SAN DIEGO — Tenants impacted by last week's extreme rainfall cannot be evicted because of flood damage.
The San Diego Board of Supervisors announced the temporary eviction moratorium Tuesday along with allocating $10 million to support the county's response.
"People are already suffering a lot. They have a lot of need," said Nora Vargas, chair of the San Diego Board of Supervisors.
Vargas spoke with tenants living at Highland View Apartments in National City. Days ago the property management team gave residents notices that their leases were being terminated and that tenants would be given relocation housing only through the end of January.
Now after the board of supervisors announcement, their landlord cannot use the flood as a reason to evict them .
"The eviction moratorium is only starting from the day of the flood January 22 and then for 60 days. If you already had an issue it doesn't pertain to you," Vargas said.
The eviction moratorium applies to people in flooded neighborhoods. Visit alertsandiego.org or call 2-1-1 to learn more. The county is still deciding how the $10 million allocation will help with recovery efforts which might include housing vouchers.
"Tenants have the right of habitable housing and it's the landlords responsibility to provide it," said Gilberto Vera, directing attorney at the Legal Aid Society of San Diego.
The city deemed some units uninhabitable but Vera says a landlord is required to offer tenants housing in a vacant unit or temporary housing at hotels until the space if made livable.
"If a tenant has renters insurance then usually that will cover the alternative housing and essentially absolve the landlord of their responsibility to do so. If that tenant doesn't then it's still the landlord's responsibility," he said.
He recommends tenants demand repairs and alternative housing in writing as well as keeping the same rent price when they're able to move back in.
It's also a good idea to document everything if you were impacted by the flooding. Take plenty of photos and save any text or email conversations between you and your landlord.
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