October 25, 2022
City Attorney's Office
DATE: October 25, 2022
TO: Mayor Butt and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Dave Aleshire, City Attorney
Shannon Moore, Senior Assistant City Attorney
Subject:
Amending the Eviction Moratorium to Allow for Owner
Move-ins in Residential Units
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact related to this item.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
Urgency Ordinance No. 02-21 was adopted by City
Council on March 23, 2021; City Council directed City
staff to prepare amendments to allow for owner move-ins on September 20, 2022.
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
On September 20, 2022, City Council directed City staff to draft an amendment to the Eviction Moratorium
Urgency Ordinance by the end of October that allows for owner move-ins during the remainder of the moratorium.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
ADOPT an ordinance (second reading) amending
Urgency Ordinance No. 02-21 entitled “Eviction
Moratorium” to allow for owners of residential rental
property within the City of Richmond to move in during
the remainder of the Eviction Moratorium – City
Attorney’s Office (Dave Aleshire/Shannon Moore 510-
620-6505).
AGENDA
REPORT
October 25, 2022
DISCUSSION:
Eviction Moratorium
On March 10, 2020, the Director of Emergency Services declared a local emergency and this declaration was affirmed on March 17, 2020, by the City Council (Resolution No. 19-20). The local emergency is still in effect in Richmond and will remain in effect until the City Council votes to end the local emergency. On March 23, 2021, the Richmond City Council enacted Urgency Ordinance No. 02-21, entitled the “Eviction Moratorium.” Key provisions of the Urgency Ordinance are as follows:
During the Local Emergency and continuing for sixty (60) days afterward, a Landlord may not:
(1) Evict a Tenant or require a Tenant to vacate a Residential unit, including by seeking the entry of an eviction judgment or by causing or permitting a writ of possession to be executed; or
(2) Represent to a Tenant that the Tenant is required by law to move out of their unit.
The prohibitions 1-2 above do not apply where the sole grounds for eviction stated in the termination notice are:
(1) A nuisance poses an imminent health or safety threat, (2) the Tenant has failed to pay rent that came due between March 1, 2020, and June, 30, 2021 pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 1161(2), and/or (3) the termination is to remove the residential real property from the rental market, but only when authorized by Government Code section 7060 et seq. and performed consistent with Richmond Rent Board Regulation Chapter 5.
Proposed Amendment
At the September 20, 2022 City Council meeting, Councilmembers McLaughlin and Jimenez brought forth an item directing staff to draft amendments to the Eviction Moratorium to allow for owners of residential rental property within the City of Richmond to move in during the remainder of the Eviction Moratorium. This item was approved by a majority of the City Council. The attached amendments allow for owner move-ins during the remainder of the Eviction Moratorium.
Of note, tenants who are impacted by this change will be afforded relocation payments as outlined in Richmond Municipal Code Chapter 11.102 and should contact the Rent Program for further guidance.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Amendments to Eviction Moratorium (redlines) Attachment 2 – Amendments to Eviction Moratorium (clean)