Earlier this week, the Long Beach City Council enacted a temporary ban on evictions in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The ordinance, which took effect as of midnight on March 25, is retroactive to March 4, according to the Long Beach Press-Telegram.  Tenants who are unable to pay their rent are required to notify their landlords and provide documentation to show why.  After that point, tenants will have until November 30 to pay the rent that they owe.  Landlords will not be allowed to charge late fees.

Landlords issuing notifications for nonpayment through May 31 are required to include information regarding thie emergency ordinance so tenants are aware of their legal rights.

Long Beach joins other jursidcitions, including West Hollywood, Santa Monica, and Los Angeles, which have also halted evictions during the crisis.

The move comes as renters across Los Angeles, already squeezed by a steadily increasing cost of living, have often been stripped of income as many businesses close to prevent the spready fo the new coronavirus.    Likewise, landlords have found that a lack of rental income has left many without sufficient cash flow to pay their mortgages.

While the State of California has taken steps to ease the crisis for homeowners and rental property owners - securing agreements from several large financial institutions to suspend the collection of mortgage payments - protections for renters have largely been left to local jursidictions.