LA County commercial landlords can’t evict tenants just yet

Commercial tenants struggling to pay their rent in Los Angeles County are getting a reprieve.

The County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to extend its eviction moratorium on commercial tenants through January.

The board did not extend the eviction moratorium for residential tenants, explaining it didn’t have the authority to supersede state protections. California’s statewide eviction moratorium for residential tenants is set to expire on Thursday. Los Angeles also has a residential eviction moratorium in place, which will expire after the city ends its “local emergency” declaration.

County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said the protections “have served as a safety net for both residential and commercial renters of the same communities that have been hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Under the county’s commercial eviction moratorium — which has been in place since March 2020 — tenants must notify their landlord that they are unable to pay rent within seven days after rent is due. Tenants with between 10 and 100 employees need to also provide written evidence that they have suffered financial hardship related to the pandemic.

Commercial landlords cannot pursue any eviction case against their tenants while the moratorium is in place. For tenants who don’t pay rent during this period, they will have between six and 12 months after the moratorium expires to pay back rent owed, according to the provisions.

The countywide eviction moratorium hasn’t stopped commercial landlords from pursuing other legal avenues to collect their rent.

In July, UBS Realty sued a shuttered Disney store in Montebello for breach of contract and nonpayment of rent, claiming the store owed $275,000 in back rent.