The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to give tenants a full year to cover rent that goes unpaid because of COVID-19.

An earlier version of the moratorium had a six-month pay-back deferral period.

The board also relaxed requirements that tenants show documentation of a COVID-19 related financial hardship, allowing renters to “self certify” their inability to pay rent.

The board also expanded its policies to cover not only unincorporated areas of L.A. County, but also any cities that have not imposed their own COVID-19 eviction moratoria. CAA is working to obtain a list of such cities, and it will be housed at CAA’s COVID Resources page.

The California Apartment Association and coalition partners argued against the expansion, saying it would amplify the COVID-19 economic crisis and have a domino effect reaching far beyond landlords’ pocketbooks.

“Without sustained and reliable rent payments, owners and operators, especially mom and pops, may be unable to pay their mortgages and other bills related to operations,” CAA members said in letters to the board. “When those bills face jeopardy, more workers are out of jobs and the economic catastrophe that is unfolding is exacerbated.”

CAA is reviewing the legality of the board’s decision and continues to urge its members to abide by the association’s Safe at Home Guidelines.