San Francisco committee forwards permanent ban on COVID-era nonpayment evictions to full Board after hours of public comment

San Francisco—s Land Use & Transportation Committee voted Tuesday to send Supervisor Dean Preston—s eviction-protection ordinance (File No. 200375) to the full Board of Supervisors with a positive recommendation after an extended public-comment period that featured hundreds of callers.

Preston said the measure would add to Chapter 37 of the Administrative Code a defense to eviction for nonpayment when the unpaid rent "arose out of a substantial decrease in household income or substantial out-of-pocket expenses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic" and is documented. "No one who can't pay their rent on time because of a global pandemic . . . should ever have to worry about being penalized with late fees or eviction," Preston said in his presentation to the committee. The proposal would also prohibit late fees and other charges on delayed rent and make delayed rent debt recoverable as consumer debt rather than grounds for removal from a home.

Why it matters: Sponsors and supporters say the ordinance is intended to prevent a wave of evictions when local and state moratoria end, which advocates warn would deepen homelessness and worsen public health…