• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Daniel S. Gonzales

What you need to know about Commercial Real Estate | 408.280.0535

  • Home
  • About Daniel S. Gonzales
  • Documents of interest
  • Blog

Residential Landlords Required Under AB3088 to Send Tenants Notice

September 28, 2020 by Daniel S. Gonzales 1 Comment

unpaid rent

Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB3088 on 8/31/20, setting forth guidelines for California residential landlords in order to preserve the right to later claim unpaid rent and/or evict tenants for unpaid rent, while protecting tenants demonstrating COVID-19 related financial hardship. The new law requires landlords who intend to seek damages from residential tenants who have missed rent between March 1, 2020 and August 31, 2020 to send the “covered period” notice on or before September 30, 2020, or the right to evict or seek unpaid rent at a later time may be waived. [See the notice form provided by the State of California here.]

To be able to later seek damages for unpaid rent under AB3088, residential landlords must provide several documents to tenants who have not timely paid rent:

  • A 15-day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit (as opposed to the usual 3-Day Notice);
  • The applicable “Notices from the State of California” about the tenant’s’ rights under AB3088;
  • A declaration form for a tenant to sign, under penalty of perjury, explaining that they have a COVID-19 related hardship, such as the loss of a job, a need to provide childcare to school-aged children whose schools remain closed, or higher medical bills.

The exact language that landlords must provide to tenants in the “Notices from the State of California” is set forth in AB3088.  The notice language varies based upon the time period in which the tenant missed rent:

  • The “Covered Period:” March 1, 2020 – January 31, 2021 (all tenants who have missed rent from March 1, 2020 to August 31, 2020 MUST be provided this notice by September 30, 2020 to preserve the landlord’s right to collect payment)
  • “The Protected Period:” March 1, 2020 – August 31, 2020; (in addition to the “Covered Period” notice above)
  • “The Transitional Period:” September 1, 2020 – January 31, 2021;
  • If the landlord already has information on file proving that a tenant’s income is over 130% of the median income for the tenant’s county (as published Department of Housing and Community), a separate notice must accompany the notices above.

Provided that they follow AB3088’s notice requirements, residential landlords may then seek rental debt accrued during the “covered period” in small claims court on or after February 1, 2021. Tenants who fail to pay at least 25% of the rent due between September 1, 2020 and January 31, 2021 on or before January 31, 2021 may also be subject to eviction – unless that landlord’s county or municipality has an ordinance in place that expands AB3088’s tenant eviction protections.

The State of California has made notices available for residential landlords’ use at the California Department of Real Estate Website in several different languages that can be viewed here. Local real estate groups also have forms available. Please take caution to send tenants all notices applicable; often, tenants may be entitled to more than one of the above notices based on when the tenant has missed rent. Some legislative advocates are recommending that the landlord send the applicable notice and declaration form each time a tenant misses a rental period to preserve the landlord’s rights

Filed Under: laws, regulations, rental agreements, rental property, residential leases, residential property

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rick Smith says

    September 29, 2020 at 11:42 am

    Very typical, any landlord looking to take a tenant to court for unpaid rent must fill out numerous forms, meet serious deadlines, and then there may not be able to actually move forward subject to the rules of their county.

    On the other hand, a tenant signs one declaration and is done.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Search

Sign up for Updates

  • Hidden
    MM slash DD slash YYYY
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Helping you avoid risk, maximize profit, and protect your long term real estate appreciation

Mr. Gonzales is in private practice, providing representation, advice and counsel in complex real estate, corporate, and business transactions on behalf of public and private institutions, businesses, and individuals.

This material has been prepared by Daniel S. Gonzales for informational purposes only and does not constitute advertising, a solicitation, or legal advice. Neither delivery nor transmission of this material or the information contained herein is intended to create, and receipt thereof does not constitute formation of, an attorney-client relationship. The reader should not rely upon this information for any purpose without seeking legal advice from a licensed attorney. The information contained in this material is provided only as general information and is not promised or guaranteed to be correct or complete. Daniel S. Gonzales expressly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any or all the contents of this material.

Recent Posts

  • 2023 update of California ADU laws
  • My own ADU project!
  • ND’s Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate brings fresh vitality to housing issues
  • Mountain View and Los Altos Hills targeted for “builder’s remedy” projects
  • Protracted legal odyssey ends in victory for Lafayette housing development
Copyright © 2023 Daniel S. Gonzales