Committee adopts emergency ordinance to bridge state eviction protections set to expire June 30

The Land Use & Transportation Committee voted unanimously on May 17 to forward an emergency ordinance that temporarily prohibits evictions for COVID-related nonpayment once protections in state law (SB 91) expire on June 30, 2021.

Supervisor Dean Preston explained the two-step legislative approach: an emergency ordinance to provide an immediate local bridge while the committee prepares a non-emergency ordinance that would extend protections through year-end and define the conditions under which a tenant's failure to pay rent would not trigger eviction. The emergency measure updates earlier references to AB 3088 to reflect the current SB 91 framework and clarifies deadlines and the administrative pathway; it also adds information about rent-relief availability and explicitly states the emergency ordinance will sunset once the non-emergency ordinance is enacted.

Committee action and votes

After public comment in support of extending eviction protections, the committee adopted the non-substantive technical amendments updating statutory citations and deadlines. The motion to forward the amended emergency ordinance to the full Board with a committee report passed unanimously by roll call.

What happens next

The ordinance will go to the full Board of Supervisors as a committee report. Staff and advocates expect the committee to return with the companion non-emergency ordinance that will set the longer-term guardrails, including the 25% payment threshold modeled on SB 91, and an outreach/assistance plan for tenants to seek rental-relief funds.