Los Angeles County Eviction Moratorium: May 2022 Update

Historical update, May 2, 2022: This article describes the Los Angeles County COVID-19 Tenant Protections Resolution as it stood when published. The Resolution later expired on March 31, 2023. For current County information, start with DCBA's tenant-protections page and check the rules for the property's jurisdiction and the rent period at issue.

Last year I wrote about the residential eviction moratorium in Southern California, particularly Los Angeles County. I have followed the County's changes because they affect the decisions owners and residents must make. Here is what the County's January 25, 2022 resolution and its April 2022 guidance said as of this article's publication date.

Nonpayment protection had a July start under April guidance

The January resolution set a second phase from June 1 through December 31, 2022. After California enacted AB 2179, the County's April 2022 FAQ said state law prevented the County from imposing its nonpayment protection through June 30. The FAQ described protection beginning July 1 for rent incurred on or after that date when a household at or below 80% of area median income could not pay because of a COVID-19 financial hardship. It called for notice to the landlord within seven days of rent being due, unless extenuating circumstances applied.

Protection from eviction did not cancel rent owed. The January 25 resolution set repayment periods by the period when rent was incurred, including up to twelve months after the protection period for certain income-qualified residential debt. Section VI.C.4 also said inability to repay residential rent from the defined Extension Protections Period, under a payment plan or at the end of repayment, was not itself a ground for eviction. That was a protection for specified debt, rather than all unpaid rent. Later extensions and state-law changes affected the dates and protections, so a single December 2023 deadline should not be applied to every balance.

Owner move-in rules changed June 1

The January resolution allowed a qualified owner or family member to seek possession for a principal residence for at least 36 consecutive months if its other conditions were met. Beginning June 1, it removed the June 30, 2021 purchase-date condition and the condition that the resident had not suffered a COVID-19 financial impact. The remaining conditions still applied to an owner move-in request.

The entry provision ended May 31

The County's April FAQ said the special protection against eviction for denying landlord entry would lift after May 31, 2022, except where the attempted entry constituted harassment. Other tenant protections continued after May 31.

The rent freeze continued for covered unincorporated units

As of May 2022, the County described a rent-increase freeze through December 31, 2022 for rent-stabilized units and mobilehome spaces in unincorporated Los Angeles County. The County's coverage information describes the common fully covered rental-unit category: property with two or more units and an initial certificate of occupancy on or before February 1, 1995. Coverage also depended on the County's ordinance and any applicable exceptions; an address or unit type alone did not decide it.

Historical sources and current County resources

These were the changes I was tracking in May 2022. The County's current page is the starting point for later amendments and current resources. Match any question to the location, dates, notices, and records involved.