Eviction Moratorium For Small Businesses Ends In August

BEVERLY HILLS, CA —Beverly Hills businesses reeling from several months of coronavirus received some mixed news over the past week.

The good news first: outdoor dining can resume in Beverly Hills. Beverly Hills restaurants can now follow an LA County order that allows businesses to apply for a temporary permit to expand into non-traditional areas like parking lots and through public right of way. Restaurants must apply for a special permit application, and prove that they’re in compliance with social distancing regulations.

This is part of a larger city-run #OpenBH initiative to help businesses reopen. Vehicle parades, and filming and still photography are also now permitted in the city with social distancing limitations. Filming and photography permits are available for shoots with 10 or less people, and are only permitted in the city’s downtown commercial districts.

Small businesses will need all the help they can get, because on Friday, the Beverly Hills City Council amended its March eviction moratorium, and struggling businesses need to start paying rent soon. According to the new regulations, businesses will need to start paying rent again on August 1, and tenants can no longer claim that they cannot pay rent due to COVID-19.

If past rent is not paid by September 1, the landlord may charge half the amount of either the late fee or the interest that is provided in the lease, capped at five percent.

All past rent and late fees or interest must be paid by January 1, 2021, unless the landlord and business reach an agreement. According to the new ordinance, any agreement worked out between the landlord and the tenant will take precedence over the ordinance.

The ordinance also includes provisions for “large commercial tenants,” or businesses that employ more than 100 people or have made more than $15 million over the past three years. The timetable for large tenants is the same, but late fees are not capped.

The ordinance does not apply to “very large commercial tenants,” or businesses that are listed on the Fortune 1000 or employs more than 500 employees, a designation that include many of the luxury stores on Rodeo Drive. According to the ordinance, these tenants “must pay rent according to their rent schedule or agreed upon terms.”