California’s eviction moratorium ends this week — but not for Fresno renters. What to know

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The statewide eviction moratorium is days away from ending, but not in the city of Fresno where a local moratorium will remain in effect until the city’s declaration of emergency is lifted — likely months away.

This means that evictions for nonpayment of rent for tenants who have been financially impacted by COVID-19 will still be prohibited in Fresno past Sept. 30.

According to Mayor Jerry Dyer, the decision of when to lift the local moratorium and declaration of emergency is still up in the air and will be based on local coronavirus data. It will likely not be lifted this calendar year, after Fresno saw a surge in the COVID-19 delta variant, Dyer said.

“I want to make sure that we are very thoughtful as to how we proceed,” Dyer said.

“The last thing I want to see as a mayor are people facing eviction during the holiday season,” he said. “So whatever we do, it will probably correspond with after the first of the year.”

City Councilmember Tyler Maxwell, who co-sponsored the local Eviction Protection Program, expressed a similar sentiment: “The moratorium will not be expiring in the city of Fresno in the next two weeks or the next two months.”

Housing advocates say they support the eviction moratorium staying in place. “Point blank, eviction moratoriums save lives. It’s public health,” said Janine Nkosi, Faith in the Valley regional adviser, who cited a 2020 study that found thousands of coronavirus deaths could have been prevented in areas with no eviction moratorium, according to NPR.

10 things to know about protections in place in Fresno

Faith in the Valley housing organizer Alexandra Alvarado said that while the protections in the city will remain in place, many renters are left unsure about whether they are still covered beyond Sept. 30.

“There was so much confusion before the pandemic about how you go through the eviction process,” Alvarado said. “Now that there are so many levels of this moratorium, it’s confusing, and I think for a lot of us, we’re living day to day … so it’s hard to stay on top of this information.”

Here are 10 things you should know about the protections in place in the city of Fresno.

1. The local eviction moratorium will continue past Sept. 30

The statewide residential eviction moratorium — which protects renters who have been financially affected by COVID-19 from eviction if they are unable to pay their rent in full — is set to end Sept. 30. However, in March 2020, Fresno City Council adopted an ordinance that established a local eviction moratorium for residential and commercial renters. That moratorium will be in effect as long as the local declaration of emergency remains in place.

This means that the local eviction moratorium for nonpayment of rent in the city of Fresno will continue past Oct. 1.

2. The local moratorium does not prevent all evictions

Under the state and local eviction moratorium, evictions can still occur. Only evictions for nonpayment of rent related to a COVID-19 financial impact are prohibited.

The Fresno eviction moratorium states that:

• No renter can be evicted due to loss of income related to a business closure, loss of hours or wages, layoffs, or out-of-pocket medical costs caused by COVID-19.

• Tenants must notify their landlord if they cannot pay rent due to a COVID-19 related impact and provide documentation of such within one week of notifying them.

• Tenants will have up to six months after the declaration of emergency is lifted to repay back rent.

• Commercial tenants cannot be evicted for nonpayment of rent if they must close their business to prevent or reduce the spread of COVID-19.

3. Fresno’s eviction moratorium will remain as long as the local declaration of emergency stays in place

The local eviction moratorium will remain in effect until the declaration of emergency, instituted by former mayor Lee Brand in March 2020, is lifted.

Dyer said he will likely recommend to the council that the declaration of emergency be lifted “somewhere around the first of the year.” The eviction moratorium for commercial renters will be in place for 90 days after the declaration of emergency is lifted, Dyer said.

Dyer said renters and landlords will be given ample notice when the local moratorium is set to end.

4. The moratorium on discontinuing city-operated utilities will remain, but PG&E’s won’t

For as long as the declaration of emergency is in effect, the city will not shut off utility or sanitary services, such as water and trash pickup, even if a resident is unable to pay their bill.

However, PG&E’s moratorium on utility service disconnections will only be in place until Sept. 30. The gas and electricity company will not be extending the moratorium, but will auto-enroll eligible customers (who are behind 60 days or more on their bill) into an extended payment plan, according to a news release.

The monthly PG&E plan will consist of the person’s outstanding balance divided equally over 24 months.

5. Fresno’s emergency ordinance likely won’t be lifted until the beginning of 2022, mayor says

Dyer said the decision to lift the emergency ordinance will be made jointly between the city council and the mayor’s office. City officials will rely on local coronavirus data, including the number of coronavirus patients occupying local hospital and ICU beds, hospital and ICU bed availability, as well as vaccination rates and trends.

“We want that information to assist us in the decisions that we make, but I do believe we are headed in the right direction,” Dyer said.

6. Thousands of renters are likely at risk of eviction when the moratorium ends

According to District 1 Councilmember Esmerlda Soria, the city of Fresno does not know the exact number of families at risk of eviction.

“We obviously know that there are thousands of families that have backrent that is owed” to landlords based on the more than 10,900 qualified applicants who have applied to the city’s emergency rental assistance program (ERAP) as of Sept. 13, Soria said.

“We recognize that there are a lot of vulnerable disadvantaged families that could be at risk of ending up on the street, and that’s what we want to prevent.”

Even prior to the pandemic, thousands of renters in Fresno were being evicted annually, a 2019 Faith in the Valley study found.

7. Fresno has emergency rent money to distribute to renters, landlords

Both city officials and housing advocates stressed that resources, including the ERAP, are available to renters and landlords.

The city of Fresno has distributed roughly $10 million of the $42 million the city was given by state and federal governments to assist renters who have fallen behind on rent due to a COVID-related financial impact.

The ERAP, which launched in March 2021, now pays landlords 100% of the rental debt owed to them. If the landlord refuses to participate, the funds will go directly to the renter.

To qualify for the program, renters must be behind on their rent or utility bills, make less than 80% of the area median income, and show they’ve been financially impacted by COVID-19, regardless of immigration status.

Soria explained that renters who made above 80% of the area median income prior to the pandemic, but lost income during the crisis, could qualify because their “income eligibility is determined at the time (the renter) was unable to pay the rent.”

Landlords can also submit an application, but they cannot receive the money owed them without their renter completing their portion of the application, said Courtney Espinoza, project implementation manager, city of Fresno.

To sign up for emergency rental assistance in the city of Fresno, visit fresno.gov/mayor/erap or call 559-621-6801.

Tenants can also visit or call the following organizations to apply:

• Reading and Beyond: 559-214-0317

• The Fresno Center: 559-898-2565

• Centro La Familia: 559-237-2961

• Education & Leadership Foundation: 559-291-5428

• Jakara Movement: 559-549-4088

• West Fresno Family Resource Center: 559-621-2967

To apply in Fresno County, visit fresnorentalhelp.com or call 559-515-4700.

8. Renters cannot be evicted while their ERAP application is pending

A renter cannot be evicted for nonpayment of rent if they are in the ERAP process, which may take weeks or months, according to tenants who spoke with The Bee.

Additionally, if a renter receives a notice to pay or quit the lease and they meet the ERAP criteria, they have 15 days to then apply for rent assistance and notify their landlord of their financial impact. This safeguard will remain in place until March 2022.

9. The ERAP can cover up to 18 months of rental and utility debt.

On Sept. 27, the city of Fresno received confirmation that ERAP funds can now cover debt past Sept. 30, according to Espinoza.

The ERAP can now cover rental and utility debt accumulated from April 2020 until the money runs out or through the deadlines associated with the state and federal dollars (Sept. 30, 2022 for the first round of funds, and Sept. 2025 for the second) — whichever comes first.

However, the funds will not pay for qualified applicants indefinitely. The ERAP will cover up to a maximum of 18 months of debt or prospective rent for each qualified applicant.

“This means if someone applied for the program in August 2021, but only needed help with 6 months of rent arrears there is still an opportunity to get additional months of assistance IF their financial situation has not changed,” Espinoza wrote in an email to The Bee. “We can fund prospective rent at this time, but only in 3 month increments and it counts toward their 18 month maximum benefit.”

Alvarado said she has heard from families who are still “reeling from the pandemic” and will not be able to afford their rent in full even after Sept. 30.

“People are still pretty frantic about how they are going to keep up with their rent,” Alvarado said.

10. Free legal representation is available

The city’s eviction protection program, a $750,000 commitment, provides renters who may be facing an unlawful eviction with free legal representation, much like a free criminal defense. Tenants who apply will be screened by the city and, those deemed to be facing potentially unlawful evictions, will be provided legal counsel from an outside law firm.

The city has contracted two firms, Emerzian Shankar Legal Inc and the Law Office of Pahoua C. Lor, to assist tenants.

“We are really trying to gear up and make sure we have that long-term funding available for when and if the local moratorium is lifted, because we are anticipating a surge in potential evictions at that time,” Maxwell said.

The initial screening application can be found at fresno.gov/epp. Tenants can do the following to request legal assistance:

• Fill out and submit the form found at the bottom of the page on fresno.gov/epp.

• Call 559-621-8400 to request to be screened for the Eviction Protection Program.

• Print out the PDF, fill it out and mail it into or drop it off at City of Fresno City Attorney’s Office, Attn: EPP, 2600 Fresno Street, Room 3076, Fresno, CA 93721

Any tenant who receives an eviction notice can also call Central California Legal Services for free legal assistance at 800-675-8001.

This story was originally published September 27, 2021 at 5:00 AM.