Special Notice / Hearing: None
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Supervisor David Canepa, District 5
Supervisor Don Horsley, District 3
Subject: Emergency Regulation 2020-002 Establishing a Temporary Countywide Moratorium on Rent Increases on Certain Existing Residential Tenancies Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
RECOMMENDATION:
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Approve a resolution adopting an Emergency Regulation 2020-002 establishing a temporary Countywide moratorium on rent increases on certain existing residential tenancies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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BACKGROUND:
According to Governor Newsom, at least 115 people died on April 22, 2020 of COVID-19-related causes, which represents the highest daily COVID-19 death rate since the pandemic began. . As of April 22, 2020, the number of reported confirmed COVID-19 cases in California exceeded 35,000, with nearly 1,000 in San Mateo County. The number of actual cases is almost certainly much higher, and will continue to increase.
Meanwhile, the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been historically devastating. Over the past five weeks, approximately 26.5 million workers in the United States have filed claims for unemployment, with 3.3 million in California alone. The national unemployment rate is approximately 20%, the highest our Nation has experienced since the depths of the Great Depression.
The County has not been spared these impacts, which are compounded by a residential rental market that ranks as one of the most expensive in the nation. Indeed, many of the County's renters are rent-burdened, paying over 30% of their income on rent, and some paying over 50% of their income on rent. This leaves less money available for other necessities, such as healthcare and food.
A. County and State Emergencies and Shelter-in-Place Orders.
On March 3, 2020, pursuant to Section 101080 of the California Health and Safety Code, the San Mateo County Health Officer (the "Heal...
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