SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — In the wake of historic flooding, San Diego County passed an eviction moratorium, which does not allow landlords to evict their tenants for 60 days after the flooding.
This only applies to residents impacted by the floods. The San Diego County Boards of Supervisors passed the eviction ban 4 to 1.
“So the landlords are in a tough place, what are they going to do, my typical advice to a landlord is you’re either going to waive the rent, or you’re going to put them up somewhere,” said Kent Sharp, an attorney with La Jolla Law Group.
Sharp said that’s what he has advised the property management groups he represents to do in this situation. He added that if tenants were behind on their rent and had not received an eviction notice prior to the flood, they also cannot be evicted.
Sharp also warned that landlords need to follow through with the rental agreement or lease, and make sure to only charge what they are contractually allowed to, and not raise the rent in the middle of an agreement, even though he understands that this will likely be a big cost to repair units.
Sharp said he has never seen the county pass a moratorium like this one because of flooding, which he called broad. It it similar to the power used during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s a slippery slope these landlords have to operate in, but it’s really no one’s fault, it’s the floods,” Sharp added.