Forgive me in advance if I sound unsympathetic - please allow me to explain. For context I live in California's Bay Area, where a shelter in place was enacted on 03/16/20 due to Covid-19. My tenant is renting a room inside my house.
My tenant has not paid his rent since 02/01/20, but pleaded not to be evicted. I sympathized with his difficult situation, and we agreed he would save up so he could move out on 03/31/20 (2 months of time), to which I sent him a formal 30-days-notice at the end of February to move out. My intention was also to utilize this room for myself once he moved out.
On 03/16/20 a shelter in place was enacted, and unfortunately he has not been able to work since - to which he now claims he cannot move due to lack of income. The reason for his 30-days notice had nothing to do with the issues surrounding Covid-19, but rather stem from 1) his nonpayment since 02/01/20 and 2) my desire to use the room for personal-use.
The question now is, can I still evict him should he refuse to move out on the agreed-upon date, given the shelter-in-place? Thank you in advance for your time and consideration in this matter!
Long answer made short -- it depends on what your lease says. In most circumstances, COVID-19 will be irrelevant to a legal analysis. If they haven't paid you, then they haven't paid you and you are entitled to exercise your legal remedies.
Bear in mind that it may be difficult to find a substitute tenant right now.
