valley and surrounding areas will be able to enforce nonpayment of rent in less than 45 days, leaving some tenants nervous.

“It’s a day when supervisors couldn’t deliver on the most basic tenant protections,” said Barisha Spriggs of Eden Renters United.

Neither tenant groups nor landlords were pleased with the results of the meeting. Landlords and landlord groups had wanted an immediate end to the moratorium. In contrast, tenant groups had argued that protections were needed against the eviction wave they see as likely after the moratorium expires.

Landlords speaking at the meeting spoke of exceptional hardship to them due to the moratorium.

Chunchi Ma, a Fremont landlord, said, “Governor Newson promised to all the housing providers here in California that every landowner or landlord who incurred a loss will be compensated 100 percent by the (rent assistance) program.”

That hasn’t happened, Ma added.

“Housing providers have struggled greatly during the moratorium,” said Joshua Howard with the California Apartment Association. “We appreciate your leadership in looking at ways to ensure that housing providers who did not get paid rent ... that we can make those housing providers whole.”

Asked after the meeting how many tenants did not pay rent during the moratorium, District 1 Supervisor Keith Carson said most in the unincorporated areas had continued to pay their rent, as far as he knew.

A spokesperson for District 4 Supervisor Nate Miley said the Board would consider actions after staff prepares a report on the resources available to help tenants after the moratorium expires. Julie Yim of District 3 Supervisor Lena Tam’s office said the supervisors were also working to create creative solutions to existing problems.

“We’re at the end of the emergency and at just the beginning of what comes after,” Yim said.

The board also declined to pass three proposed tenant protection laws. These would have required just cause for evictions in the unincorporated areas, along with fair chance, limiting how much information could be asked from prospective tenants, and setting up a rental registry to ensure laws were being followed.

Carson said the county’s tenant protections are still in place for the next two months. The supervisors will look into redirecting remaining federal funds to assist tenants after that time.

“We’re looking at us as a county finding out how different everything will be through the pandemic and post-pandemic, like most counties. The fabric of life may well have changed in every area,” Carson said.