When COVID caused many jobs to shut down or convert to online, it did not stop rental payments from emerging. Despite legislation protecting renters for a period of several months, inevitably they can no longer put off their rent. As a result, evictions have begun to come for commercial and private tenants.
Some states are trying to help companies who are just starting to recover from being closed for several months. California recently signed into legislation a minimum rent plan after the states ruled, they could not continue to moratorium. Assembly Bill 3088, states that if a company can prove COVID hardship, they could pay 25% of their rent between September 1st and January 31st and will be protected from eviction. But if they can’t landlords could start the eviction processes as soon as February 1st. In addition, the landlords can sue for back rent as soon as March 2021 despite the reprieve they earned from March to August of this year. [1]
While rental payments are not going to go away anytime soon, there are steps you can take to ensure that you have time to make your payments. You can talk with your landlord about deferring these payments to the end of the lease agreement with your lawyer’s help. Consult your state’s stance on what their moratoriums on rent are.
[1] https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/09/01/908304397/california-oks-extension-of-covid-19-moratorium-on-evictions