SAN FRANCISCO— A landlord’s group intends to sue the city of San Francisco over eviction moratorium policies set in place due to the coronavirus pandemic.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed signed an executive order on April 30, that the eviction moratorium is set in place until June 30, 2020. The eviction moratorium will continue two months after the mayor’s order expires.
On June 9, the Board of Supervisors met and approved an eviction prevention ban in a 10-1 vote. Supervisor Catherine Stefani of District 2 cast the lone vote against the legislation.
In addition, the ban would also forbid landlords from ever using missed payments as cause for eviction. Mayor Breed had until June 26, to sign the legislation.
This legislation motivated the San Francisco Apartment Association, a group of thousands of property owners to take threaten legal action against the city.
Andrew Zacks, real estate attorney told the San Francisco Public Press that he would be representing the San Francisco Apartment Association in their suit against the city.
Joseph Tobener, a tenant law attorney stated in an article that, “If they do prevail, tenants who did not pay rent because of the law will be vulnerable to eviction. It will be up to one judge in San Francisco Superior Court to decide whether the eviction lawsuits for nonpayment can go forward.”
Currently the California legislature is working on a bill that would prevent evictions for nonpayment related to COVID-19 across the state. Other bills such as AB-828 would prohibit a person from taking any action to foreclose on a residential real property while a state or locally declared state of emergency related to the COVID-19 virus.
