Published on March 18, 2020
UPDATE: The City Council expanded eviction protections and approved a freeze on rent increases in April 2020 and extended the freeze in December 2020. For the latest information about the City of Alameda's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, visit www.alamedaca.gov/tenantresources.
ORIGINAL NEWSLETTER:
On March 17, 2020, the Alameda City Council passed an urgency ordinance, effective immediately and extending for 60 days, that provides all residential tenants a defense in an eviction proceeding for failure to pay rent (including the tenant's share of the contract rent for Section 8 tenants) when the tenant is not able to pay rent due to a substantial loss of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Substantial loss of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic includes: 1) a reduction of 20% or more of monthly gross pay; 2) extraordinary out-of-pocket medical expenses; or (3) extraordinary child care needs.
Landlords are also prohibited from shutting off utilities except in the case of an emergency such as an urgent repair to a water line.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE URGENCY ORDINANCE(PDF, 3MB)