Federal employees protected from eviction under new legislation

A bill before the California Legislature would prevent landlords from evicting tenants who are federal employees or contractors during a government shutdown - and for 30 days after it ends - without requiring those tenants to demonstrate a financial inability to pay.

SB 1155 is sponsored by the American Federation of Federal Government Employees and authored by Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, D-Los Angeles. The bill would require a tenant to provide the landlord or the court with written notice stating that the tenant is a federal employee or contractor affected by the shutdown, along with a copy of a furlough notice or stay-at-home order. The deferred rent would be due and payable within 30 days after the tenant receives their first full paycheck containing retroactive back pay.

The bill would also impose civil penalties of up to $2,000 on any person who knowingly violates its provisions and allows tenants to raise a violation as an affirmative defense in an unlawful detainer action.

Similar to last year's AB 246 by Assembly member Isaac Bryan, D-Los Angeles, which was signed into law and protects tenants from eviction when they do not receive their Social Security checks, SB 1155 is a reaction to actions taken by President Trump's federal government. The federal government has experienced several shutdowns during his second term.

The bill broadly defines "material impact" as a reduction in household income or a delay in pay resulting from a government shutdown that renders the tenant unable to pay the full amount of rent due. The bill does not require the tenant to demonstrate that they were materially impacted by the shutdown or that they can pay the rent despite the government shutdown, particularly in those situations where a federal employee lives in a household with multiple wage earners who could cover the rent even if only one of the family members is furloughed.

Most importantly, the bill provides no protections for landlords who are themselves federal employees and who may be unable to collect rent under SB 1155 while still required to pay their mortgages.