COVID-19 Housing Resources

Tenant Eviction Protections

Alameda County Urgency Residential Eviction Moratorium - Expiration TBD

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors enacted a County-wide Eviction Moratorium. The County Eviction Moratorium ordinance outlaws all evictions anywhere in the County with few exceptions.   For any city within Alameda County that has an Eviction Moratorium Ordinance, the most protective ordinance for tenants between the County and the City will prevail. 

For questions and concerns regarding the Countywide Eviction Moratorium, please contact Centro Legal at 510-738-3906 or via email at tenantsrights@centrolegal.org.

Eviction Moratorium FAQs (English) 

Eviction Moratorium FAQs (Spanish)

Tenant Rental Assistance Programs & Policies

 COVID-19 Rental Repayment Plan Ordinance

The Emeryville City Council adopted two Rental Repayment ordinances that provides tenants with twelve (12) months to repay unpaid rent during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The repayment plan must be presented in writing and may not be for less than a twelve-month period.

Alameda County Housing Secure Emergency Rental Assistance Program - Ends May 13, 2022

The Alameda County Housing Secure Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ACHS-ERAP) will help income-eligible households pay rent and utilities, both for past due and future payments. The federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 provides funding to support the program. Phase 1 of the program will launch on March 17, 2021. Phase 1 of the program will prioritize (1) tenant households making less than 30% of the area median income; (2) small rental property owners (5 units or less); and (3) tenants in subsidized affordable housing units. These priorities will be expanded in Phase 2. To apply for assistance, please click here. For additional information or for eligibility and application help, call 211.

AC Housing Secure will close its online portal to new applications on May 13, 2022, at 11:59pm and the application for COVID-19 rental assistance will no longer be active. 

Utility Assistance

PG & E

PG&E has implemented a series of billing and service modifications to support customers who have been impacted by the pandemic:

  • Suspending service disconnections for non-payment and waiving security deposits;
  • Implementing flexible payment plan options; and
  • Providing additional support for low-income and medical baseline customers.

For more information, please click here.

East Bay MUD

EBMUD will not disconnect customers’ water service due to billing/payment issues during this health emergency. If your water has been shut off due to non-payment, please call EBMUD Customer Service at 1-866-403-2683 to make arrangements to restore service. In addition, EBMUD’s Customer Assistance Program helps reduce bills for customers facing economic hardships. For more information, go to www.ebmud.com/cap.

Archived Programs & Policies

California COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act - Expires June 30, 2021

On January 29, 2021, Governor Newsome signed into law SB91, which extends AB3088, the State's COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act. Below is a brief summary on both laws. For additional information on the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act, please visit the State Department of Real Estate’s website, housingiskey.com and the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act Factsheet. 

SB91: This legislation extends tenant, landlord, and homeowner protections under AB 3088 until June 30, 2021, including the current requirement that tenants pay 25% per month by the end of the moratorium – June 30, 2021 to avoid eviction. Tenants are still responsible for paying unpaid amounts to landlords, but those unpaid amounts cannot be the basis for an eviction

This legislation also establishes the State Rental Assistance Program to allocate the $2.6 billion in federal rental assistance California will receive. The program will target aid to income-qualified tenants (at or below 80% of the Area Median Income) most at-risk with unpaid back rent. Assistance will also be extended to property owners who agree to waive 20 percent of unpaid rent. By agreeing to this waiver, property owners will become eligible for 80 percent in rent reimbursements for amounts owed between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021.Landlords may begin to recover this debt on July 1, 2021.

AB3088: Under this legislation, no tenant can be evicted before February 1, 2021 as a result of rent owed due to a COVID-19 related hardship accrued between March 4 – August 31, 2020, if the tenant provides a declaration of hardship according to the legislation’s timelines. For a COVID-19 related hardship that accrues between September 1, 2020 – January 31, 2021, tenants must also pay at least 25 percent of the rent due to avoid eviction. Tenants are still responsible for paying unpaid amounts to landlords, but those unpaid amounts cannot be the basis for an eviction. Landlords may begin to recover this debt on March 1, 2021, and small claims court jurisdiction is temporarily expanded to allow landlords to recover these amounts. Landlords who do not follow the court evictions process will face increased penalties under the Act.

Emeryville Urgency Residential and Commercial Eviction Moratorium -Expires September 30, 2020

The Emeryville City Council adopted a temporary moratorium on residential and commercial evictions due to nonpayment of rent and foreclosures initiated by Homeowner Associations due to nonpayment of assessments, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The moratorium does not relieve the tenant from the obligation to pay rent, but provides that tenants cannot be evicted unless necessary to protect health, safety or welfare.   Moratorium I is effective as of March 19, 2020 and expires on June 30, 2020. Moratorium II is effective as of July 21, 2020 and expires upon the expiration of  Order N-28-20, which is currently September 30, 2020. 

Federal CARES Act Eviction Protection - Expired July 25, 2020

The CARES Act, signed into law Mar. 27, 2020, provides 120 days of eviction relief for tenants in federally-backed housing. Specifically, you may not be served with an eviction notice until July 25, 2020 and the notice must give you 30 days to leave the property (Aug. 24, 2020). During the 120 day eviction moratorium, your landlord may not charge you late fees, penalties, or other charges for paying your rent late. It’s important to note that the eviction moratorium does not relieve you of your obligation to pay your rent. It merely forbids your landlord from evicting you during that period for late payment. For a detailed summary of the CARES Act Eviction Moratorium, please click here.

FHA Foreclosure Moratorium

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) moratorium on foreclosures and evictions for single family homes with FHA-insured mortgages has been extended to February 28, 2021.The FHA is also extending through February 28, 2021, the deadline for single family borrowers with FHA-insured mortgages to request an initial COVID-19 forbearance from their mortgage servicer to defer or reduce their mortgage payments for up to six months, which can be extended for an additional six months. For additional information click here.

Emeryville Emergency Rental Assistance Program

The Emeryville City Council approved the creation of a Emergency Rental Assistance Program to mitigate potential homelessness and displacement of existing Emeryville Affected Residential Tenants that experience a decrease in household income due to the COVID- 19 pandemic. The City has partnered with Bay Area Community Service (BACS) to administer the program. The Emergency Rental Assistance Program will provide rental assistance in an amount not to exceed the monthly amount identified in the chart below based on unit type, to affected tenant households at or below 100% Area Median Income (AMI) or below. Funding will be prioritized for those affected households most at need and applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until funding is expended. For the Program Requirements, please click HERE.

As of November 12, 2020, BACS has stopped accepting applications for assistance, as all funds have been reserved under the Emergency Rental Assistance Program. If you have submitted an application and have not received notification regarding your application, please contact BACS at 510-759-4868.

Local Property Management Policies

Numerous Local Property Management Companies have issued Press Releases related to internal company policies to assist Tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic. For specific information regarding a specific company policy, please click on the press release below and speak with your Property Manager for additional information. 

Avalon Communities (Avalon Public Market)

Equity Residential (Artistry Emeryville, Parc on Powell)

Essex Property Trust (Avenue 64, Courtyards at 65th, EMME)