Hayward City Extends Eviction Moratorium

HAYWARD CITY, CA — Hayward City leaders voted this week to extend a moratorium on evictions of commercial tenants if they cannot pay rent due to COVID-19, city officials said Friday.

On Tuesday, the moratorium was extended four months, to Jan. 31, after a broader moratorium was set to expire Sept. 30. That moratorium barred both commercial and residential evictions, including evictions of homeowners, if the coronavirus was a factor in the inability to pay rent or make mortgage payments.

A state law enacted Aug. 31 bans residential evictions statewide through Jan. 31 and prevents local governments from extending moratoria on residential evictions past their current expiration dates.

Hayward city leaders said small businesses are in a double-bind situation, where they cannot open for business yet their fixed costs, such as rent, have remained.

Commercial tenants must pay the rent that is accumulating but they have 180 days following the end of the moratorium to do so.

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