Temporary eviction moratorium passed in Santa Cruz County
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION) The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a temporary moratorium on residential and commercial evictions Tuesday.
The temporary halt of evictions will be in place through May 31, but commercial and residential tenants are still required to pay rent. The moratorium does not remove financial obligation for those in ongoing leases and other tenant agreements.
“For the good of themselves and the community, we encourage tenants and landlords to begin conversations now to work things out going forward,” Supervisor Ryan Coonerty said. “We cannot force people out onto the streets during this crisis. It’s going to take all us working collaboratively together to get through this.”
It will be up to the landlords and renters, to work out individually, a minimum that has to be paid these next two months, and also decide when the rest of the rent money will have to be paid.
“This is not a rent holiday. People will still be required to pay the rent, but they just can’t be evicted for non-payment of rent if it's related to COVID-19," Supervisor John Leopold said.
Many renters are worried about losing their income during the shelter-in-place and the eviction moratorium could help.
“We still have our car payment. Still have to buy food, utilities by the time all that adds up...[my girlfriend] has no money coming in, and I probably have half what I normally make,” Santa Cruz resident Nick Loffree said.
The board of supervisors approval only covers unincorporated Santa Cruz County. Tuesday night, Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley city council will vote on an eviction moratorium. The Watsonville city council approved a similar eviction halt, Monday.
Santa Cruz County Public Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel declared a local health emergency on March 4. There is also currently a Shelter in Place order in effect in the county to help slow the spread of coronavirus, or COVID-19.
As a result of the Shelter in Place, workers whose jobs are considered non-essential are required to stay home and non-essential businesses have closed.
