June 2nd, 2020
The Governor released Proclamation 20-19.2 at 4:20 pm yesterday. This prohibition does not apply to a landlord, property owner, or property manager who demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence to a court that the resident was offered, and refused or failed to comply with, a re-payment plan that was reasonable based on the individual financial, health, and other circumstances of that resident; failure to provide a reasonable re-payment plan shall be a defense to any lawsuit or other attempts to collect.
Proclamation 20-19.2 extends the prior eviction moratorium for 60 days (through August 1), and makes modifications to the prior moratorium. The modifications include, but are not limited to:
Prohibiting retaliation against any tenant who invokes rights or protections under the proclamation;
Permitting eviction based on property damage, except for damage that is not urgent in nature, including conditions that were known or knowable to the landlord prior to the COVID-19 crisis;
Establishing a defense to any lawsuit for tenants if a landlord fails to offer a reasonable repayment plan;
Allowing owners to evict tenants if the owner plans to occupy or sell the property, after providing at least 60 days’ notice; and
Exempting commercial property rent increases that were executed in a rental agreement prior to the date the state of emergency was declared, on February 29.
Other restrictions, including the prohibition on assessing late fees or other charges, are continued in this order.
The proclamation also encourages landlords and tenants to communicate in good faith with one another, and to work together on the timing and terms of payment and repayment solutions.