City Council: No Extension on Moratorium Repayment Deadline

Beverly Hills city council at the February 7th meeting has kept in place the tenant repayment deadline of May 31, 2023 for rent that was delayed using the city’s COVID emergency moratorium. That date was established last spring when council decided that the residential tenant moratorium should expire on May 31, 2022. The one-year rent repayment period is now coming to a close. As other municipalities and the county continue to provide COVID-related tenant protections, we asked city council to consider extending our rent repayment deadline. City council declined. Rent that was delayed under the city’s moratorium is now subject to a 3-day notice (and thereafter eviction proceedings) if not repaid by May 31, 2023.

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Beverly Hills Moratorium Sunsets May 31st: What It Means to You

City Council officially agreed to sunset the city’s COVID moratorium effective May 31st. The move had been anticipated as early as January and picked up steam with two Council meetings in April where the groundwork was laid. Coincident with their effort to wind-down the pandemic-era tenant protections, councilmembers also agreed to cap the rent increase for the next 12 months at a maximum of 3.1% and to create a limited rent subsidy program to cushion the impact of post-COVID rent increases. Let’s look at what the moratorium sunset means and what’s left to be decided.

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Ellis Act Evictions: Senior and Disabled Occupants Get More Time

Localities in California are allowed to regulate the price of rental housing and even to impose restrictive conditions on evictions. However a locality cannot force a residential rental property owner to stay in the apartment leasing business. The state’s Ellis Act allows the landlord to exit the business by evicting all tenants for redevelopment or some other purpose with only 120 days notice. Senior and disabled tenants can stay in their home for up to a full year. That additional time is useful for finding replacement housing and it provides additional leverage if the household negotiates a cash buyout. Here is what you need to know.

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City Council Establishes 3.1% as the Rent Increase Starting July 1st [updated]

Beverly Hills City Council has affirmed an earlier decision to end the moratorium on rent increases and eviction. As expected Council also established the post-moratorium maximum allowable annual rent increase for rent-stabilized units at 3.1%. That percentage will be available to landlords starting June 1st and will remain in effect until the next percentage is established July 1, 2023. So what is known is that the rent will rise 3.1% when the moratorium sunsets. What is unknown is how much the rent will rise in later years given unpredictable inflation and Council’s stated commitment to allow landlords to recapture missed rent increases.

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Council Poised to Cap Post-Moratorium Rent Increase at 3.1%

Beverly Hills City Council at the April 12th evening will formally agree to end the city’s moratorium on May 31st. That would allow the city’s first rent increase since the moratorium was enacted two years ago. But high inflation portends ‘sticker shock’ for rent-stabilized households that haven’t seen a rent increase above 3.1% since 2016. Come July the allowed percentage could rise to seven percent or more. City Council however appears prepared to blunt the impact of the first post-moratorium rent increase by capping it at 3.1% (the maximum rent increase before the moratorium).

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Update for Tenants Experiencing COVID-Related Hardship

Recent legislation from Sacramento has extended the temporary state eviction protection for tenants who are waiting on state COVID assistance. Through June 30th the landlord may not evict a tenant who has a pending application with Housing is Key and has not been denied. However effective immediately a Beverly Hills tenant who cannot pay rent, and who has not filed a city declaration for protection, and who does not have a pending relief application, may be evicted. New state legislation (AB 2019) preempts the county from shielding tenants from eviction for nonpayment.

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Our Take: Extend the Moratorium and Scratch the Lost Rent Increases

City Council today will discuss whether and when to wind down the city’s COVID-era moratoria on evictions and rent increases. Council will also discuss whether and how to allow landlords to recapture rent increases denied by the moratorium. From our perspective this is not a tough call: extend the moratoria to at least May 31st in order to align our policy with certain state and county timelines and close the door on lost rent increases. The benefit to COVID-affected tenants is significant and while the impact on landlords appears marginal.

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Moratorium Protections and Rent Increases Come Back to City Council

Coming back to City Council is the discussion about whether and when to wind down the city’s COVID moratoria on evictions and rent increases. The Rent Stabilization Commission teed-up the issue in October by recommending that COVID tenant protections be ended immediately. Council took no action then but in January agreed to tentatively sunset the moratoriums at the end of March. Council revisits the question now in light of Omicron. Will Council allow evictions to resume and rent increases to recommence?

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City Council Bunts on Residential Moratorium

City Council deferred all decisions on the residential moratorium until sometime February when the impact of the Omicron variant might be better understood. Left unchanged is the tentative sunset date of March 31st and until that time at least the prohibition on eviction for nonpayment and for no-fault remain in force. Rent increases are on hold too. But the discussion suggested how councilmembers are thinking about ending the moratorium — and the costs that tenants may bear for rent increases delayed.

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City Council Will Revisit Local Moratorium Tenant Protections

Beverly Hills City Council on Tuesday will again reconsider whether or not to end moratorium tenant protections. The moratorium on evictions and rent increase may sunset as early as March 31st. For tenants still affected by the pandemic, the prospect of paying full rent, or facing eviction for nonpayment or no-fault, may be cause concern. And all tenants will likely find the prospect of a rent increase significantly higher than 3.9% a worry too.

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City Council Extends Local Moratorium to April

City Council has agreed to extend the Beverly Hills local moratoriums on evictions and rent increases to April 1, 2022. In a nod to the continuing uncertainty and economic impacts of COVID–19, council also agreed that tenants should not face a double rent increase this year. That means rent-stabilized tenants will see only a 3.9% rent increase once the moratorium expires. That is a win for tenants and particularly those who might be displaced but for moratorium protections while we ride-out the long tail of this pandemic.

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