united-states california covid-19
Does the current ban on evictions apply to expiring leases?
<p>My friend is currently in a pickle. Their lease expires in a couple of weeks and they were originally planning to move to a different property. However given the lockdown in California, moving is no longer allowed as it is not an "essential" activity, so it is impossible for them to arrange a moving truck.</p>

<p>Given the situation, would the ban on evictions apply once the lease is expired? </p>

<p>I expect there to be some "clarifications" of <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/3.19.20-attested-EO-N-33-20-COVID-19-HEALTH-ORDER.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the order</a>, which orders all residents of California to stay home and does few exceptions. There is an exception for people doing to work in "16 critical infrastructure areas", but no exception that allows you to go to the grocery store. However, it later says that "when people need to leave their mores or places of residence to obtain or perform the functions above, or to otherwise facilitate authorized necessary activities, they should at all times practice social distancing". This suggests that it actually is legal to go to the grocery store, sinece "food" is one of <a href="https://www.cisa.gov/identifying-critical-infrastructure-during-covid-19" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the 16 areas</a>. There may also be separate decrees authorizing buying food, perhaps buying home-repair materials, and so on. In comparison, the Santa Clara lockdown decree was more explicit, and included "whatever you have to do to eat, be sheltered, get cured....". I think it is not entirely determined that moving is a non-essential activity.</p>

<p>To evict a person for staying past the end of the lease, the landlord would have to get a court order. But the courts will not order a tenant to move, if moving is illegal.</p>
